Head in the Books

I've spent the last two weeks pumping my brain full of hopefully useful facts. Facts about the brain. My qualifying exam is Monday, and I am thrilled to be *almost there*! If I can just push myself a bit further... 31 hours left to go...

Drew's surgery went well. He is gaining mobility little by little, but it is almost a full time job getting him to rest. He feels like he should be going to school, attending meetings and "getting things done," but that's hard to do while you're on oxycodone! Of course, it can be frustrating to be stuck in a chair -- but he is hopeful that soon, very soon, he will have full mobility of his arm again and will be a better man, once again able to exercise and live life without pain. We are THANKFUL!

Things we are thankful for:
+Friends. The most amazing and supportive friends we could ask for.

+Meals brought to our door throughout the week, lovingly made gluten-free.

+Momma Debbie's loving touch, making sure our home is clean and our needs were tended to earlier this week (needless to say, we were sad to see her leave!).

+Sunrises and sunsets -- a home with a view!

+A dog who forces us outside into the (finally) cold Fall air for joyful romps in the park, encouraging us to interact with our community and take breathers throughout the day.

+That SOUTH AFRICA is JUST AROUND THE CORNER! Good things lay ahead. In fact, I'll leave you with a photo of Pretoria's skyline. We can't wait for January. :)

Cozy Ruski Shoes?

I woke up on time: bright and early to get in a few hours of studying for my Neuroscience PhD qualifying exams, but had an email in my inbox about a potential subletter for the time we're in Africa. She wants to swing by tonight so... I had to whip our "student home" (=books everywhere, dishes in sink, enough to make this clean freak go mad!!) into shape. One hour later and we are dusted, vacuumed, and clean kitchen-ed. PHEWF.

I told a friend yesterday: I think we need a nanny!!

Amidst all this, I need to find time to shop for winter boots. Being a no car family, it's not easy to make it to the mall (the city is full of darling boutiques, but for a decision like this I need options...). We were unsuccessful over the weekend, but this morning as I was scrubbing the stove a faded memory of Russian felt boots that a missionary friend of mine owned came back to life. What were those called again??

Five minutes of google searching and -- victory! Valenki. Totally clunky, but I hear they are the most comfortable boots known to man. You are meant to cut them down to the height you want using a simple pair of scissors. And the galoshes are removable for dry weather or indoors wear. Perfect for another frigid Chicago winter, perhaps?