Thanksgiving in Review

Okay all, here is some photographic evidence that Melanie is by far the greatest cook/chef in the world! For Thanksgiving dinner she made turkey, stuffing, potatoes, turkey gravy, cranberry sauce (from scratch), green bean casserole, rolls, bread, and jello with fruit and marshmallows. She even made key lime and pumpkin pies for dessert! Talk about the best meal ever! I actually helped and did dishes so Mel could cook. I also sliced mushrooms for the casserole, put marshmallows on the jello, rolled dough into balls for the rolls, and made the potatoes and stuffing (from boxes :) I also helped by going off on my own so Mel could work unhindered.
It was a great time. We really enjoyed not having work and school and getting to spend the day together. In conclusion, Mel is the Best!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Things for which we are grateful:
Each other
Health
School & work
Friends & Family
Runescape
Horses
Nature
Apartment
Food
Mel's sense of style
Mel's common sense
Ryan's clean shaven face
Ryan's sense of humor
Our future together
Gospel
Book of Mormon
No kids (yet)
Indoor plumbing
AC/ heater
Holidays!!!

A New Favorite!

I love reading! If I could live in a storybook, I would. Of course it'd have to have a lot of adventure but no real danger, beautiful scenery and of course love! Anyway, after the Twilight movie craze I needed a good, new book. I found one!

To read a good description of the book click here.

I read this book in about 2 days. It has become a new favorite of mine and I can't wait for the next book of the series!

"I cannot live without books." Thomas Jefferson

That's Right!

Twilight Movie Night

Last night we went to the new Twilight movie with a big group. There were 14 of us who went. It was a lot of fun to get together and go out on the town. As for the movie, well... I loved it! It was pretty true to the book I think (at least as close as any movie adaptation can be). I felt like it was more of a made-for-TV movie than a 'Hollywood' style movie, but I think that's part of the appeal and why I like it as much as I did. Ryan also liked it. We will definitely buy it when it comes out on DVD.

Discussing the movie after

During the movie, there were plenty of teen girls to scream and cheer when Edward appeared on screen. It was pretty entertaining and made me laugh. I think Summit Entertainment did a really good job with the movie though there were some Twilight fans that were very disappointed. I think there was a wide range of reactions, from those that didn't like it at all, to those that thought it was okay, to those that really liked it. It's encouraged me to read the books again, so that's what I'll be doing this Holiday season:)
Ryan and me waiting to see Twilight!

Josh and Barbie Madsen ready for the show.

I don't want to post any spoilers, but I do have to say that it really is a love story. I ended up liking the cast better than I thought I would, and I'm anxiously waiting for the next movie!

Boot Camp

Back in October our ward's Relief Society put together some small groups that were made to help the women in the ward with the same interests get together. I volunteered to head up the Exercise Group. So far it has been good, though trying at times trying to get people to come. There are almost 30 women who have signed up and the most that have shown up for any one group is about 6-7. But hopefully not after Saturday! This Saturday is my first 'Boot Camp.' I am hoping to make it diverse enough for all fitness levels with a variety of exercises.

I am pretty proud of myself for how well I've organized it. I even created a blog! We have a team name of Power in the Park (cause we live in Hyde Park, get it?) and are going to get team t-shirts. But I really like this group because it gets me to exercise and I also get to practice teaching kickboxing and other aerobics:) Maybe one day I'll get certified and teach for real!

All in the Neighborhood

So I just found this video on our neighborhood that will show you all the hot spots for Obama. Of course I didn't see his gym on the video, which is what causes me the most grief, so I added a picture.

This is Regents Park(the two big towers). It's an apartment complex with a private gym, where Obama goes to work out. The black arrow points to my apartment complex. Yes, the little tiny one to the right of Regents. We're always in the shadow of Regents Park (during the afternoon and evening quite literally). Anyway, I've circled in blue the approximate area where my bus stop is and also where Obama's secret service hang out eating breakfast. Okay, they're probably doing more than eating breakfast... like getting in my way and messing up the bus schedules:) (see here for that story, if you haven't already read it).

Movies

I really do love watching a good movie. I have too many favorites to even name. This last weekend we went to the New James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace. It was a good show with a lot of action. Though I wish I had watched the last James Bond movie for a quick update. It was still fun to see.

Though the movie that I am really excited about seeing is Twilight! It comes out this Friday and Ryan and I are going with a big group of couples from our ward. It should be a lot of fun and I hope the movie lives up to all my expectations.

Won't you be my neighbor?

Mr. Rogers was a favorite TV show of mine growing up. He always had great stories and I loved going with the train to the 'puppet' world. I really did want to live by Mr. Rogers and join his neighborhood of make believe. This was entertainment at it's fullest:)
For years after, my dad would often wake me up singing the Mr. Rogers theme song:

It's a beautiful day in this neighborhood,

A beautiful day for a neighbor.
Would you be mine?
Could you be mine?...

It's a neighborly day in this beauty wood,
A neighborly day for a beauty.
Would you be mine?
Could you be mine?...

I've always wanted to have a neighbor just like you.
I've always wanted to live in a neighborhood with you.

