OK, I know I never write here on my blog anymore. And this is a silly reason for a random post...but I am a sucker for contests and free stuff. I entered a contest to win a SleepNumber bed and I have to post this link on my blog, so here you go (feel free to enter yourself! These beds are amazing...):

Currently Reading Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia By Elizabeth Gilbert see related

Moving forward...

After several months of evaluating options and job searching, Nate got the news last week that he has a job in Chicagoland! Thanks to our wonderful friend David Chambers, Nate will be working at Christianity Today as a Marketing Coordinator. It has all happened really fast - he accepted the position last Monday and promptly gave his two weeks notice at his current job. He found temporary housing with a friend of mine a few days later and worked out more long term housing with a college friend starting June 1st. He has wrapped up things in Minneapolis and will be moving here this weekend. Wow! After 6 months of a long distance relationship, we are thrilled and excited at the prospect of living in the same town and getting to do everyday things together. Seeing each other consistently and sharing in each other's daily lives should be a wonderful blessing and these past 6 months will help us to not take these "everyday things" for granted.

Here are photos from some other recent highlights from life...

Riding the train in Minneapolis Easter weekend.

Last week, I had a short 2-day trip to Cancun to check out a hotel for an upcoming event. It was gorgeous there...this was the view from my balcony.

On Sunday, I ran the Shamrock Shuffle 8K in downtown Chicago! There were many Wheaties in town for a little reunion we planned and 6 of us ran it together. I clocked in at 52:40 and successfully raised $590 for World Vision.

This past weekend was a great reunion with college friends. Here we all are at Chris and Rebecca's house, who leave the area April 22nd to travel the US and then head back to Africa.

By the way... I have mixed feeling on the book I'm currently reading, Eat, Pray Love. It's been a best seller and its the story of a woman's personal and spiritual journey as she travels around the world. Not sure how I feel about her methods for seeking "spirituality" and the conclusions she is reaching...but it is giving me an interesting perspective, I suppose.

Thanks for reading!

Currently Reading A Thousand Splendid Suns By Khaled Hosseini see related

Great Fiction

Every once in awhile, I get on a reading kick and I spend a lot of time reading great, fun fiction books. I love getting lost in a novel, similar to the way I enjoy getting caught up in a fictional movie plot or television show. It's a relaxing way to escape and give my imagination a work out... I've recently read some great novels, as well as had some recommended to me. Here are some of the best books I've read over the last year or so...

The Time Traveler's Wife

An amazingly innovative plot about a time traveling man... As the reader, you jump around in time as well, catching glimpses of the main character's life. It sounds far fetched but that does not in any way hinder the story's effectiveness. It leads you to try and piece everything together and centers around an amazing love story.

The Life of Pi

I technically listening to this audio book when I was training for a half marathon last year, rather than actually reading it. It's a compelling story about a boy who gets lost at sea, the adventures he encounters, and how he tells his story.

The Kite Runner

This book was recently made into a movie, but of course, the book is much better in its detail and the depth of the characters it portrays. It tells the story of a young boy and how guilt from his childhood affects him for the rest of his life...and the power of friendship. I could hardly put it down.

Water for Elephants

This book recounts the life of a circus veterinarian and it jumps back and forth between the main character in his twenties and as an old man in his 90s. I was so drawn in to this book that I read the last 150 pages in one sitting.

A Thousand Spendid Suns (currently reading)

Another book by Khaled Hosseini, the same author as The Kite Runner. He is an amazing storyteller and I am thoroughly entrenched in this novel right now. It tells the compelling story of two women in Afghanistan and how their lives collide in the most unexpected ways.

And here are a few I just checked out of the library to read...

Eat, Pray, Love (This book has been widely popular recently and I've heard mixed reviews on it. Some people absolutely love it, but I had a friend who was really frustrated by the book. So I'm curious...)

This Is Not the Life I Ordered (This was recommended to me by an older woman who said she wished she had read it when she was my age.)

So, blog readers, if you have a moment...what have been some of the best fiction novels you've ever read? Feel free to comment with your favorites!

Currently Reading ChiRunning By Danny Dreyer see related

Long Overdue Update...

Oops! So I guess it's been two months since I wrote anything on my blog. Sometimes I forget it exists, sometimes I get pretty busy, sometimes I'm not sure anyone really reads it...and this was perhaps a combination of all those things. December was busy (as the Christmas season always tends to be) and then starting Christmas, I believe I was actually in Illinois and staying at home for a total of 6 days before I got back from my last trip this past Sunday. I'm worn out (and sick...) but I'm catching up on life. And, therefore, I'm writing.

The holidays were wonderful. Nate came home with me for Christmas and it was great to have him there. My family was very welcoming and it was nice to be together for 6 whole days in a row! (Oh, the woes of long distance relationships...) We spent a great day in NYC, which he had never visited before, and we had lots of great times with my parents, my sister and brother-in-law and their kids.

Self portrait of Nate and I outside my parent's house.

My neice and nephew doing a magic show with the "My First Magic Set" that I got Kylie for Christmas.

Tyler on Christmas day when we were taking a walk on the beach (wearing my hat).

I got to enjoy a few days with my great roommates from senior year. Sarah was in the country from Moscow and Cori flew out to join us. It was so much fun! You'll notice in the pics that Rebecca is pretty pregnant... She just had her baby this past Tuesday and he is absolutely adorable!

Craziness tends to ensure when we get together :)

Hanging out in Rebs' house!

Then I flew up to Minneapolis for New Year's and Nate and I hopped around to a bunch of celebrations... January was full of business trips, a weekend out in CT (after a client meeting nearby), and an event for work in Las Vegas with a weekend in Minneapolis tacked on to the end. I am so thankful my job enables me to travel to see the people I care about!

Since I've been so busy, I feel like I haven't had a lot of time to stop and rest and process. This past week and the next few, I hope to spend more time in prayer and more time connecting with friends here and more time taking care of myself. It should be rejuvenating.

Currently Reading The Kite Runner By Khaled Hosseini see related

Thankfulness and Family

This year, I am spending Thanksgiving with my family in Atlanta at my brother's house. As I reflected on what to be thankful for while we enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner around the table, I was struck by how blessed I am to have such a wonderful family. Not only do we love and support each other, but everyone knows and loves the Lord. What a rare gift. And it's such a blessing to watch my brother and sister and their spouses pass down that legacy of faith to their children - a faith that is shared by our grandparents and parents, as well. I am so thankful.

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise!
   Give thanks to him; bless his name!

 For the LORD is good;
   his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations. "

- Psalm 100: 4 - 5

This morning, we took our annual family photo to send out with Christmas cards.

And of course, a few photos with the kids.

We took this funny faces photo at the request of the kids :)

Here's me and Meg on Thursday night, making s'mores over the fireplace. (You could say we're the two red heads in the family, but hers is natural...)