Knee High by the 4th of July - My 2nd time in the Corn State

Howdy y'all!

Sorry, I just had to get that out of my system. I'm back in Champaign-Urbana this week, and I've been trying not to make it blatantly obvious that I'm a foreigner around here!

I'm here in my new hometown for a few days because I have 2 interviews! So far I think the first one went well. No matter what happens, at least it's been nice to have someone else pay for flights, hotels, and rental cars this time! Other than interviewing, which has kept me fairly busy, my goals have been to find more potential job options and to learn my way around town a bit better. Armed with a map I found inside a free visitor's guide and my iPhone Google Maps app, I've spent several hours driving back and forth around town. Usually it's right when I feel like I'm really figuring things out that I suddenly realize I'm not where I thought I was! But for the most part it's been enjoyable and helpful to have this free time to explore.

And now, for some personal observations as well as some fun facts about the area:

1. Personal observation - the weather is amazing (today)!
According the visitor's guide I picked up -
        Winter = Avg low 16, avg high 32 and 4 - 7 inches of snow per month
        Summer = Avg low 65, avg high 85 and 5 - 7 thunderstorms per month
        Spring & Fall = Avg low 45, avg high 65.
Most importantly: "During June, July, and August, there are an average of 6 to 7 days per month when the temperature is above 90 degrees." WOWEE!

2. There are more than 200 restaurants listed in the visitor's guide, listed by categories such as- BBQ, Chinese, Cuban, Greek, Indian, Japanese, Korean, Mexican, Middle Eastern, Pizza, Seafood, Spanish, Steak, Swiss, Thai and more!

3. Yesterday, it took me less than 20 minutes to drive literally from one edge of town to the other. Seriously, I drove straight through the middle of the city, past dozens of traffic lights and even a few blocks of construction, I didn't ever get on a freeway and I still made it across town in no time. This is new and different!

4. Geographically, it's kind of weird here. Explanation:

The outlying parts of the metropolitan area differ from the suburban areas of many other metropolitan areas. Instead of a sprawling suburban skirt that encircles the urban area, the urban area abuts large swaths of farmland, with small to medium sized villages that originated as farming communities.

Thanks Wikipedia! This explains why I feel so overwhelming like I'm in the middle of nowhere as soon as I get to the edge of town. I feel like one minute I'm driving down a street that looks like it could be in downtown Austin and 5 mintues later I'm literally surrounded by corn and it's so flat I think I can see for miles. It really is an unusual thing, apparently.

5. Speaking of Austin, everyone here wants a Texan's opinion of our state's capital city! I have had multiple people ask me about it. Apparently they've all heard it's a cool place. Pretty funny!

3. Other cool random stuff:
- They have an Urban Outfitters, a Ten Thousand Villages, a coffee shop called Uncommon Grounds (yep, I just like the name), and a ton of other places that look awesome although I actually know nothing about them.
- It has been listed in Newsweek as one of the Top 10 Tech Cities outside of Silicon Valley and ranked 10 out of the Top 25 Green Cities in the US by Country Home magazine.
- Famous rapper Ludacris was born in Champaign.
- 36% of the population of Urbana is between 18 and 24 years old. The median age is 25. Super young city!
- In 2011: A Space Odyssey (weirdest movie of all time), Hall 9000 is dying or whatever it is that he does, he says he was programmed in Urbana. Wait, is that a good thing?!

And now back to the title of this post: Knee High by the 4th of July. I learned the phrase yesterday. It means things are going well, based of the generalization that if your corn is up to your knees on Independence Day you're going to have a good harvest. Let me tell you, the corn is certainly tall around here right now - literally and figuratively! :)



Snapped this phone pic while stopped at a traffic light. I think this corn is around 5 ft right now.



A Summer of Weddings

It's been a summer of weddings! In fact, this is the first weekend I've had in six weeks (!) without an out of town wedding to attend. It's been nice to stay home relaxing, getting some errands done, and not spending several hours in the car... but each of the weddings I've been to in the past 5 weeks has been so lovely! Here's a recap for the rest of you wedding lovers out there:

The Woods, June 3, 2011

images by Sharon Nicole Photography

Nicole is a good friend from my college small group at church. She and Robbie dated 7 years before finally getting to tie the knot with an extremely elegant evening. The wedding and reception were at a gorgeous bell tower and Nicole had every detail planned perfectly. For me, the highlights were...

- Her Dress - a satin strapless sweetheart with sparkley beading  - so much like my dress!
- The Colors-  amazing flowers, beautiful bridesmaids dresses, and everything else in a wonderful deep purple. 
- First Dance - choreographed by Nicole herself!
- My Dinner Company - I had a blast catching up with some great friends from the church college ministry.

Now they are moving to Chicago, where Nicole has her dream job with a real estate company and Robbie is attending University of Chicago for law school!

The Walkers, June 11, 2011

taken by my mom; snatched off facebook!

