Day 171

(18 mile marker on the south side!)

i went on a bike ride this morning - 38 miles! i totally kicked my own butt, it was still a blast though :) unlike when i run, when i ride i like to listen to my ipod. there is something really liberating about riding as fast as you can with music blaring in your ears. it was like life stopped for the 2.5 hours i was riding, and when the ride was over, life looked really good and it still does and it will tomorrow and the next day and the next day and the next day... :)

(view of the city from the south side)

Day 170

afternoon treat, makes me smile

Day 169

i love my ipod and speakers!

Day 168

i went for a ride before work today :)

Day 167

(moody bible institute)

today marks my one year anniversary at moody and this saturday marks my one year of owning a home – my how this year has flown by. i was thinking on my drive home today, what have i learned in the past year? and the more i thought about it, the more i realized i’m just not one of those people who has profound wisdom to share. in fact, when i think about a lot of the things i have learned they seem rather elementary and basic, almost embarrassing really. i had a lot of “duh!” moments this past year. so let me humor you and make you feel really smart:

regarding owning a home:
1) owning a home really is a HUGE responsibility – HGTV and TLC make it look easy
2) if you don’t fix your healed shoes, the nail will make marks in your hard wood floors
3) if you have granite countertops, ask if the contractor sealed them. don’t find out by spilling coffee on it and noticing the stain will not go away
4) hire painters. it might seem like fun and cheap to paint your own place but it really isn’t worth it. spend the money!
5) make your home comfortable, a place where people can really feel welcomed and loved (still working on this one)

regarding work:
1) feeling inadequate forces you to rely on God, right where i need to be
2) to whom much is given much is expected
3) take a risk, you can only learn from it regardless of outcome

regarding life:
1) being desperate for God is the only place to be
2) God is bigger than the box i have a tendency to put him in
3) you can know someone your whole life and still not really know them, but if you share a faith that can move mountains, you may know a person 10 minutes and feel like you have known them your whole life
4) pride has many faces and they aren’t all obvious
5) learning to love yourself is a lot easier said than done
6) no matter how much i might think i know someone’s situation, i don’t
7) a blessing is a blessing, enjoy it

i am sure i could go on, but i think i have made you all feel smart enough. by the way, most of those life lessons i have learned in the last 6 weeks… hmm… why is it that when we are being refined we listen so much better?

Day 166

dinner tonight, yum. went for a run, did laundry. reward, thai food :)

Day 165

i had to include a picture of my nephew again today. he is just too cute :)

nantucket airport - this island is so cute it almost makes you want to puke... haha!

this is the small plane i took on today and friday. did i mention the plane is so small they have to ask you how much you weigh before you get on! and those little cubby holes are where they put our carry-on luggage.

Day 164

(clockwise from the far left: kerri, me, ehren, britt, kelly, morgan)

today was the wedding. it was beautiful, on the beach, bright sunshine and everyone looked beautiful, especially lara (the bride). it was great to see our cousin so happy, he is by far one of the most upstanding men you will ever meet - such a blessing to be there to witness his special day :)

Day 163

today i traveled to nantucket island, off the coast of massachusetts, for my cousins brian's wedding. this is a picture of the cockpit of the "puddle jumper" i took from providence to the island. i had never been on a plane this small before nor sat this close to the cock-pit. it was actually pretty cool, very loud but pretty cool.

my family flew in as well and we all went to dinner. i don't care what anyone says, my nephew is seriously the cutest baby ever! i love him :)

Day 162

today i had lunch with colleen, we do this almost every thursday. we ate at karyn's, a vegan restaurant that is surprisingly awesome. it is always a blessing spending time with her - isn't she cute :)

Day 161

whistler, BC (august 2006)

a friend shared this with me today - what she has been learning over the past few weeks/months. she had no idea how much this blessed me.

"one thing i've learned (am learning) in this whole process is trust and really, genuinely walking in faith. not a faith in a particular outcome, but faith in God. every time i've tried to 'help things along' in one direction or another, its stalled out. something always comes up, so clearly the timing and outcome really is in God's hands. now that i'm understanding that, i'm beginning to really understand the peace that comes with it. "

that is my prayer, to trust my God and let Him take control of every situation in my life. in all honesty, the God who created the scene in that picture, created me, i think i should trust Him. he seems to know what he is doing. praise the Lord for women of faith.

Day 160

i took the day off work to spend time with my sister (that's her and ben above). she was driving through town on her way from california to connecticut. i took them to some of my favorite restaurants in chicago, nookies for lunch (although they serve an awesome breakfast as well) and heartland cafe (below with catia) for dinner. it was a beautiful day and so nice to have time together.

Day 159

tracy was sitting on the couch just eating her cornbread when all of a sudden she looks at me with doe eyes and says, "i can't eat bread!" she was so sad, i just had to laugh. she's on a low-carb diet for the wedding and totally forgot for about 10 minutes - quality.

Day 158

this sunday tracy gave her testimony during our church's choir concert. it was so powerful! i tried to get a good pic of her without being distracting, this was the best i could do. it is amazing when you have the privilege of seeing God's transforming power in action. her life and walk are an inspiration to me and so many others.

