First Month in Chi Town

Tomorrow marks one month since we first set foot in Chicago! Talk about surreal. I cannot believe we have already been here for a month. In my last post, I updated you on how all the travels and first week went in the city. This time, I'll give you an idea of what day to day life has been like for us!

I signed up to take my nursing licensure exam (NCLEX) on August 18th! This means that my days have been focused on studying to prepare for this test (sort of). I am generally doing about 2 hours of studying per day which includes 100 practice questions and general content review. The "experts" recommend doing about 3,000 practice questions to truly be ready for the test, so I am doing my best to get there! I am constantly fighting lack of motivation, but it helps when I remind myself that this is the last time I will have to study and the last test I will take!

My Study Schedule

Okay, it's not always all bad...

Other than studying, my day to day is pretty laid back. I get up with Josh and make him a smoothie and a lunch and see him off. I then make coffee and breakfast and usually sit on the porch to read my Bible and get set for the day. Then, the rest of the day, depending on what is going on consists of: exercising, playing piano, errands, laundry, cooking, cleaning, etc. It's kind of like being a stay at home mom, minus the kids, which is pretty nice. I am trying hard to stay structured and busy so that I don't just waste away all this free time I have (which some days I would love to do). I figure that Josh is working really hard all day, so I should be too! After I take my test, my days will be primarily focused on job hunting. Pray for that, please.

As for Josh, he leaves the house around 7 or 7:10 and takes an express bus to work. I did the practice run of this bus ride with him before work started, and it was quite nice! The buses are very clean and air conditioned, and most of the people in the morning on this bus are commuters. He then spends his days at work saving the world one intern at a time ( or so I assume!). This week, he joined a gym a few blocks from work and has begun swimming on his lunch break. He is very excited to be able to exercise regularly, and to be back in a pool! The bus ride home is not as pleasant as the one to work. Traffic is killer and totally unpredictable, but he often spends at least an hour on the bus coming home. He is thinking about taking the train home instead. 

So, this is the "new normal" for us. We were so spoiled during our first year of marriage, being in school. Our schedules varied so much from day to day that sometimes we would find ourselves both home in the middle of the day together. We got to spend lots of time together, and it was so sweet! Though these mid-day times don't happen any more, I am learning how sweet this season of working can be. For example, something all to foreign to students: free nights and weekends! We don't have to spend time studying/procrastinating every night and weekend. Instead, we get to spend really great time together! Here are some photos of what we have been doing with our free time together! 

When we first moved, our first Saturday we decided to go out to breakfast.
It has now turned into somewhat of a tradition to do Saturday breakfast at
different restaurants. Though, we have not yet become true Chicagoan breakfast
eaters since we do not order alcohol with our food at 10am. Maybe next week.

We painted pots and then planted herbs in them for an "herb-an" garden!

This week was Sangria, yummy food, and watching the Olympics on our new T.V.!

On Saturday, we took a break from Olympics-watching to go for a walk.
We had walked to the water several times along the rocky shore, but this
time we decided to walk the other way, and look what we found!!
A beautiful sandy beach on Lake Michigan less than a 10 minute walk
from our front door! So, the next day, we came back prepared!

We really enjoyed spending time in the sunshine. It felt like a vacation!
The water is bath-warm, the sand is as nice as in Maui, and the sunshine was perfect!

So, long story short, we are settling in. We are slowly adjusting to not only life in a new city, but life in a new form. We are growing a ton, by the grace of God. Our marriage is being challenged and strengthened in whole new ways. We are learning how much fun it is to be friends with your spouse, and how sweet getting to spend time together is. I am so thankful to have Josh as my husband and partner in crime. This whole moving across the country, starting a new job thing would be so much harder alone. 

That's all for now!