"I'll be Like Funshine and Make the Sunshine..."

WOW...Today officially marks that I have lived in Chicago for a month. Isn't that wild?Sometimes when I'm sitting on the train or walking around, I can't believe that I really am here.

This week has been glorious! I had my first visitor---Ms. Kari Barnhart! It was such a sweet gift from God to have her here with me for a few days this week. It was nice to have a bit of "normalcy" so to speak, which I had been praying for. Kari knows me, so it wasn't like I had to pour out a lot of effort in getting to know her. We just caught up, had a lot of laughs, and enjoyed this beautiful city! The weather has been abnormally cold (well at least for me) the past few days, but earlier in the week it was perfect. The sun was shining and it was warm with a light, cool breeze.

Brunch has always been Kari and Is "thing". Back in Tyler, we would look forward to Saturday morning brunch dates at Cafe Tazza for omelette's and Belgium waffles, so it was only appropriate to start our day with a trip to my favorite brunch place, Orange, with a peel. This is the place that I promise to take everyone who comes to visit. The weather was SO nice that we decided to enjoy our meal on the patio. Kari and I are notorious for ordering a pancake or a waffle and an omelet, and then just splitting it all so we can have the best of both worlds. Today was no different.

Our appetizer: Amazing fruishi. Watermelon sticky rice with green apple and pineapple, accompanied by coconut rice and strawberries. It was delicious.

The Cinnamon Roll pancake. It is BEST pancake I have ever had in my LIFE! It was SO sinful, yet absolutely HEAVENLY! It is 2 cinnamon infused pancakes with a pecan, cinnamon sugar medley sandwiched in between and then covered with vanilla glazed icing and powdered sugar. We couldn't finish it. And needless to say, we didn't eat anything else the rest of the day! Except the free chocolate we managed to score TWICE from Ghiardelli's.

Fortunately, Kari has been to Chicago numerous times, so we didn't have to do any of the touristy stuff. I'm sure I'll get my fair share of that when a lot of you come to visit ;). Therefore, we did what 2 unemployed girls do best...SHOP!!! We hit up our favorite stores on North Michigan Ave. : Forever XXI and H&M. We did some major damage at both stores. I conveniently get to blame Kari for all my purchases (a pair of sandals, a shirt, 2 summer dresses, a pair of matching earrings, and a pair of sunglasses.)!!! It was a great day!

Then on Wednesday, we celebrated Cinco de Mayo by laying out, swimming in the hotel's HEATED pool, eating Italian food, and worshipping in an all-black church :)....no margaritas for us, but we had another wonderful day. Both of us got a little bit of color without getting burned! We were only outside for about an hour---I put on 55+ sunscreen twice and still got a lil pink. Somethings will NEVER change.

Later on that day, I went to my first IMB Appointing worship service and it was AMAZING. There was an incredible time of prayer, all the missionaries going to different countries shared their stories, and then the most awesome time of worship. This was the first time that I had been to an all ethnic black church. Those brutha's and sista's sure know how to lift it up and praise our King! I had such a good time being in the presence of this powerful choir. It was wonderful to clap our hands, get up out of our seats and worship. Here is a picture of the choir:

Thank you, Kari for coming to visit! It was WONDERFUL to have you here with me! I love you!!!

So I've decided that people in Chicago do not celebrate Cinco de Mayo like we do down in Texas. Then again, we don't celebrate St. Patty's Day like they do up here, so I guess it evens out. I was just a little surprised that there wasn't anything going on and that none of the Mexican restaurants had any drink specials on Mexican beer and margaritas.

So last night I went to Angels & Mariachi's with my friend Adam to enjoy a margarita on Seis de Mayo. Better late than never...

Cheers! Happy Seis de Mayo!

My first Chicago margarita. It was good, but not Texas good...

After enjoying my large margarita, like any good girl, I broke the seal...this is what I found in the ladies room and it really tickled me. Sorry fellas...

Well I better wrap this up for now, I've got a few errands to run and some friends to meet up with in a bit, so have a wonderful weekend! I'm headed to Chicago's Celtic Fest...Oh yes friends, be prepared for a lengthy blog next week about my adventures at Millennium Park with all the hot Celts in Kilts with accents. I can hardly contain my excitement!!! :D I'm just praying the weather cooperates!

And to my Mum and all my mom's out there...

Happy Mother's Day!!!

These are the flowers that I sent my mum today at work for Mother's Day. I managed to make her cry buckets! Score :D! I wish I could be with her this weekend :(, so if you are fortunate enough to get to spend time with your mom, enjoy every moment with her! Love her well not only for the holiday, but always.




Aren't they pretty? I picked them just for her! Flowers by LouAnn always does a great job!






P.s. I went on a couple of interviews this week. I don't want to disclose any details just yet, but things went well and I'm in the deciding stages. I'll keep you posted as things become more definite.

P.s.s Thank you to all of you who are concerned about the state that Chicago is in in regards to the National Guard wanting to come in because of all of the gang violence and murders that have been happening. I have already received several texts and I am OK. I am extremely cautious wherever I go and I am not out late by myself. I have already received several text messages about the Old Navy shootings that happened earlier this morning. I am fine, at home, and safe. Just continue to pray for Chicago, just like you pray for the rest of the world. I refuse to walk in fear and I pray daily for this city. God has me here for a reason and I will continue to be a "light" in a "dark" city.