Day 157

we went to valparaiso, in today for a shower thrown by tracy's aunt. my friend pamela got this pic for me, i thought it was cute. not sure what was so funny about muffin tins, but apparently they are hilarious.

this morning i got up early to go on a bike ride before we began a day of wedding festivities for tracy. i thought i was going to be up early enough for the sun rise, but apparently i was way off.. who knew the sun was this high by 6am :)

Day 156

i don't have a picture for today...

Day 155

beware of mary kay! when i used to work in the illinois center downtown, there were three times that random women came up to me to tell me they liked my coat, my purse or my hair... each time they were trying to "talk" to me to get their foot in the door for me to buy their mary kay products... well today was tracy's turn and this is the pic of the card - haha

Day 154

this is tonight's dinner. looking at it you might think, wow, she might be a healthy eater... oh, don't be fooled friend - i ate this for dinner knowing full well that when tracy and i were done cleaning the house we were going to head to dairy queen for blizzards. yum!

Day 153

tonight we went to valparaiso, in for tracy's final fitting. she looks so wonderful in her dress. it was like it was made specifically for her :)

Day 152

almost every monday ashley and i get together and run. it is such a blessing for both of us :)

Day 151

today we went to evanston, tracy's boss rebecca hosted a shower for her. it was so nice and we all had a good time mixing her worlds :) she will be married in one month - i can't believe it! i think this whole month will be bitter sweet, so excited to see her marry this amazing man but i sure will miss the best roommate, friend and sister in Christ anyone could ever be blessed with :) she will be an amazing wife as she already is an amazing woman of God.

Day 150

this morning was my first ride with some friends and they pushed me like crazy! these girls can ride, that is for sure. i know that if i keep riding with them i will be in great biking shape in no time :) it is so cool how the Lord works. when i first came to my church, i needed a running partner and right away he provided my friend ashley. she and i have the same determination, running speed and commitment. and he has provided again with these girls! they have the same drive and determination as i do. such a blessing :)

shelly, me and mandy

Day 149

today my roommate, tracy, and i took the day off and headed to the burbs to run some errands for her wedding. she had her practice hair done today and it turned out perfect. praise the Lord! we started off the day by heading to a local coffee shop where they make a leaf design in every latte. pretty cute.

this picture was taken by a bored tracy as we sat in traffic on our way back to the city. she took quite a few more but i thought this was the best.

after traffic and getting our nails done, we headed to mystic celt for dinner. i don't know what happened, but at some point this piece of metal started to fall off the bottom of my car. we drove through the lakeview southport neighborhood making the loudest noise ever! it sounded like we had tied 3 dozen tin cans to the back of the car. needless to say we were cracking up! especially as we noticed the looks we were getting from people. tracy still had her hair done so she was sticking her head out the window yelling just married - hilarious! this is me at a stop sign, laughing and trying to talk at the same time...

this is the piece that was dragging on the street the whole way home!

Day 148

this is my friend ashleigh. she was such a sport tonight to let me take a picture of her. she came to prayer meeting with me tonight and we got to catch up for the first time in a long time. i love her persistent optimism in life - i am hoping it will rub off on me :)

at prayer meeting tonight pastor armand spoke about living faith and how if we possess living faith we have nothing to fear. living faith produces godly living, knowing that even if the Lord does not give us anything again, we have everything we need because we have him. how peaceful life would be if we could live life like that.

Day 147

cicely's butter cookies- some of the best cookies i have ever had and a great fundraiser for her mission trip to kenya. she is going back to africa for her second trip with the buckner orphan foundation. this time though she is leading a group of three people and essentially interning for them. i am so excited for her, although i am afraid she might come home with a few children (haha!). i truly admire cicely's faith and her obedience to the Lord's call on her life. he has great things in store for her :)

Day 146

cicely and mandy - this is why they are youth leaders! on our way to the park to play softball tonight, cicely and mandy jumped on this seesaw and had a blast. gotta love them :)

Day 145

tonight i painted my toe nails, so there they are... who puts their feet on their own blog?!?! so wierd! oh well, at least i can laugh at myself - haha!

Day 144

tonight tracy and i had some much needed, although i don't think i realized how much it was needed, roommate time. we drove to southport to get DQ and the line was out the door and half way down the block, so we decided to drive to another one. we got there and it was closed :( so we settled on mcflurries, so not as good as a blizzard!

Day 143

this is my friend jenn, she is originally from queens and was sporting a yankees hat, as was i, so we had to get a pic. today was the women's book club at church where i am a facilitator (so is jenn). this is one of the most challenging things i have ever done but one of the most rewarding as well. i am not gifted in this area, by any means, but the Lord continues to bless each group i facilitate. it is amazing how when you are desperate fro him, recognizing you can't do it without him, he comes in, blesses it and makes it happen. i am so grateful and thankful to know that with or without me, the Lord will meet these ladies. what a relief :)

tonight i had a few girlfriends over and made this dessert, cheese blintzes with fruit salsa. it was actually pretty good, but you would have no idea by looking at these little things they would be so filling. besides the dessert, it was such a blessing to have my girlfriends over: dawn, helen and cicely are such a blessing, so encouraging and women i really do admire.

Day 142

these are my cranberry-orange scones, i made them for the book club tomorrow morning. one problem, i forgot that i needed to double the recipe - oops! my brain is elsewhere these days.