Day 141

these are a few of my projects... sure, they have been projects for almost the entire time i have lived here (it'll be one year at the beginning of july) but they will get done... i hope :(








i will get the last piece i need to put the glass bowl on this light fixture AND i will take more black and white photos to replace the others... who wants to place bets on how long this will take me??





i need to buy an actual entertainment center, the trunk will be leaving with the roommate

Day 140

the above picture is of the sky, in case you couldn't tell :)

i went on a bike ride after work today and i can totally see why people get addicted to this! there is something so freeing about riding super fast and being able to go for miles. the below pic is the view of north avenue from ohio street beach. that's about 8 miles from my home. it would take quite a while to get to the point where i was running 16 miles, but riding is a totally different story... and i love it. i think i'll try 20 this weekend :)

Day 139

this is my car. we are beginning to have a love-hate relationship. and today was one of those days when i hated it. i didn't have the best nights sleep but decided to meet with katie, my trainer, anyway. i got to the gym for my 6 am session and was greeted by one of the staff telling me i needed to call katie because she overslept. surprisingly, i wasn't mad at all. i guess since i wasn't really sleeping anyway it wasn't like i would have slept longer...

now, at this point most people would say, ok, i'm here so i might as well work out. well, not me! i hate the gym and the only reason i go is to work out with katie. so i promptly headed back downstairs to the locker room and decided to shower and get ready for work.

after i showered and finished getting ready i did my usual, headed to starbucks and then got in my car and drove to a side street to read my bible and pray before work. well, while reading and praying, my lights must not have gone off so when i was done, ready to get to work, my car wouldn't start :( and of course, it was one of those days, who i am kidding it is one of those weeks, where i just started to cry.

thankfully my friend dawn answered her phone, didn't mind driving to me and had jumper cables. it was definitely one of those divine appointments that morning. there was definitely a reason my trainer overslept and my car died. dawn was the blessing i needed that morning.

1 Peter 5:10: And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

Day 138

today was the chicago tabernacle's annual church picnic. i'd like to call this photo, right before the fall :)

Day 137

this is my new goal - well the bike isn't the goal. i bought the bike to accomplish my goal. i need to challenge myself physically, its a weird obsession i have and since i have run three marathons, one a year for the past three years, i thought i would try something different. so hopefully i will stay determined and by septmeber i'll be in good enough shape to do a century ride in evanston :)

Day 136

after a run and errands i headed to the toledos to celebrate suzie's graduation and birthday party. i got to see her artwork for the first time, very impressive - no wonder she is heading to the art institute for college!

armand, jamie and suzie

Day 135

jamie and i went to piazza bella in roscoe village for dinner tonight before prayer band. this is the cappuccino i knew i would need to keep me up :)

Day 134

i went to lunch with my dear friend colleen today and we walked by this flower, the only one in the whole garden. i would have walked right by it, but colleen noticed and suggested i take a pic of it. thanks colleen! for the idea and for being such a wonderful, encouraging and inspiring friend :)

Day 133

dinner. this is one of those frozen dinner things by contessa... surprisingly they taste really fresh and when you don't have time to cook, you can still eat a decent dinner and its ready super fast - okay, should i just write an ad for them?

Day 132

instead of posting a picture today, i thought i would post this piece a coworker sent me. i think it is relevant for everyone at various times in our lives but it is especially relevant for me during this season. sometimes we have no idea why things work out the way they do, but we do know our God loves us, cares for us and asks only that we trust him.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

Dancing With God

When I meditated on the word Guidance,

I kept seeing "dance" at the end of the word.

I remember reading that doing God's will is a lot like dancing.

When two people try to lead, nothing feels right.

The movement doesn't flow with the music,

and everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky.

When one person realizes that, and lets the other lead,

both bodies begin to flow with the music.

One gives gentle cues,

perhaps with a nudge to the back

or by pressing Lightly in one direction or another.

It's as if two become one body, moving beautifully.

