Christmas Break in Utah

I got to go home to Utah for almost three weeks for Christmas Break. It was so great to spend time with my family and a few friends that I was able to see. It was a little more difficult to get around because I didn't have my car in Utah, but my sisters were wonderful and drove me or let me borrow their cars when I needed them. I got to go to Temple Square with some of my friends from my old ward. I spent some time with Lucie, which was wonderful.









I also got to go to my neighbor Hayley's wedding. She's like my little sister, and it was wonderful to be able to be in Utah for it. If it wasn't over the break I wouldn't have been able to be there.
Christmas Day was a crazy, wonderful day. I house jumped between all my sister's houses several time all day long. I felt very loved because everyone wanted me with them all day long.

Finals and my little break

After Thanksgiving I started right into finals. Actually, I spent a large part of my Thanksgiving break at my brother's working on final papers. I had three twenty page papers to finish in a week and a half.
It was very busy, however, I did get to take a little break one night when my friend Adam came to town for a business trip and I got to be his tour guide for one evening. We went to the German Christkindle market. I told Adam it was going to be cold, but he didn't believe me. We had to stop and buy a hat and gloves because it was so cold. We went to see the lights on the Magnificent Mile, and had deep dish pizza at Gino's East. We finished by going to the Hancock Tower to see the view and have cheesecake. (The Hancock Tower is almost as tall as the Sears Tower, and instead of paying $16 for a ticket to go up, you can go to the lounge in the top floor and get food and the view for less. Unfortunately for Adam, the best view from the tower is the window from the women's bathroom on the top floor.) It was nice to have one evening not thinking about school. I had to work very hard to make it possible though.


The Christmas Tree at the Daley Plaza where the Christkindle market was


Walking around Chicago you cross the Chicago River several times. The bridges are quite pretty.


This is where I took Adam for Chicago style, deep dish pizza--I ate a salad.


The view from the women's restroom-- I took some pictures for Adam since he couldn't go in.




As a reward for finishing finals I got to go to Wicked with some friends here in Chicago. It was wonderful!

Thanksgiving Dinner

Yesterday I drove to my brother's house so I could spend Thanksgiving with them. I walked in after driving five hours in rain, and the girls ran up and hugged me even before I was able to set any of my bags down. I got to play with them for a little bit, but I also have finals next week, so I am spending lots of time working on one of my three 20 page papers. However, besides just working, I have played with the girls. We all went to see Tangled today after we ate Thanksgiving. (The newest Disney movie about Rapunzel. It was really cute.) Then we decorated Whitney and Connie's Christmas tree. I love that many of my siblings have carried on the tradition started by my parents to add one ornament for each child every year. It makes opening up the ornaments so much fun. We finished off the evening eating pumpkin and apple pie, and reading Christmas stories. The girls are now all in bed, and I am going to be working on my paper for a while longer tonight.

