Christmas!

I noticed tonight that it had been too long since one of us had posted. The silence is due to the fact that it is crunch time for us. There are three weeks left in the semester and so much to be done in that time! Here are a few pictures from last weekend. In the midst of our hectic schedules we are still finding time to be festive!

The top picture is us in front of the big Christmas tree that is in Daley Plaza. We took this picture last weekend with my sister and her husband. We found out it is not one big tree, but 60 smaller trees put together. Brandon was very disgruntled by that fact, but he still smiled for the picture.

The bottom picture is us in front of our tiny, but mighty, Christmas tree. We can only fit a small tree in our apartment living room, but I still love it. Having a small tree really simplifies decorating, it only took about 20 minutes from start to finish.

Jeenyus!

Abe got the tip for this blog test from Matt Proctor's blog and we thought our results were worth sharing. We are so smart, s-m-r-t!

Test your blog and post the results.

Get a Cash Advance

Happy Thanksgiving!

Brandon and I both had to work this Thanksgiving so traveling to be with family was out of the question. We decided to host Thanksgiving dinner at our place. We were joined by my sister, her husband, their new baby Wes, and our friend Cyril. I got up at 6:30 to put in the turkey. My first turkey ever! It cooked beautifully.

We spent the day cozy in our apartment eating good food and celebrating all that we have to be thankful for. Brandon and I both enjoyed snuggling our new nephew who is such a blessing. Brandon is at work now until 2 am. I just had my second piece of pumpkin pie. What a grand day! Tomorrow we put up our tree. I love this time of year.

Go Elf Yourself!

After watching this.

Beard Check

Dear Sirs,

This is a courtesy notice to remind you that we are now nearing the midway point of No-Shave November. Thought I'd share a picture of where I stand as an encouragement to you (J. Sanchez) to continue in this hairy venture. The beard is not as strong as it has been. But where my beard is weak, my resolve is strong.

"Continue to fight the good fight of the beard. Hold fast to the beard to which you were called."
1 Beardithy 6:12ish

*** As an added bonus, please note (Shane) the button down oxford shirt. It's not much, but it is a fair distance from my usual semi-soiled t-shirt and hoody. While this is certainly not the fashion show you might have desired, it is partial proof of the renaissance de couture in its burgeoning stages.

keeping up appearances

In a conversation last week I made a mention that I wouldn't mind starting to dress "nicer." My dress has always been a source of interest to those in my life. From Seth Barker wearing his hat "like Brandon Mick" to my in-laws, not-so-subtly, buying me a suit for my birthday last year to someone borrowing a shirt from me to use as a Halloween costume this year. For some reason, my appearance seems to summon all sorts of emotive responses from people.

All of that is fine. I'm used to it. But when I said that I wouldn't mind starting to dress "nicer," my wife responded, "Well that's nice, you are almost thirty."

Nice honey. Nice.

Paul Soupiset

My very own Soupiset watercolor! I fell in love with Paul's work last Lent, when he was in the midst of his lentenblog series. So when Jake announced he was giving away a Soupiset watercolor as a prize for the relaunch of his website, I had to get in on the action. Special thanks to JakeBouma.com and Paul Soupiset. Thoughts on this piece will come soon.

Family

The baby is here! After a really rough labor and delivery I have a new nephew. He is blonde and adorable. I got to hold him tonight and he is just incredible. I am so grateful to have this new addition to our family.
My Mom, older sister, and her kids are also in town. In between hospital visits we saw lots of Chicago. We took the kids to the Shedd Aquarium, Lincoln Park Zoo, and the Chicago Children's Museum. It was busy but so fun.
Today is Haley's 2nd birthday. She got to pick out a bitty baby (I think thats what it is?) at the American Girl Store. Haley was so excited!
It has been a weekend filled with blessings. We have so much to be thankful for. Pictures of new baby will be forthcoming when we get parental consent.

Baby on the Way!

My sister is in the hospital working hard to bring my new niece or nephew into the world. We got a text at 3 am from my Bro-in-law that they were at the hospital. No news yet! My mom, my sister, and her kids are all on their way here. I cannot wait! Pictures to come soon!

www.jakebouma.com 4.0 prize giveaway!

I wanted to bring it to the attention of our blog's readers that Jake Bouma will be launching version 4.0 of his website. In celebration of the event, he is giving away some great prizes. Click on the picture, below, to see how you can get your name in the drawing.

The Today Show in Chi-Town!

I got up uncharacteristically early this morning with my friend and co-worker Steph. We headed down to Michigan Avenue to watch the taping of the Today Show. I had very low expectations and it ended up being a riot! The crowd was relatively small when we got there, so we were able to be right up front to watch the segments being taped. I was somehow always in the wrong spot so you won't see me on TV. I did get ridiculously close to Matt Lauer...who was a very pleasant man! Here are some pictures of our morning excitement.

MMMMM, Zingers.

My evening, as pictured above, made me think of Brandon Barker. What makes you think of Brandon Barker? Take a picture and post it, I dare you.

Family Visit

My parents came to visit last weekend. As usual, we had a great time. We ate at three really great restaurants and had great conversation. We also celebrated at a baby shower for my sister and her little one that will be here so soon! I always love when my parents come to visit.

Patricia Anne Wood-Mick: 1924 - 2007

Tomorrow we will be heading to central Iowa. We are going to bury my grandmother. She battled a plethora of cancers over the recent years. She fought hard, but lost the war on Friday night. She died peacefully at home, surrounded by her boys (my three uncles and my dad) and her husband, Bernard (of 59 years).

Abe and I had the privilege of saying good-bye to her last weekend. Though she was tired, she was perfectly clear in her love for us. And though her voice was failing, she told me she was proud of me. I mostly just sat next to her and held her withering hand. But as I walked out of the room for the last time, tears streaming down my face, she belted out a strong and hearty, "Buh, Bye!" It echoes in my soul.

It was the same "Buh, Bye!" that I'd heard thousands of times growing up. You see, of all my dad's brothers, he was the only one that settled down out of town. So we'd have to travel a couple of hours to be with my grandparents. That being the case, we had to say "Buh, Bye" an awful lot. I've been saying "Buh,Bye" to this woman my entire life. And I'm sure that when I was really young, those "Buh, Bye's" stung. But growing up, through the adolescent years and beyond, I became used to them. It was just that time when my grandma would follow me to the curb, remind me to buckle-up, tell me to get some Coke or something to keep awake, warn me to watch out for the "other guy," tell me that she loved me. And as I'd pull away, inevitably with the window down, I would hear her call out, "Buh, Bye!" But it would barely register.

Until last week. She called out and I knew. All the years came rushing back to me. And it stung.

Please pray for my family. My grandmother was incredibly important to us all. Pray especially for my grandpa. I can't even begin to fathom the depth of his loss and the breadth of his grief.

Brandon and Abbey Simpson

Thanks to Jake for this time-waster.

Hello...Are you still there?

Abe recently informed me that she would no longer carry this blog by herself. I am to pull my own weight or it is over. The shop will close, the carpets will be rolled up, and the candles blown out. So I figure that I ought to publish something, as it is the only fair thing to do for our viewing public. For a life without LITGD is hardly a life at all.

Speaking less facetiously about life, you might be wondering about where I have been and why I haven't posted for some time. Well I guess that you could describe my life, as of late, more appropriately as a mere existence than a life truly lived. I'm not sure what's been going on, but I just haven't cared...about anything. My summer, following my summer class, was spent in front of the television. I sank into a world soaked and reeking of the Discovery Channel. And though I now feel like fast friends with Adam and Jamie and the other Mythbusters, I hardly feel as though I am alive.

School is re-acclimating me to the waters of the living. But the process is slow. However this morning I was truly alive. I awoke at 8:15, after sleeping through my alarm, with an hour-and-a-half commute standing in between our sleepy bed and a 9:15 class. With a flurry of arms and legs and a few expletives, I raced to get to class before it was over (that is if you can call crawling traffic a race). I was late, very late, but I was alive like I haven’t felt in a while. There was something about the urgency of it all that may have crash-paddled me back to life.

The semester that lies ahead looks to be challenging, but good. I just hope that I can wake up for it...both literally and figuratively.

My New Girls!

I just got back from RA retreat. We were in Michigan for the weekend training the new group of RAs. It was a really fun weekend and I adore my new group of girls. It is going to be a great year!The freshman arrive tomorrow, I am excited to welcome them to campus.

Moving Day!

We are moving again! Not far, just back to our old apartment. We are excited that we now have real carpet in our living room and bedroom instead of industrial carpet. It is really soft and very white. Brandon is sure that we will have it stained immediately.
That is what is keeping us busy. My RAs start arriving tomorrow and our retreat starts next Wednesday. I can't believe that my summer is almost over.

Going Camping!

It has been a busy week for us. Brandon is in class this week so I am remembering what it is like to have a husband who is a student. I think we have seen each other for maybe 5 hours this week. Which makes it even better that we are leaving town tomorrow after Brandon gets out of class. We are headed to Mirror Lake, Wisconsin to go camping with the whole Mick family. I am really not much of a camper so this could be really interesting. The last time Brandon took me camping was with Epoch at Valley. I told Brandon after that night I would never camp again because, quite simply, I am not a camper. I am sure we will have pictures and good stories come Monday night.

Back Home!

We arrived home this morning from our vacation. We were in Montana and Yellowstone for a week and then in Iowa visiting family and friends. We drove to Montana and back stopping along the way. We stopped at The Corn Palace, Wall Drug, Mount Rushmore, Devil's Tower, Big Horn Canyon, and a few other places. It was a wonderful time of relaxing and being with people that we love. We stayed in a cabin with my family. Montana is gorgeous and we loved breathing fresh air! It will be hard for both of us to get back into regular life after 2 1/2 weeks of vacation.