Not sure what I'm going to write

So I'm home sick and thought I should update my blog. But I'm not sure what I'm going to write. So here goes.

I've realized more and more that man (or woman) was not meant to be alone. Last week, I had to deal with some challenges with my place by myself, and then had to deal with the same challenges while Abe was in town. I just really enjoyed having someone else there. Same for yesterday when I started getting sick. Abe drove me to the doctor, sat with me, cared for me when I was in so much pain. I knew I wasn't alone.

It's funny because this weekend we also went to see a movie at a place where I had seen lots of movies as a single gal. It made me think about my transition from singleness to marriage. Singleness was great for both Abe and me, but I really dig this relationship thing. Yeah, I could have handled the issue with my place OK without Abe, but there's just to much more confidence when someone else is there with you. Praise God for the blessing of relationship. It's so amazing when you have someone in your life who will take care of you and love you no matter what. I have amazing parents who do that, but it's so awesome to see God take this other person and grow in us a love and connection to that extent. Praise God for giving me the most awesome, amazing, servant-hearted man. I love you, Abe! My prayer for my single friends out there is that God would bless you in the same way I have been blessed. It is truly amazing.

Engaged!

Abe and I are officially engaged! He proposed at 12:30 a.m. on New Year's Day (yeah, I know I'm behind in blogging) after making me wait through New Year's Eve without a proposal. He wanted it to be a surprise, which he was successful at doing.

A lot of you have asked about the ring, which was his grandmother's. Here's a picture of it.

It's been a whirlwind two weeks trying to nail down a date, photographer, church, and reception site. I've already had a bridal meltdown about it, but I've realized something. Our society places so much pressure on us to have the coolest dress or invitations or favors. But what's more important is my relationship with God and my relationship with Abe. So I'm trying to do what I can with wedding planning without letting it get to me. As my boss' boss says--A wedding is a day, a marriage is a lifetime.

Catching up

A visit from the_dude from Cali has encouraged me to catch up with my blogging. Please let me know if you check this Web site and are disappointed by my lack of blogging. That will encourage me to blog more frequently.

Today is the day before the day before Christmas Eve, so a lot has happened since Funtober. Abe and I ended Funtober with an occasion that involved a lot of my dad's family. That was superfun and my family got to bond with Abe.

November meant my parents met Abe's parents which went over superwell. We got to see the Magnificent Mile Lights Parade, though we were packed into the crowd like sardines.

December has been fun enjoying the awesomeness that is Chicago at Christmastime like Zoo Lights at the Lincoln Park Zoo. I also experienced my first Dim Sum...I even used chopsticks and tried one of Abe's favorite foods, jellyfish! I know...what I do for this guy is crazy!

I'm excited at what Christmas will bring this year. Abe and I will be able to spend it together with my family as we start new traditions. 2006 has blown me out of the water--God has done some crazy stuff in my life this year. I can't wait to see what 2007 will bring!

Thank God for normal tonsils

Yes, I am thanking God for normal tonsils. My lovely tonsils decided they were going to threaten Funtober by acting very crazy last week. I'll spare you the details.
I guess I should back up. Since my last post, Abe and I have hung out with my brother in Chicago, which was awesome. We took my brother to Chinatown. Funny thing is that he was the only one using chopsticks at lunch!

Then just a few days later Abe and I flew to Portland to see his sister, brother-in-law, and their super cute puppies. However, said tonsils threatned the trip. But with the help of antibiotics and lots of decongestants, I was cleared to fly.

Actually, this is a funny story. Flying with severe congestion sucks. I knew I would cry because of the pain. However, when we landed I learned news that made my life all better--the Cardinals were in the World Series.

So Portland was awesome. Once I recovered, we got to walk along the beach, visit some really cool waterfalls, and hang out with Abe's super cool family. I can't wait to go back!

The final Funtober event starts tomorrow. I can't wait!

Funtober

Sunday marked the start of what I'm calling Funtober, a month of fun for Abe and me including meeting more of each other's family members and visiting at least two states.

We kicked off the party Sunday with a trip to a Chicago museum where I heard a woman scream, turned around, and found an Abraham Lincoln re-enactor standing right in front of me. I looked back and saw a smiling Abe, who thought this was funny since his nickname in his residence hall government days was, "The Emancipator."

We also went to the zoo where I saw a giraffe and the Sears Tower in the same view. For some reason, the animals had their back sides towards us the majority of the time, so we saw a lot of rear views. We even saw a penguin using the restroom. Or maybe he was laying an egg. Regardless, it was gross.

Firsts

This weekend was all about firsts. First, I fully accomplished one of my No Opportunity Wasted items about doing up downtown Chicago since I stayed at a fancy hotel. Saturday, Abe and I went to our first major league game together--the Chicago White Sox vs. Seattle Mariners. This was also my first regular season AL game. And, of course, Abe and I were rooting for the same team here, so it wasn't like a Cubs or Cards game.

However, as you can see from this picture, I also experienced my first rain delay. Abe and I made the most of it--watching other baseball and football games on the US Cellular Field Diamond Vision, playing "Name That Tune" with the loudspeaker music, and roaming around the stadium. I also experienced Abe's favorite Chicago-style pizza place for the first time. It's amazing to see how far I've come in my experience of Chicago. Just one year ago I took the commuter rail for the first time as I tried to look like a natural Chicagoan while walking down Michigan Avenue. Now I'm becoming more comfortable on the "L" and starting to understand places and street names. God is doing crazy things in my life!

Memorable moments

I've had a couple of fun weekends in Chi-town that had some pretty memorable moments. Last weekend, Abe and I went rollerblading along Lake Michigan, which was my favorite part of the weekend. The funny part was I hadn't rollerbladed since I was 13 or so. When I pulled out my rollerblades, which I had rescued from the garage sale pile at my parents', I found a pair of socks I wore the last time I used the skates. Ew.

This past weekend, I experienced Chinatown for the first time (Abe's Chinese, by the way). It was pretty awesome to see a Walgreens sign in Chinese.

But the funniest part of the whole weekend was our trip down Lake Shore Drive (LSD) to the museum campus. We normally take public transportation, but decided that would take too long. We got part of the way there when suddenly two of LSD's lanes were closed for a bike race. Which is OK, except there were no bikers on the lanes. How annoying. Then we saw a biker--a woman on a schwinn with a mirror to see who's behind her. She was very slowly biking along. Here we were stuck in stop and go traffic and we kept passing and getting passed by this woman going about 0.2 miles per hour. I started singing the music from the opening scene of "Office Space" where the main character is stuck in traffic and gets passed by a grandpa using a walker.

Also, I want to give a shout out to Gary Bennett from the Cardinals for his game-winning performances Saturday and Sunday. Abe and I are glad that our baseball rivalries are done for the year. I'm just glad my team ended so strong. Go Cards!