The dance takes surrender, willingness,

and attentiveness from one person

and gentle guidance and skill from the other.

My eyes drew back to the word Guidance.

When I saw "G: I thought of God,

followed by "u" and "i".

"God, "u" and "i" dance."

God, you, and I dance.

As I lowered my head,

I became willing to trust

that I would get guidance about my life.

Once again, I became willing to let God lead.

My prayer for you today is that God's blessings

and mercies be upon you on this! day and everyday.

May you abide in God as God abides in you.

Dance together with God,

trusting God to lead

and to guide you through each season of your life.

Day 131

my unsuccessful attempt to capture the moon with a fog shadow and a back shadow on the tree just below... oh well, maybe next time!

Day 130

yesterday was the 5k and my friend david here, couldn't stand the thought of being beat by two girls (myself and my friend ashley). so he stuck by us throughout the race and then at the end he took off and i could not catch him. so he did "win." however, we wanted to remind him that anyone could run a 5k and not everyone has run a marathon so we made this shirt for him and gave it to him at church today... so funny (at least to us)!

"so you beat a girl..."

"was it after 26.2 miles?"

Day 129

this morning we had the first chicago tabernacle 5k run/walk to raise money for our youth missions trip to india. afterwards a few of us (like 20-something!) went to walker brothers for breakfast -so good

ashley, shelly, april and pia

me, anne, jamie and suzie

Day 128

this is my roommate friend ashley - can you tell they didn't want to be on my blog :)

Day 127

rip off! and i don't even drive an SUV :(

Day 126

i wish i had gotten a before pic. this is the courtyard outside my home. until today the grass was literally 6 inches tall! i am glad my assessment was finally put to work!

Day 125

no pic today :(

Day 124

tonight my friend cicely and i had dinner. she is such a blessing in my life - one of the most wonderful and godly women i know.

Day 123

today is mother's day and peter and i went to his parent's house to celebrate with his mom and sisters. this is katie and michael, two of his sister's children. katie loves the taste of the popsicle but it is a little too cold for her three teeth and little gums - too cute!

Day 122

buckingham fountain. i went on a bike ride today and couldn't resist this pic, the wind was crazy today!

i spent some time by the lake today, reading and praying. it was a little chilly, but overall pretty nice. if it was warm year round in chicago, this really would be the best city in america!

Day 121

the best bakery in chicago - yum!

Day 120

tulips - i love spring :)

this is trump's chicago project- the very beginning. this thing is going to be huge!

Day 119

tonight we went to a cub's game for amy's birthday. this is a pic of the score board where we were able to get her a little happy birthday recognition. oh, and the cubs won too!

Day 118

i was driving to youth tonight when i realized, wow, it has really bloomed here! i don't know why this is so surprising to me, i feel like every spring i do that, beg and plead for winter to end and spring appear, and then it does and i miss it.

Day 117

this evening's to-do list; sift through the pile of bills and junk... fun :(

Day 116

laundry night again - i swear, peter does more laundry here than i do!

Day 115

after the race, the four of us went down to bloomington to check out my and tracy's old stomping grounds, indiana university. on our way back we stopped at oliver winery- this is peter and i goofing off while trying to "climb" a stonehenge-like rock sculpture. it was fun :)

post-race - me, tracy, april. april ran the 1/2 marathon, so proud of her, she did awesome!!

today we ran the 5k. i had to get a picture of these girls, they were walking around the family reunion area after the race - hilarious! i wonder if they found dates?!?!

Day 114

today we drove to indianapolis for a 5k race. we were supposed to run a 1/2 marathon but all four of us (tracy, tojy, peter and i) demoted ourselves to the 5k since none of us trained. anyway, this is peter trying to keep up with the ladies... is this a foreshadow to tomorrow?? hmmm.....

Day 113

no pic today :(

Day 112

today i had lunch with my dear friend dawn! the problem with this photo? i am getting wrinkles around my eyes :(

Day 111

so i forgot to take a photo today, so this is a pic of my nephew again :) i think this is hilarious!