Giving Thanks

I am thankful that I have wonderful parents, that have set an amazing example for me to follow.
I am thankful for the opportunity I have to be in school. It is an opportunity that not everyone gets, and not everyone appreciates.
I am thankful for the gifts of the spirit that Heavenly Father has blessed me with. I am even more thankful for the opportunity I have to use them, and the opportunity I have to seek additional gifts.
I am thankful for prayer. I don't know what I would do if I wasn't able to communicated with Heavenly Father on a frequent basis. I am thankful for the knowledge I have that he hears me, knows my heart, and answers me with answers that are even better than what I ask for.
I am thankful for the opportunity I have to learn from others, especially those that are different from me. I'm getting that quite a bit here in Chicago, and I'm coming to love more and to understand more.
I am thankful for the promptings of the Holy Ghost. These comfort, protect, guide, and especially help me to be an instrument in the Lord's hands. I'm thankful that you were examples of listening to and following the promptings of the spirit and taught me to follow the spirit while I was little.
I am thankful for the covenants I have made in the temple. I am thankful that the Chicago temple is close enough that I can attend the temple often. I am thankful for the peace that is found inside, for the joy that comes from serving, and for the ability I have to come a little closer to my Heavenly Father.
I am thankful for the knowledge I have that lets me see past the things of the world, and hold fast to the things of the gospel. Without that foundation, it would be easy to be enticed by the things of the world. I am thankful that I know I am on the right path, and I know how to return to the path when I falter.
I am thankful for my knowledge that I am a child of God. I love you both so much, and that helps me understand my relationship with my Heavenly Father so much more.
I am thankful for the scriptures, for the truths contained therein. I am thankful for the prophets through the ages that have taught us truth. I am thankful that the gospel was restored through the prophet, Joseph Smith, and that Thomas S. Monson is the prophet on the earth today.
I am thankful for my patriarchal blessing that promises me blessings beyond measure. I know as I live righteously, those promises will be fulfilled.
I am thankful for the many opportunities I have to invite others to come unto Christ. I am thankful that Heavenly Father allows me to do some of his work here on earth.
I am thankful for the opportunity I have to be a teacher, especially a teacher of children. I find such joy doing this. I miss it right now, but I know that I am where I am supposed to be.
I am so thankful for our family. I am thankful for my brothers and sisters and how they will drop whatever they are doing to help me when I need help. I wouldn't be able to do what I am doing without their help.
I am thankful for my nieces and and nephews. Right now I am at Whitney and Connie's house and Aralia, Adelyne, and Eleanor are so full of love.
I am thankful for my rainboots. Two days ago it rained hard all day, and there was standing water probably nine inches deep as I walked from the train back home. (The gutters were clogged with all the leaves). My feet stayed dry all day, and I could even splash in the puddles and not be worried.
I am thankful that I have a washer and dryer in my apartment. I don't know when I would find time to do laundry otherwise.
I am thankful that after I finish writing three 20 page papers, (in two weeks) I get to fly home to Utah to spend Christmas with our family there.
I'm thankful that my parents are serving a mission in the Philippines. What a great thing for our whole family.

The blessings of family

I just wanted to say how grateful this time getting my masters has made me for my family. They have been my constant support system from far away. I call my sisters all the time to edit my papers, for advice in research, all sorts of things. I called my brother when I had no idea how to do my research stats assignment. I honestly don't know how I would get through school with out them, and none of them are here with me. I have the best family ever.
This week I took a little break from school on Thursday night/Friday morning and went with Lori, my roommate, and several other people from our branch to see Harry Potter. (My roommate Elizabeth was supposed to go too, but she has been so sick all week that going for a midnight showing was not the best idea. The theater we went to is ingenious. We had reserved seats, just like if we were going to a Broadway show, so we didn't have to be there hours early to get good seats. I think it is so interesting that even though I re-read Harry Potter right before I moved to Chicago, and knew exactly what was going to happen, I still jumped in parts.
Today we had the missionaries over for dinner. I had invited my visiting teaching companion and one of the girls we visit teach over, which was good because you have to have at least three females to be able to feed the missionaries, and Elizabeth was still sick today.
The next two weeks are going to be crazy. I have three 20+ page papers due, and I am driving to my brother's this week for Thanksgiving. Somehow it will all get accomplished though. I just remember that Heavenly Father has it all in control.

Monteverdi'sVespers

Tonight I am performing Monteverdi's Vespers written in 1610 with Chapel Choir and the Baroque Music Ensemble. It's been a bigger time commitment than I expected,but a good experience too. This is a picture of the Alice Millar Chapel on Northwestern's campus where we performed tonight.
I've been super crazy with school. I only have two more weeks until Thanksgiving, then one week of school after that, and then the second week of December is finals. It's a big push to the end of this quarter.

Halloween!

Fall is absolutely beautiful! I love the trees right now. I know I posted a picture of the Chicago Temple last week, but I went again this week and the trees were so gorgeous that I took more pictures.
So, for the first time in my life I won a Halloween costume contest (as part of a collective group of people). We had a multi-stake YSA Halloween dance in Naperville, and my roommates and I decided we would dress up as the characters from CLUE, after Lori decided that would be the best costume for all of us. We just had to recruit enough gentlemen to play the male roles. That was not as easy as it sounds. Two of the guys we had to convince to go to the dance first before we could even bring up the idea of having them join our costume group. It all turned out really well though.