I've known Megan since 2nd grade... I think. I guess I've known her longer than I can remember! Throughout intermediate and high school she was one of my dear friends, and I'm thankful for the chances we've had during college to try to keep in touch. She met Jared while attending Texas Tech University and I know they are so happy together! Their mid-morning wedding in a garden was so lovely, and just so Megan, which I think is just perfect. Highlights included:

- The Reunion - getting to see Megan and her family again - it had been a long time!
- Megan's Adorable Wedding Gown - a combination of unconventional and classic, and perfect for a garden wedding.
- The Flowers - tons of amazing romantic pink arrangements

Now they are staying in Lubbock to settle down - Megan is an adviser in the Texas Tech business school and Jared is a year into med school!

The Wilsons, June 18, 2011

image by mark romine photography

Eric and Audra are both great friends of Eduardo and me from our church college ministry. Like Nicole and Robbie, they are high school sweethearts and are finally married! Another fun fact - they are from Champaign, Illinois! Small world, huh? Just as Audra hoped it would be, the wedding was so beautiful but also laid back and fun. The high points were

- The Exit - the couple ran down the steps of the gorgeous church and into their horse drawn carriage as the crowd cheered and rang wedding bells!
- The Party - we got to dance it up one last time with Eric and Audra and a dozen or so other wonderful friends
- And of course, being in my new hometown, which I fell in love with!

Now, sadly for us, they are moving permanently from Champaign to Waco. Eric will be managing a brand new Jimmy Johns sandwich restaurant (one of their favorite places) and Audra will be finishing her degree at Baylor.

The Milams, June 25, 2011

image by Photography Shoppe

 Diana was a Baylor engineering student in the same year as me. We became close during one of the trips I took to Honduras with Engineers with a Mission. She is incredibly smart and such a hard worker. She did an amazing job putting together a beautiful Houston wedding while getting her masters at Cornell in New York. She and Ben are both so passionate about their faith, which makes them perfect together. Things I loved about the wedding included:

- The Music -beautiful and worshipful music, especially the David Crowder songs!
- The Food - a burrito dinner catered by Freebirds - delicious and unique!
- The Old Friends - a chance to catch up with a bunch of old engineering buddies, who have all grown up, gotten jobs, and joined the real world since I last saw them a year ago

Now Diana and Ben are off to North Carolina, where Diana will be working for Siemens Engineering and Ben will be teaching physical education.

The Stricklings, July 3, 2011

snatched off someone's facebook album, I don't mind admitting it!

Sam was Eduardo's randomly assigned freshman roommate in the engineering dorm at Baylor. The two of them plus one of their suite-mates, Shane, ended up living together for a total of 4 years. They spent a lot of time together in their apartment, at the cafeteria, at Baylor sporting events, and in most of our engineering classes. Of course, once I started dating Eduardo I spent a lot of time with his roommates too! Although we don't see them nearly as often as we used to now that we're married, it was fun to go to Sam and Kalie's wedding and spend some time with Sam and Shane again. Highlights:

- The Colors - green and gold everywhere! This was definitely a Baylor couple.
- The Food - homemade fajitas made by Kalie's dad.
- The Entertainment - I taught Shane and Eduardo how to play MASH with the cards provided at our table.

Now Sam and Kalie will be living between Austin and Waco while he works for National Instruments in Austin and she finishes up her education degree at Baylor.

Next Up - The Bonds, July 30, 2011!

someone in Greg's family took this picture

We have 3 weeks off before Eduardo and I head to Lubbock to be part of the wedding party for soon-to-be Greg and Meaghan Bond! We actually knew both Greg and Meaghan separately through classes before Eduardo introduced the two of them at a conference in Indiana. They are probably the smartest combined couple I know, and they are really fun to hang out with! Eduardo and I love going on double dates with them, and spending 4 days together for their wedding weekend will be a blast! I'll have to post again with details from their wedding in a couple weeks. I can't wait!

Well, that concludes our summer of weddings! I have absolutely enjoyed each and every one. Weddings help me relive my own amazing day, and I get to share that joy with my newly married friends. Happy honeymooning, newlyweds! :)

Brief Thoughts on My First Time in Illinois

Pretty much the whole time I've known Eduardo, I have know that he is more ambitious than me in many ways. When we started dating seriously, I appreciated both his ambition and the knowledge that it would take him to great places one day. I was always excited about the possibility of following him wherever his ambitions may take him - especially since I never was big on goal setting for myself.

Now, Eduardo has the opportunity to get a PhD at a school ranked #5 in the country for Mechanical Engineering. Not only that, but he received the National Science Foundation scholarship, which allows him to earn a living while he is in school! We are incredibly blessed and I am so proud of him. I am also not too surprised that we are about to end up living for 5 years in a state that I have never even been to (until very recently, that is). The school, of course, is the University of Illinois. From the internet and hearsay I've learned it's a large school (about 40,000 students) in the twin cities of Urbana and Champaign, whose populations total around 100,000 including the students. I have told several people familiar with the area that we are moving there, and I've pretty much only heard two things in response:

"You think Texas is flat? Illinois is flat. " and "I promise, if you move there, you'll love it". "

 I'm always happy to hear one of those comments; I'm not so crazy about the other one! But now that I've been able to visit, I think they are both true.