life just got better

i decided to put aside lesson planning, classroom management, and envisioning my students' academic goals and go to town...literally. i looooove walking by myself in downtown chicago. and today, life got better.

i got a free michael jackson tribute concert from a rockin bum who plays the drums like a ninja...and by drums i mean plastic buckets.

i walked into sephora and surprise! free facial day. beautiful.

i saw a huge "coming soon" sign for ZARA, which means that all my favorite stores will now be in the same place. thank you, chicago.

since i am currently husbandless, i had to find the next best thing...the lego grandpa. this picture was completely embarassing to take as fifty people stared at me. soak it up.

this puppy is my transportation of choice lately

the husband and uhaul truck will be arriving this week.
can't.wait.

fathers

happy father's day to our dads

life just wouldn't be complete without you

we love you

IIT

this is the illinois institute of technology on the south side of the city -- where i'll be living for the next month and a half. the cool thing about it is that the EL train runs directly through campus.

check this out: there is a 7-eleven in the student center! slurpees 24-7. why didn't BYU think of this?

while the buildings are all very mod and built by famous architects, the dorms are not. i would say on a scale of a shack to helaman-halls-quality, the dorms are probably a 5. there is no way to turn off the air conditioning, so while it is 90 outside, i pile on the clothes in my room!

yesterday i ventured into the very south west side of the city by public transit. i was nervous because all the crime, drive-bys, and murders you hear about happen here. obviously i stood out as a white girl dressed in business clothes. i did not see one other white person on my hour and a half trip on the EL, the bus, and walking. i went and interviewed at a school down there, and when the center director found out i had taken public transit, she offered to drive me home. she couldn't believe it. apparently, this part of town + this part of public transit has a very bad rap for "white girls" traveling alone. but, it was good too. i took public transit back to the institute of technology and felt totally safe. i'm getting to know my territory since poverty and different ethnic backgrounds are what i'll be facing in september when i begin teaching.

i made it

i'm here. i made it to chicago for my six week intensive teaching institute for my upcoming job. i am living in dorms in the HOOD. i hear police sirens like crazy. biggest blessing of my life = i have my own dorm room! even though everyday i think to myself "didn't i get married so i never had to live in dorms again?" never say never.

i have been eating many chewy granola bars (costco box), and getting information jammed in my face. and it's only the beginning...let the craziness begin!

here's what i've learned so far:
- chicago is still awesome. we already knew that.
- straightened hair and chicago do not mix well. hello humidity!
- cherish your bed. if you forget how much you love your bed, go sleep in a dorm room
- this teacher thing is maybe going to be the hardest thing i've ever done in my life (today i was told that most of the parents at a school i might teach at are younger than me)
- i cannot believe how much i take my education for granted. i feel so lucky.

next week, i begin teaching summer school in a pre-k classroom down the street. if all goes as planned, i'll have some good stories to tell...

boxes galore

it's moving time! i don't even know what i would do without my mom because she basically packed our whole apartment this weekend. that woman knows how to move. but can i just say that moving is awful? gross.

we're super excited and nervous (me) for a big change, but a little sad to leave behind our utah valley friends and family. in approximately two finals and twenty-four hours, i'll be gone with nate following behind in a week or two with the uhaul truck. goodbye for now, provo.

oh hair

every couple of months, i start itching for a hair change. cut it? dye it? what to do what to do. lately, it's been bangs. i have debated and debated...and then i looked at this picture...

and remembered what i look like with blunt bangs...scratch that.

and now, i'm just wishing i had my super long hair back.

testing 1 2 3

i briefly visited our soon-to-be motherland for 24 hours to take my teaching certification tests this weekend. YIKES. not that the test was any MCAT, but yikes. i get so anxious, and i haven't touched a math book, looked at a math problem, or even glanced at a fraction in 6 YEARS.

after eight hours of tests, a crazy cab ride, listening to a woman tell me about how her daughter was murdered in milwaukee 12 years ago, and a little chicago sunshine, i am back in utah valley only to leave for good next week.

hopefully i passed all of those tests...!

my grandmother's jewelry

i always wanted to be one of those girls who wore her grandmother's vintage jewelry because...i'm a romantic. my grandmother died when i was six, but i still remember so many things about her. she laughed loudly, gave tight hugs, wore the best outfits, and had beautiful, eclectic, sparkly, huge jewelry. she used to dress me up in crazy outfits and let me try on her clip-on earrings. what six-year-old girl wouldn't be in heaven?

years later, i inherited some of her jewelry. there are so many ways that i want to be like her, and i love wearing her jewelry to remind me.

some are just pretty...

...and some have a story. she used to buy a charm from every new country she traveled to...this one is from argentina, in the 1960s obviously (did they wear bell bottoms in argentina?)

and some, i just have no idea. sign language "t"? lucky hand? flea market? who knows. i'd really like to ask her about this one.

a thought...

today someone asked if you woke up one day and could only have what you thanked God for last night, what would you have?

we've been really blessed.
i've been thinking a lot lately about trying to be more grateful and recognizing the simple things that make me happy. we went to the salt lake temple to celebrate our anniversary and it got me thinking about some little things i'm thankful for lately...

our bed
popsicles
books
email
cars
parents
a place to live
hot showers
sunshine
skirts
friends
sandals
finishing independent study forever!
air conditioning
jobs
nathan lawler