My new favorite shoes

I recently bought a new pair of shoes and, quite unexpectedly, they have turned into my new favorites! I say "unexpectedly" for several reasons. First, I had never shopped at the store where these shoes are from, and the only reason I was there is because Alex desperately wanted to go. Second, I almost didn't buy the shoes - I tried them on, liked them but put them back, and walked around the entire store before I decided to give them a try. Then, I left them in their box for two weeks debating about returning them.

In the end, however, I did start wearing them and now I LOVE them - the Women's Suede Mocs from Cabela's!

I bought them thinking they'd be ideal for track meets - water resistant, good traction, and comfortable for all day with an orthotic footbed. Turns out those features also make it great for the dog park (which is why mine are rather dirty), taking walks, or wearing to work on a casual day. AND they were only $25 on sale.

If you're looking for a new pair of casual walking shoes, I would highly recommend these.

We're halway there!

A lot of people say the first year of marriage is the hardest of them all...well if that's the case, we're halfway through the tough stuff! Monday was our 6 month anniversary, so I thought I'd mark the occasion with another burst of marital wisdom :)

1 - It's really fun to swap stories with other people who are married: We recently joined a "young marrieds" small group through our church, and it has been a great opportunity to meet new people that are quickly becoming friends. It's also great because it gives us a chance to commiserate/laugh about the common elements of every marriage. Last time we got together, there was a lot of, "wait, your husband does that too?" It's nice to know you're not the only ones!

2 - When it comes to home improvement projects, always measure twice: Last week there was a blizzard in Chicago, so we took the day off to hang curtains in our living room, a task we'd talked about for awhile. We got out the drill, stepladder, and curtain rod brackets and went to work. Alex did a great job getting the curtain rod up, we slide on the curtains, and voila - the curtains are hovering awkwardly 3 inches above the ground. Bummer. So, a short TV watching break later, Alex undid all of his hard work, spackled the old holes, and drilled new ones. Now the curtains look perfect :)

3 - When making a major purchase, know your strengths: We recently made our first big married couple purchase: we bought a car. As we went through the car buying process, we learned a lot about each others' strengths and weaknesses. I loved the planning - I made our budget, looked up tax/fee information, scouted cars, planned our shopping route, etc. But when it came to talking to the sales people, I learned to just sit quietly - Alex is a way better negotiator than me! I got totally flustered, both negotiating and making the final purchase. Thankfully, Alex had the confidence to pull the trigger when the time came and after all that, it was definitely the right decision.

4 - Always take sound Biblical marriage insight to heart: This Sunday at church, we heard a sermon that provided some really great marriage insight. In fact, it was so good, that I think you'd all get something out of it. Watch it here - it's the "Marriage and Intimacy Redefined" lesson with Dan Allender. Don't worry - it's not intimacy in "the Biblical sense", so it's safe for all ages :)

That's all for now - here's to 6 more months of martial bliss!

Snow day in Chicago!

Yesterday was the first snow day for Chicago public schools since 1999! That's right, we'd gone 11 winters without a snow day, but Tuesday's blizzard took everyone out on Wednesday. And I've got to say, it was pretty fun :)

Tuesday night Alex and I ventured out into the storm twice with Leonidas - our strategy was that he went ahead of me and carved a path and then dug out around some trees so the little guy to take care of business. Poor little thing got so much snow whipped in his face with the wind, he looked almost completely white from the front. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a picture because, well, we were out in a blizzard.

Wednesday, the sun came out so the shovels came out! Here is Alex with our neighbor digging a path from the front door to our cars.


What you can't see here is that the sidewalks are completely buried everywhere else, and the snow is waist high in places. As in, we may not see a sidewalk until the spring. But all in all, the blizzard was great - now today feels sort of like a Monday but it's already Thursday!

The blizzard is coming!

Turns out this blizzard really is coming...could be the worst storm we've had since the 60's. Whoa. Schools are closing early today, already closed for tomorrow, and I certainly won't be into work, at least in the morning. For full effect, check out the radar of the Chicago area as of 5:00 tonight: