Asia & a TV

We are going to Asia this summer!!! We bought our tickets over the weekend so it's official. We will be spending a month in Korea, Vietnam and Thailand. This may be our last chance to travel for an extended time so we are grateful for this opportunity. If anyone will be there, let's meet up!

One of Will's classmates has offered to lend us his TV. So I will get to watch the Olympics. Go Yuna Kim!

It's been a warmer winter here. All last week it was in the 30s and sunny.

The great thing about snow is that when it comes down, you don't need an umbrella. Two downsides I've learned: 1) when the temperature rises, it all becomes mud and slush. 2) and then dogs pee on it and you see patches and lines of yellow snow everywhere.

Snow!

It snowed a lot last night and today. I was so excited.

Today was Will's last day at work. I usually take the bus to work but we have this tradition of taking a cab to work on the days he works. The cab drops me off first and then drops him off. It's kind of a treat for me because it's much faster than the bus. So we walked hand in hand in the snow to the street corner to hail a cab. It was a very happy moment for me.

Like I said, I've been carrying my little camera around. I took these shots from the cab:

I ran an errand during lunch and the streets were empty. Except for this one Japanese mom and her two kids. They were so cute, playing in the snow.

I wanted to share a piece of midwest winter with you LA friends. Isn't it beautiful?

little tree

i hope everyone had a great thanksgiving. we enjoyed a nice potluck dinner with friends, poker, and a laid back weekend. one of the things we did was get our first christmas tree. since we won't be around for much of december, we opted for this mini cypress plant as our tree. $5 at home depot. isn't it the cutest?

in other news, it is snowing like crazy here right now. i'm absolutely loving it.

cold again

just about a week ago, the weather got warm, the temperature inched up to the low 50s, and all of the snow from last month melted away. i was starting to wear normal shoes and coats, and had stopped wearing gloves and earmuffs. and then over the weekend, it snowed again. back to the snow gear. will was pretty discouraged, and so was the janitor in our building. right when we were getting used to the warmth, the snow just made its way back.

chicago at sunset

my friend hanna has been here for the last few days, out for an interview.  she took these shots by uic.

we went to intelligentsia coffee last night...

playing in the snow

ok, i promise these are the last pics of our balcony.  i know these pics are totally boring.  i want to take some beautiful outside pics of the snow, but it's always way too cold to take the time to get the camera out and take a pic.  and i can't do it without taking my gloves off.

anyways, the other night we came home and had the urge to make snow angels outside on the pristine snow.  then we ended up just playing in it and throwing it everywhere.  

here it is before, all perfect:

and then after:

and finally, a photo of me walking to the car after dinner with friends.  it was pretty peaceful that night, after having snowed all day.

today we are going to ikea.  yay!  we're having our first guest this week and need to get a futon so she has somewhere to sleep.  and a few other essentials.  it's been an ordeal setting this up, with will's busy schedule, and also because we need to rent a big van as our little honda coup won't be able to fit everything in it.

snow progress

i know i am sooo LA, with my constant posting about the snow, but it really intrigues me.  first off, here is the progress of the snow.  if you look at the second pic on my previous post, you can see how much more snow has fallen since then.

i totally had a moment coming up the elevator at home today.  

so it's been snowing on and off for the last 3 days.  today was the worst.  i guess this is what they call a snowstorm.  anyways, i chose today of all days to go run an errand.  i had to walk 2.5 blocks to get to the bus stop.  no biggie, right?  

well, halfway to the bus stop, with snow blowing in my face and sloshing through snow, ice, slush and mud, i thought "what was i thinking???"  but i was at the point of no return, so i trudged on.  in my non-waterproof shoes.  haha.

anyways, somehow i finished running my errands, and was carrying this now really heavy shopping bag and trudging back through the snow to get home.  at one point, i was crossing the street and thought i might never get to the other side because the wind was blowing against me so hard that i couldn't take another step forward.  

by the time i got to our building, went through a set of double doors, walked through the icy patio, to another set of double doors, checked the mail and got in the elevator, i stood there for a second and then started laughing at myself.  i think it was the combination of being part hysterical, part relieved to know that i made it, and part laughing at my folly in venturing out into a snowstorm without the proper shoes.

next task: get a good pair of snowboots.

snow

i experienced my first snow in chicago today.  pretty exciting stuff!  here are some photos of our balcony...

i spent the day driving around, running errands, getting lost and finding my way again.  it was a productive day.

yesterday i ran errands on foot, bus and train.  i can't say enough about the public transport here.  it rocks.

also, it is very cold here.  today i found myself saying "the weather's not bad today.  it's in the 30s."

the weather outside

cutest. photo. ever.  this is will's best man and his wife.  i can't wait to take a photo like this with will.  i hope ours is just as awesome.