Cupcakes!!

So this weekend Ally and I headed to downtown to do some exploring.  We took the buses, and conquered them! We usually take the "L" trains, but this way was faster and less cold.  We travelled to Navy Pier where Snow Days in Chicago was taking place.  They had lots of snow/ice sculptures, and sled dogs. Basically a winter celebration.  And the snow made it super festive!  Ally and I decided that the sculpture of the Native American was by far out favorite.  We also looked around inside Navy Pier and enjoyed the touristy shops and souvenirs, and enjoyed the warmth for a bit.   

We then headed back towards Michigan Avenue to pick up our free cupcakes.  A cupcake boutique each Tuesday posts pictures of cupcakes on their Facebook and if you can tag yourself in that picture, you get a free cupcake!  It's not quite as easy as you would think.  Only 50 people can be tagged per photo, and each photo usually fill up in under 30 seconds.  So you have to be paying close attention.  Both Ally and I were tagged for the first time, so we went and picked up our Lemon Meringue cupcake.  It was quite delicious!

Back to School

Sorry for not blogging much since December... School got crazy there at the end with finals etc. And I promise to also blog about my break in CA soon, once I get my pictures from back home.

A week ago I flew back to Chicago to start my second semester.  This semester I am taking the same classes as last semester, but instead of Theology I'm taking a French class.  So that adds up to 2 Honor's classes, Bio, Chem, and French.  After my first week, everything has gone smoothly and I am pretty excited about this semester.

And the cold hasn't changed one bit.  Yesterday I woke up to it being -1 out with a windchill of -17.  But that was a super cold day.  Today I went for a wonderful run towards Evanston and survived despite it being 17and windy and icy out.  But I must admit I am excited for it to start warming up again :)

Pictures from break to come soon.  Stay warm!

SNOW!

Friday night through Saturday night, here at Loyola got our very first real snow of the season!  it dumped about 5-6 inches of snow and at several points was almost blizzarding.  Waking up to see everything pristinely white was so exciting, something i've been waiting for since I got here. And although I haven't had my official first snowball fight or made my first snowman, getting up early and seeing the untouched snow was pretty fun. 

Coincidentally, the IC plunge happened yesterday.  The IC plunge is an event to raise money for the Ugandan conflict in Africa, and a person will raise money, then run into Lake Michigan.  I did not partake this year, but 2 of my friends plunged.  Having is on the same day as the first snow made it even more hard core.  

Room Rearrangements

Claire's bed and the windows (snow outside)

After some fiddling around, Claire and I managed, on our own, to un-bunk the beds and rearrange our room.  We still have lots of floor space, but a much roomier feel to the room.  Here are some pictures:

My Desk

My bed and desk

Knitting Craze

Ryan's Hat!

Recently, thanks to some girls on my floor, I have taken up my knitting again!  Although it is a sever addiction, it is very relaxing and definitely helped the time pass on my flight back home to SF for Thanksgiving.  So far I've successfully finished a hat for Ryan, and I'm working on a cable knit scarf for myself, a hat for my dad, and soon going to start a headband/ear warmers and fingerless gloves for the cold Chicago winter.  

My cable scarf!

Birthday Weekend

For the weekend of my 19th birthday, my boyfriend Ryan flew all the way out from Santa Clara, CA to visit me.  He arrived super early Saturday morning and our adventure started.  He got to see all of Loyola, get some breakfast, and take a quick power nap.  We then headed to downtown for his first visit to Chicago.  We visited the bean, picked up some Garrett's popcorn, shopped around on State street, had delicious pizza and attempt to visit Willis/Sears Tower (we decided we'd try when it wasn't a hour wait!)

Later that evening we headed to Evanston for dinner and to walk around.

The famous Chicago Bean!

My flowers :)

On my actual birthday we went and picked up some yummy food from Whole Foods, grabbed breakfast, and headed back to school.  Ryan got me a wonderful bouquet at Whole Foods... it looks great in the room!  We video chatted with the family as I opened my presents and met up with my roommate and her boyfriend. We headed back to Evanston from some noodles for lunch, and a beautiful walk along the Lake. 

I had a great Birthday, even though it was my first one away from the family...  I'm so glad Ryan was able to come and surprise me too :) And I can't wait to come back home in only 11 days and get to see everyone!

Happy Halloween (x13.1)

     So this Halloween morning, Claire and I got up bright and early (5:50 AM... we decided we may have set a college record!) and hopped on the L toward Grant Park.  In the cold we walked over to where the Chicago Monster Dash Half Marathon was gathering. Claire's boyfriend Nathaniel nicely came along to carry our bags, cheer us on, and take pictures.  We started up at the front and kept up a good pace, a little under an 9 minute/mile pace for the whole race. The last two miles I went a bit ahead to try and see what time I could get.  We both finished under 2 hours, my final time was 1:53:25!

     In an almost Bay to Breaker fashion, there were crazy costumes along the entire course.  Men dressed as Hooters girls, lots of superheroes, a blow-up sumo wrestler, and even two men connected by a massive structure of the Golden Gate Bridge (they were walking of course)!

     Even though it was a bit chilly at first (and after, even in fresh clothes), I am very surprised and proud to say that I was the only person that I saw all day in only shorts and a short sleeve shirt. These Chicago people must be such wimps with the cold! (I will be eating my words by Thanksgiving).

     Nathaniel then took us both out to a delicious brunch and we all ended up sharing our wonderful meal of French Toast, pancakes, omelets, toast etc... A very nice way to start off a Sunday morning and to start off a good week.