Love to you all from my wonderful city,





Heather :)

Heavy Heart

I was going to blog tonight, but after a day of processing and prayer I have rather a heavy, weepy heart...therefore, it's probably best that I just go to bed.

I will write more tomorrow, I promise.

BUT, I will leave you with this (the last things I read before going to bed):

I am the daughter of a King, a woman, skillfully crafted by my Lord, here to speak, preach, and teach, the truth of the gospel of freedom and grace to those who have been oppressed by the lies of Satan...

But now, this is what the LORD says—
He who created you, O Jacob (Heather),
He who formed you, O Israel:
"Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
For I am the LORD, your God."

Pleasant dreams friends.

I Am Lion...Hear Me ROAR!!!!

I'm reading this amazing book that was recommended to me from a dear friend. It's called In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day. I am on Chapter 4 and it is rocking. my. world! It is tackling all of the issues I am currently experiencing.

Let me explain...this week has been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster. I've had my highs and my lows, but what it really boils down to is I have been putting the God I know to be faithful and love in box. #ihatewhenIdothis!!!! I allowed my "mental lions" where the job front is concerned get to me and destroy what I know to be true.

All week I felt like job hunting had become the never ending task...To be quite frank, it was becoming down right miserable. I felt like I was doing the same thing every day....getting on multiple sites, reading job descriptions, tweaking my cover letter to fit the description, bolding different duties on my resume' that would stand out to employers, I'd hit send....And I get NOTHING in return. It was VERY frustrating!

And in my frustration EVERYTHING seemed worse.

The thing is...I know I am supposed to be here. I absolutely LOVE it here, I don't want to leave, and I know God brought me here for a reason, but if I'm being real...I couldn't help but be like "OK God, I'm here, I've been restless for 8 months, and I have had NO normalcy for a month, I'm ready to be used, I'm available and open to whatever it is you have for me...show me...reveal to me what your plans are for me. I'm going insane..."

So needless to say, God is stretching me---BIG TIME! It's been difficult, but beautiful . He's constantly showing me that I need to un-learn a lot of my reactions and learn from Him.

I'm being reminded that the same God that brought me here has a plan and something WILL work out. Therefore, I REFUSE-here me-I REFUSE to let the enemy try to feed me anymore lies of fear and discouragement!!!

God is SO good. He thrives on what we deem "impossible ," but with God we know ALL things are possible. When we get to that place where we think there is just absolutley no way something can work out, He comes in and miraculously takes care of every detail and blows us away. Our testimonies become stronger and His name is edified more.

So on that note, I am full of joy and trust that God is going to provide. I'm going to keep pushing on ward, praying, reading scripture and this fantastic book while enjoying the many blessings God gives me everyday...

As far as the highs this week...I did some really cool and fun things. A few times this week I found myself at my max and had to take a break from job hunting because it was all becoming too much. I had the privillege of exploring the city some more, a few play days with friends, and celebrating my roomie Britt's life.

As always, I'll leave you with some pics...

"Nobody better lay a finger on our butterfingers!!!" *insert Bart Simpson voice* The weather in Chicago has been amazing this week. Jeremiah and I decided to have a picnic in Millenium Park on Wednesday. We had a good time.

We went to the MOTHER of all Macy's department stores. I stood in the same spot and took a picture of what was below me and above me. It's CRAZY big with lots of pretty things. Be proud of me that I walked out without purchasing anything.

I stood on the glass ledge at the Sears Tower (i'm going to be a true Chicagoan and call it that--yes, I am aware its now called the Willis Tower). It was crazy! I am not afraid of heights, but it took me 20 minutes to step on the glass. Something about standing on glass was a little scary. The view was amazing and such an adrenaline rush! I was scared to look down, but I did! Look how small those cars are?!!!!

Celebrating my sweet Roomie Britt's b-day by having lunch outside at Sultan's Market. OMG it is wonderful and I am sure it will becomes one of my favs. It's crazy cheap and insanely delicious. I had the Chicken Schwerma Pita. It had spicy chicken, onions, hummus and jerusalem salad (fresh diced cucumbers). So good!!!



I hate this picture. I need a haircut and I am pastey...Anyways, at Sultan's Market they had a drink called Aloe. Yes folks, it is what it is. I'm not afraid of much, so I decided to try it. Just as I took a sip, Tommy says "Is that floating pieces of aloe in there?" I conveniently happened to get a large piece of floating aloe. The texture not so much, but the drink was actually pretty good. Very refreshing and tasted a lot like gatorade. (I know Audra is cringing)


After lunch, we decided to take an afternoon stroll through Wicker Park and the Ukranian Village. Guess who's house this used to be? Ever heard of a little band called the Smashing Pumpkins? Well, this was lead singer Billy Corgan's house. He no longer lives there, but I think he left a lot of things behind. I didn't post it, but right inside the glass door there was a tall, stuffed, dragon-like butler replica holding up a tray. Weird...
A side view from the house. I had to climb up a gate, so sorry for the tree. Can you tell from the glass inspired wall that this house has very 1990's rockstar feel?!

Me and my friend jess being silly. We went to the Fizz Bar & Pub in Lincoln Park to watch Chicago's Bye Bye Liver, an interactive drinking play. It was funny, but I had more laughs with Jess after the show. Not really sure that it's worth $20 bucks.

Well, I better get back to the good ol' job hunt. Oh what fun :) I hope you all are doing well. I love and miss you all...

xoxox

-Ms. H