What a whirlwind it has been! November came and went with a blink of an eye; and we are already approaching the middle of December. Just a quick recap of the past month and my apologies in advance - I'll take shortcuts and link to Facebook/web photo albums and post no pics.
As of Nov.11, I officially moved in with Chuck back in Chicago; although I headed right back to Dallas for a week to wrap up. My mom came down to Dallas, did some sightseeing, then drove with me back to Chicago via St. Louis. While we were in Dallas, we took an advantage of a Groupon deal I purchased awhile back and took pictures at Dallas Arboretum with Javier from La piqure Studio. Once we got to Chicago, we focused on dress shopping and I'm happy to say - "wedding dress? CHECK!" At first, it was quite stressful since my mom and I had very different visions of the dress. In the end, however, we both agreed on a particular dress and had that moment of "this is it!" The dress didn't induce tears or overwhelming emotion; however, it just felt right.
We hired a mover to ship my belongings from Dallas, and it arrived before me! Lucky Chuck, he had the pleasure of receiving all the boxes by himself. During the week prior to our arrival, he had put in extra effort to rearrange the furniture, tidy up the place, and cleaning it twice to receive my mom...alas, his efforts were not as evident with all the boxes crowding the place!
*At this point, I'd just like to say "Thank you, hon! You're absolutely the best and your thoughtfulness is so~ much appreciated! Love you!*
Well, as soon as the dress shopping was over and mom had safely returned to Toronto, we headed to Colorado for Thanksgiving with Chuck's family. Chuck's parents retired to Colorado mountains, and they have built a wonderful home (the view is absolutely stunning and it really is a peaceful place). More importantly, I can't describe how lucky I am that my in-law's are simply fantastic! They are down to earth, easy going, fun, caring, genuine, and inspiring people. I look forward to spending more time with them and leaning on them for their guidance and wisdom in life.
We returned home for a few days, then we were off to Jamaica for our good friends, John and Amber's wedding. Another wonderful trip to mark 2009. John and Amber were wonderful hosts; and everyday, I was in awe of how graceful and relatable they were with each and every guest. They definitely set a standard for us to aspire to when May'10 comes around!
Sadly, a tragic, one of the most horrific events had abruptly taken away a family member of our friends...we were brutally reminded how precious are the times we share with our loved ones, and how we simply cannot take any of these moments for granted.
Next week, I have a couple of job interviews for a postdoc position and it is likely that the rest of the year will be spent on trying to determine the path of the next chapter of our lives - wedding planning, career planning, family planning(?), etc. I just hope we remember to treasure each and every moment, and to remember to live for the present as much as planning for the future.
