This past week

This last weekend was a treat to myself, even though it was also busy and crazy. The Illinois Music Teacher's Association had their yearly conference in Peoria. I haven't been to Peoria since I served my mission there. I called up a family that I worked with and I got to spend the night with them on Thursday night. Mike and Janelle and their kids Livia and Seth are doing so well and I loved being able to see them. Friday I spent the whole day at the conference, but Saturday I was able to contact Dorothy peer, a woman we had worked with at the local food bank. I went and helped give away food Saturday morning with Dorothy and talked with the elders that are severing in Peoria now. My mission was dissolved this last year and borders were realigned, so it was interesting to hear how things are functioning now.
The weekend got the better of me though. I had a headache worse than I have had in a very long time on Friday, and because I was not at home, I didn't have the right medicine. My body ended up crashing once I got back to Chicago, and I couldn't even stand up without falling over Monday morning, so I couldn't go to school, and slept the entire day. I went to classes on Tuesday, but didn't really participate, just listened. Halfway through the day Northwestern announced that because of the approaching blizzard all classes were cancelled after 5:00 P.M. It was already snowing by 2:00, but I had to stay for choir. Getting home at 5:00 was a little crazy. The wind was blowing everywhere, and taking the "L" home went a lot slower than it normally would. My roommates and I all got home safe, and we sat and watched the wind whip the snow everywhere from our windows. Lake Michigan had huge waves crashing up onto the shore line, and people and cars were stranded all over the city. We had 70 mph winds blowing and it was the first time in my life I have ever seen and heard it lightning and thunder during a snow storm. Northwestern closed school for Wednesday late Tuesday night. Pretty much everything shut down. We got 20 inches of snow that night, but the wind made it seem like much more because of the drifts. My car was completely buried, and then with the snowplows it was completely stuck. Thursday I tried to buy a snow shovel, but every store in the Lincoln Park area was sold out, so I bought one when I went up to Evanston for classes. It took me probably two hours to dig out my car. Many people in Chicago will put lawn chairs or other furniture in their parking spot once they have dug themselves out because they spent so much time clearing their parking space. Unfortunately I don't have any spare furniture to put in my parking space I had to dig out. The sun melted the snow on the south side of my car. Right after it snowed I couldn't see any of my car.

January Catch-up

It has been a crazy month! I thought I couldn't get busier than I was last quarter, but I have had less time to get more things done this quarter. Somehow I survive though.
I started right back in school on January 3rd. I really love my classes, but they are taking so much time. I am taking a music and technology class, a interdisciplinary curriculum class, I'm mentoring/taking the undergraduate general music methods class, and I'm taking conducting lessons as well as continuing with Chapel Choir. It keeps me really busy, but I'm learning lots. Sometimes all I can say is "whew."
My second weekend back I took a road trip to Nashville, Tennessee to go to my friend Tessa's wedding. I drove to my brother's house in Carterville, Il on Friday, then got up early and drove the rest of the way to Nashville Saturday morning. It was so great to be able to be there with Tessa and Paul. Tessa was such a beautiful bride and I loved being able to also see Katie, Kate, and Melissa who had flown in for the wedding. It was such a long drive, that I had to leave before the reception to make it back to my brother, Whitney's house before it got too late. I was so happy to be able to go though.







My nieces showered me with affection, and luckily it was Eleanor's birthday while I was there. We had such a fun time playing college and dress-ups, and the girls got to see Star Wars for the first time ever. I love having Whitney's family close, even though it is still five hours away.

The next weekend I had to complete a project for school. My requirement was to go to any type of arts exhibit and experience one work without any knowledge of it, then find out about it and re-experience it. My friend Amanda had gone to the Jim Henson exhibit the weekend I was in Nashville, but she offered me a few free vouchers she had to go the next weekend. I took two friends and we went to explore "Jim Henson's Fantastic World." I was so glad I had to go for school otherwise I probably would have felt guilty going even though I will never have the chance like this to explore Chicago later. Somehow I made it all fit in. It was so much fun to go to the Museum of Science and Industry and see a few of the other exhibits besides the Henson exhibit.







This was the same weekend we had two general authorities come visit the young single adults in Chicago. It was a very packed weekend. Packed has been the story of my life though.