Guatemala - Kelly

Most simply put, the last seven days have been some of the best of my life.  I've been challenged, I've been taught... I've relaxed, I've worked hard.  I've grown, and I've reflected.  I cannot imagine a week that could give or show me more.

The most basic details are that I went on a yoga retreat with SolYoga at Villa Sumaya- a family run resort on Lake Atitlan in Guatemala.  The retreat included daily yoga (sometimes twice), amazing home cooked meals, rooms at the beautiful resort, and the option to add on additional excursions.

I went on this trip with three of my closest friends, who also happen to be my coworkers.  I have always loved these ladies but now I can truly say that Alysha, Aviva, and Erin are truly irreplaceable in my life because of this amazing experience we shared together!

The scenery on Lake Atitlan is just breathtaking- the lake is surround by three volcanos and mountains and is absolutely gorgeous.  The weather ranged from the low 60s at night to the upper 80s during the day with rain showers most afternoons.  The actual resort is nestled into a jungle landscape and couldn't be prettier.

We relaxed, we did yoga, we hiked a volcano, we kayaked, we spoke Spanish, we made friends, we meditated, we had a blindfolded dance party, we mastered tricky poses, we slept, we read, we lounged in the sun, and we reflected and grew as people.

My week in Guatemala was a chance to reconnect with myself on so many levels- I had a chance to be in nature, be good to my body, reflect on my life at this point, and really just be comfortable in my own skin.  I wouldn't trade the experience I had for anything- it was a once in a lifetime experience I feel SO grateful to have been a part of.  <3

If you want to read more you can check out a few more blog posts here:

• Adventures
• Yoga
• Lessons Learned

Vancouver - Brady

Oh. my. gosh.

Work/school (I'm never sure what to call it) has been busy, busy, busy. I feel like I haven't had time to breathe for the last few weeks. It all started when I decided to run for a "community representative" seat on the local school council for our neighborhood high school. Filling out forms, making copies of flyers, preparing for a meet & greet, researching the school, and generally being nervous took up way more time than I expected. (By the way, I found out last night that I didn't win, but I'm still really glad I ran. It was a cool experience.)

Then I had to go to a conference in Vancouver. (Had to. It was tough.) I was away for six days and really didn't have time to do much of any of my normal work - no reading for the class I'm taking, no paper grading, no forward movement on my research projects, etc. The sessions were awesome, the city was beautiful, and it was a great experience, but it did throw off my schedule a bit.

And finally, my advisor and I got word that we've been asked to revise & resubmit a paper we're trying to get published. If you don't know how that whole process works (I'm definitely still learning, three years into grad school), a revise & resubmit is really good news. It means you're probably going to get published, but you've got to do a bunch of revisions to get the paper ready to go. So that was an exciting little bundle of extra work that fell into my lap this week.

These are all wonderful things, but they've meant that I really haven't had like a true full day off in a couple of weeks. (Oh, okay fine, except for the one extra day we spent in Vancouver after the conference ended.) I'm typing away this Saturday, trying to get my feet underneath me before next week begins.

As a reward for listening to me whine and being so patient while my sisters and I have neglected this blog, here are some pretty pictures from the trip:

Sunset at Kitsilano Beach.

Me on a bike ride around Stanley Park. 

More Stanley Park.

Vancouver.

View of bridge from Stanley Park. 

One more picture - Kelly

In addition to all the pictures we took ourselves in the park, a photography student stopped to take pictures of us yesterday and sent a few along via email later in the evening. I know I already posted a bunch from the day but this is one of my favorites. :)

Easter Weekend - Kelly

My Easter weekend was pretty fabulous! Here's the rundown:

Friday night: Dinner and drinks with Brady and Kevin

Saturday morning: 11 miles on the Lakeshore Trail with Amy

Saturday night: sushi and drinks (waaaay too many drinks) with Kirby and Erin

Sunday: church and brunch with two of my favorite coworkers followed by hanging out (and cartwheels!) in Lincoln Park

Last week was kind of a rough week so a fun, friend-filled weekend was very welcome! Here are a few pictures from today:

on the train with Erin post church & brunch

Hanging in the park with Sasha

Making a new puppy friend!

Cartwheels... I think I'm going to feel this in my back and arms tomorrow!

Where will I be on Sunday? -Amy

Siesta Key!

Picture McLovin from Super Bad as I say...

Chica chica yeah, Siesta Key, Siesta Key!


Bad joke, yes. Uncontrollable excitement surrounding spring break and seeing my grandparents, yes!

Siesta Key, Round 2 - Brady

Phew. I've been frantically catching up with work since returning from a week in Siesta Key on Sunday. (Feel sorry for me.)

You can click here to see my photos. For anyone not familiar with Facebook, if you click on the first picture you'll be able to see it bigger. Then click on the arrow to the right to go through all of the photos.

I'll leave you with one of my favorites. Happy spring!

Highlights from the Past Three Weeks - Brady

It's been three weeks exactly since I posted on this blog! I think we can all agree that that's not like me. Where have I been...where has the time gone?

Here's what's been up:

- I've seen four plays. A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater (I'm not a huge Shakespeare fan, but this was the best performance I've seen of one of his plays), Hesperia at Writer's Theater (best of the four, in my opinion), Enron at Timeline Theater (good show, but what was really cool is that this tiny theater is less than a block from our apartment), and Time Stands Still at Steppenwolf (also good, not the best Steppenwolf show I've seen, though). And we're going to another one, at the Goodman Theater, next Sunday.

- I'm almost completely done wearing my walking boot, and I'm in physical therapy, which is painful and a little terrifying, but is ultimately good for me. I'm walking really well and couldn't be happier.

- Work. I'm in the middle of writing my course outline, which is a big paper we have to write before we can start our dissertations, so there's that. I go up to the office sometimes, work from home sometimes, and do study dates with friends in coffee shops sometimes. Also, this article my advisor and I are trying to publish got rejected from a third journal which for a day made me doubt whether I'm cut out for the research world, but now I'm over it. Onward.

- I've had lots of fun quality time with friends - 30th birthday parties (the year you turn 30 is a fun one - everyone actually celebrates birthdays again!), a trip to the Museum of Science & Industry, as I wrote above, coffee shop study dates, visitors from Indiana in Chicago, dinners at our favorite Mexican spot.

- Oh. Here's something. Community involvement. I've been going to our neighborhood association meetings for awhile now, and our Congressman came and spoke last Monday, which was pretty cool. Also, I'm considering running for my Local School Council. (I have to decide TODAY, so wish me luck.)

- Of course, I've been loving every second of this gorgeous weather. I do have to admit, though, that I don't feel like we really earned it this year. I didn't feel the relief after a long winter that I usually do. No pain, no gain, I guess. (But I'll take the 75 degree days anyway!)

- And I'm headed to Siesta Key tomorrow morning. I'm still not able to do my favorite activity - running on the beach - but I've got some plans for yoga and slow walks to and from the Points of Rocks. (See you soon Grandma and Grandpa!)

So that's my life these days! Hope you're having as happy of an (early) spring as I am.