So, let's make the most of this beautiful day.
Since we're together we might as well say:
Would you be mine?
Could you be mine?
Won't you be my neighbor?
Won't you please,
Won't you please?
Please won't you be my neighbor?

Mr. Rogers, and then my dad, taught me that neighbors are suppose to be... well, neighborly! But you know what? I don't think Mr. Rogers ever lived in Chicago, especially at the same time as the President-Elect. I have nothing against Mr. President-Elect, but life in Chicago has definitely changed with him around. It's bad enough that I have to deadbolt my door, chain my bike and check my purse and pockets after getting off the bus, but now I have to live next door to Obama's gym! Let's take this morning for example.

I went to go catch my regular 8:14 bus to work, when I noticed that there were at least a dozen secret service vehicles around and half as many police cars. The President-Elect was working out in the building next door to mine (my neighbor). So my bus stop was moved to around the corner away from the secret service. Not really a problem, but then there was a miscommunication from the bus driver and I ended up missing the 8:14 and 8:21 bus. There were a lot of students and staff that this affected, but we did get to talk to the secret sevice guys for a bit. Too bad they were joking when they offered to give us a ride! I finally caught the 8:28 bus and got to work 15 min. late. Oh, well. I guess it makes for a good story.

I wonder why they're called the secret service because they are anything but secret?

Weekend trip!

So, this weekend Mel and I went downtown and did some shopping/sightseeing. It was fun. We made sure to go by all of the window displays at Macy's. In the end, a good time was had by all. Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Make over

The Transformation:

LOTS of hair! But oh so ruggedly handsome.

Not so much hair and not so much handsome.

Check out how much hair we cut off.

Mmmhmm! So cute!!!

All done!

Homemade treats for the Fall!

After our visit to the apple orchard last month, I had a lot of fun cooking with my abundant supply of fresh apples and pumpkin! I made some tried and true treats, while also trying my hand at some new recipes.

Apple Pie will always be one of my favorite desserts and was especially good this time around because of the fresh apples and my own hard work making it.


I also made some homemade applesauce. It may not look that great but it tasted plenty delicious.


This picture is of a new recipe I tried- Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Bread! I wasn't sure how it would turn out but it was well worth the risk.


And here we made some apple waffles and used the Peach Syrup we got at the Orchard.

I also made some Pumpkin Bread but wasn't able to get a picture before Ryan had finished it off.

I think I'm all warmed up and ready to cook for Thanksgiving!

Hyde Park, Chicago

For those of you who don't know, Ryan and I live in Hyde Park in Chicagoland. And so does President-Elect Barack Obama.

And not soon after he moves to the White House to take on the roll of being President, Ryan and I will be following him there. We'll live in Alexandria, about 5 miles away from Washington D.C. Maybe one day we'll actually get to see him in person because so far we've got nothing. Unless you want to count his secret service, vehicles, helicopters, etc. Here's a map of how close we live to the President-Elect:

We live on the East side, Obama lives about 10 blocks west of us. And he actually works out in the building right next to ours.

It's a mad house in Chicago! Last night was a huge celebratory party in Grant Park. And the roads surrounding Obama's home are completely shut down. All night long the trains were running and helicopters were flying over head. And I can't even count how much Obama merchandise is for sale around here!

Work, work and more work

This is a really busy time of year for me at work in the Humanities division. I am in charge of organizing the admissions for fall 2009. The deadline for all applicants is December 15th, so I am starting to receive a lot of applications online and supplemental material via postal mail. I have to update everything everyday in our database and online application system. I also have to create a file for each applicant and keep all their materials organized into it. I guess that doesn't sound too hard, but believe me it is! Especially when we receive over 2,000 applications, most submitting right before the deadline. I am grateful to have a job that keeps me busy.

I also am working on my 10 personal goals list. After my candy binge on Halloween, I decided I really should focus on accomplishing my goals, so starting the day after Halloween I haven't had any candy. Only 363 days left to go. (I'm beginning to think this is one of my not-so-brilliant plans) I have also started working out so I can accomplish no. 1 and 2 of my goals. Not only am I working out on my own, but I am also in charge of my ward's Relief Society Exercise Group. We have a couple different groups that meet weekly: swimming, aerobics, and run/walk. It's really fun to get together with ladies from my ward to workout, and it also helps me get there since I'm in charge:)

Ryan is busy working on his homework and assignments for school. He works really hard everyday and I'm proud of him. He will have a few final assignments due before Thanksgiving and then his finals right after Thanksgiving, so he'll keep plenty busy. But then he'll only have one more semester left before he GRADUATES and we move to Alexandria.

Ryan and I out for a Sunday walk in our fabulous fall weather. I just hope it stays this way for a while.

Ward Halloween Party!

Ryan and I went to the Hyde Park First Ward Halloween Party last night. It was a lot of fun to see all our friends dressed up and to visit.

They served soup that was made by a lot of different people in the ward. It was really good. I especially liked Mike Pope's noodle curry soup. Yum!

Here are some of the costumes:



Ryan and I even dressed up! And guess what? We won the prize for BEST FAMILY COSTUMES! You can't see but I even have on green tights!

Peter Pan and Captian Hook!