Weeeee!!

After a long time without a post I am long past due for an update...so better late than never...

December:

(Baxter Christmas at the Ranch)

The semester wrapped up well and Christmas was great! I spent lots of time making ornaments to put in my Christmas cards. I think I ended up making about 75 snowflakes, which was more ambitious than I had planned on being. Jason and I got to spend some much-needed time away from work with family here in Salt Lake. More specifically we made two trips to Logan, to spend Christmas eve and Christmas day with the grandparents and family there, and then another trip the following week for the Simon/Baxter/Russak cousin Christmas. My homemade fudge was a big hit with everyone. What a good time! Even my Christmas gifts were well received...what a great way to end the year!

(Christmas card Ornaments)

("Hey guys...where are you going?")

January:

January started off with a trip to WI to celebrate a late Christmas with WI friends and family. Marion, Lee and Jeremiah happily accepted babysitting duties for Kiki (well...at least Jeremiah and Marion happily accepted...Lee tolerated). We flew out from Salt Lake on January 6th, which proved to be lucky because January 7th my parents got 8" of fresh snow and O'hare airport cancelled several hundred flights. So we spent our first day in WI watching it snow. It was Jason's first trip to the Midwest during the winter and the weather didn't dissapoint...8" of snow followed by high temperatures in the single digits for most of the week...luckily it wasn't windy...so it could have been worse.

(View from my parents' front picture window)

(Birdfeeder on my parents' back porch)

On the 8th we drove to Dubuque, IA to visit our friends Sarah and Andy, see their new house, and meet their new baby Henry. Jason got to spend some quality time with "the baby in charge" as he used to call her...who isn't so much of a baby anymore. Jason and Olivia got to play in the basement with toys and Olivia even convinced Jason to show off his dancing skills while Sarah and I visited upstairs. We were also in Dubuque to visit my brother, see his new house, and meet his girlfriend Jen for the first time. (Seems like a pattern in Dubuqe doesn't it?) He made us dinner which was really fun. On Saturday (the 9th) we drove once again, this time to the Twin Cities to meet our friends Melissa and Derek for lunch, although we didn't get to see their house, we did find out they are expecting a little one of their own. So maybe next time we're in the twin cities we'll see their new house and meet their new little one like we did while visiting Dubuqe! We were also fortunate that our WI vacation happened to be the same weekend my old college roommate Leah was getting married in the Twin Cities. So after our lunch with Melissa and Derek we went to the wedding reception of Leah and Chad. It was beautiful, and I'm still a little jealous of their January honeymoon in Hawaii. ;) The next day on Sunday the 12th we celebrated Christmas with the DeBaets side of the family. Jason got his first experience watching a Packer game IN WI. Needless to say there was quite a bit more noise than he's used to when he watches them here with me. Monday was a day to pack and regroup. We also took a road trip with my dad to visit my great grandma myers and our neighbor Valera Schuck in the nursing home. Monday evening we visited with my friends Rusty and Chica and got a tour of their new house. Tuesday the 12th it was time to head back to Chicago to fly back home. On our way we had lunch with our friend Larissa and baby Dane. She made us some excellent soup, and we got to see the amazing painting and decorating job she did on her apartment. We didn't know it at the time, but have since learned she's expecting baby Anderson #2 early this fall. What a very full and fun trip we had!

(Sunrise from my parents' porch the day we flew back)

Now that I think of it...cousins Ben and Melanie here in Utah also just bought a new house this past week that we will see soon, and Melanie has a baby due on the 14th...new houses and babies all around! So congrats to everyone on the new houses, new babies, and new marriages...well done!

Once I returned to Utah, the reality (and urgency) of school set it. I found myself with less time than I had planned on to get my thesis research proposal written and submitted. I scrambled and set up a committee meeting (*gulp*) which I've been somehow avoiding for months. The writing and preparing process left me sleeping badly, eating little, and waking up stressed out each morning. I did not enjoy it and either did the folks (namely Jason and my mom) who had to deal with me stressing, crying, and generally feeling crappy for a month. The good news is, that my thesis research proposal was officially over at 4pm today. So another small milestone has been accomplished. It went really well. My rehearsals in front of the cat paid off and my 20 minute speech was 20 minutes and 23 seconds long. The question/answer session that followed from my committee went well and I left feeling relieved and a little more confident about my project. Thank goodness! Thanks also to everyone who put up with me complaining, crying, being unproductive, cranky, posting dismal facebook status updates, inviting myself over to study, and turning down offers for hanging out over the past month. The bright news is that part of the project is over. I now need to finish analyzing my data and do a TON of writing before I defend my thesis (hopefully sometime early summer).

This weekend the plan is to relax. Thesis research proposal is done, the Olympics are starting soon, and it's Valentine's day! Jason and I are planning to go bowling with some friends this weekend. Monday we have off of work and are going to go for a couple's massage and out to dinner. The massage is my Valentine's gift to me....I mean Jason ;). Should be fun.

I think that's about all. I know I've probably missed a few things as it has been a very busy couple of months. Thanks for following along and continuing to put up with me and be supportive.

S.~