Merrill--Mr. Green, Matt--Colonel Mustard, Doug--Professor Plum, Chris--Mr. Body, Me--Miss Scarlett, Lori--Mrs. Peacock, Elizabeth--Ms. White

Chicago in the fall

When I walk to church with my roommates, we pass OZ Park on the way there. This park has statues of all the main characters in the Wizard of Oz. I had to do something about that. So, here is a picture taken on the way home from church today...



And here is a picture I took of the Chicago temple this past Friday. The leaves are turning and everything is gorgeous.

Happy Birthday to Me!

This past Monday was my 28th birthday. My roommates were darling and planned an FHE birthday party for me. Elizabeth organized everything, made lots of treats, including my lemon cake/raspberry sherbet-ice cream cake. It was delicious. We played a German birthday party game, which entailed tying suckers on a string, and having people jump to get the suckers off the string (using arms was not allowed.) Since I was the birthday girl, I got to enjoy watching everyone else. It was the best laugh I have had in a while. Lori pulled out her Rock Band and everyone loved it. Don't I have amazing roommates? It was a marvelous birthday!

Here's a few pictures to document the event.

Daily life as I know it

This is when my philosophy class went to the Museum of Contemporary Art together. These are the doctoral and masters students in Music Education, and a music theory masters' student who is taking the philosophy class with us, plus our professor. We are missing one doctoral student because she just had a baby a few weeks ago, and one masters student because he couldn't make it to the museum that day. It's a very small group of students.

I've been getting into more of a routine as I've figured out my schedule a little bit more. I usually get up around 6:00 A.M. each school day. This gives me time to read my scriptures and eat breakfast before I head to school by 7:15 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Mondays and Wednesdays I use a treadmill, bike, or elliptical machine in the gym on the first floor our our building while reading. I leave for school on Mondays and Wednesdays around 9:00. In every spare minute I have, I am constantly reading. The time I take commuting to Evanston on the "L" is always homework time, reading for one of my classes. My assignments for all of my classes makes it so that I'm reading anywhere from 150-200 pages a night. I try to skim where I can, but it's harder to get the gist of scholarly journals if you aren't paying close attention. I'm figuring out the balance though.
I have class until 6:00 P.M. Monday night, 5:30 P.M. Tuesday and Thursday, and depending on which Institute class I go to either 6:30 or 9:00 P.M. on Wednesdays. Fridays are my homework days. I love it! I don't have to go to Evanston, so I have time to write papers and get things done here. I've also been trying to go to the temple Friday during the day sometime because it is much easier to drive when most people are at work, and it actually means I can find a parking spot on the street somewhere when I get back. Going to the temple during the day also makes me feel really needed. Every time I've been when it isn't Friday night or Saturday, I am one of the only patrons in the temple. It's so different from going to Provo, where there were several people there no matter what time I went.
Parking here is crazy. If I don't find a spot sometime between 10 A.M. and 3 P.M., it takes me 30-45 minutes to find a spot anywhere to park, and it's usually four or five blocks away from my apartment. I have been impressed with my ability to parallel park though. I didn't know I would be able to get into spots that only had a few inches in front of me and a few inches in back of me, but I've done it several times. It makes me thankful that my car is small.
Saturdays I also get caught up on homework, and I have a class at the downtown Northwestern campus from 1-4 P.M. This is nice because I can take a bus and be there in 15 minutes. I also love that my Saturday class is interesting, but not quite as heavy a course load as all of my other classes. It's a huge blessing.
I'm trying to get to know people in the branch here, but it is a lot harder because everyone is so spread out. It's good for me though to have to make an extra effort. The closest girls to me are about a ten minute walk away. I've been putting together weekly lunches for anyone who is in Evanston (whether in school or working there) so that we can have a little more social time. It's just a small group of us, but it does give me a sense of connection to a few people.
I'm trying to take time while it's still warm to see a little bit more of Chicago. This week that didn't happen because I was swamped with school, but it's one of my goals before it turns frigid.