A change would do you good . . .

. . . as my friend Sheryl Crow likes to say. So I got a big haircut and it has, as a matter of fact, done me good. I feel like a new woman.

Before:

And after:

Here are my four 10-inch pontytails (mailed off to Locks of Love) -- and also Simone's foot.

I was curious about how much all that hair weighed (I felt tons lighter), so I put it on my little kitchen scale:

6 ounces!

This was my third donation to Locks of Love, which means that I've now grown and cut off nearly 3 feet of hair (donations have been 10-12 inches each). Weird, huh? That's a lot of hair.

Illini Basketball

Melissa and I were thrilled to go to our first University of Illinois men's basketball game this week. The game was Wednesday night against Penn State. We had awesome seats on the first row behind the pep band. (The above photo is a random image from the Internet - not our actual view of the basketball court.) We were expecting a really good game since both teams were nationally ranked. The Illini had been playing very well at home and were ranked second in the Big Ten Conference.

As luck would have it, the game turned out to be one of the Illini's worst ever! The final score was 38-33 (or close to it). Penn State won, and both teams had abysmal shooting percentages. During the last couple of minutes of the game, the refs made a few "bad" calls, and the crowd erupted into boos and curses. The word that comes to mind is pandemonium. But we still had fun!

Happy V-Day

I hope all of you reading this had a lovely V-day yesterday! Mike and I had a great V-week. On Wednesday evening we got to give a presentation to the young women at our church about healthy relationships and marriages. It was a lot of fun to prepare together -- recalling how we met, what we used to do together when we were dating and engaged, and then reliving our wedding day through the (literally) hundreds of photos we have. We had a good time with the girls, talking about what makes family relationships and friendships most rewarding. One of the girls decorated these cupcakes for us with our names on them:


(After I took the picture, Michael ate all three of these cupcakes in a matter of about 5 minutes.)

Yesterday we had a hot date and exchanged small V-day gifts. This was part of Michael's gift to me:

He's so thoughtful. A few weeks ago I said something silly about needing "all the chapstick in the world" in order to have a stick in every necessary place (in all my bags, pockets, drawers, etc.). So I got this sweet "I HEART U" Valentine.

For our hot date, we had a yummy dinner at Milo's, went out dancing, and then saw Coraline (in 3-D) with some friends. Very fun.

Work-related news: I'm working on a project right now to test the usability and usefulness of library video tutorials at University of Illinois, and it's keeping me really busy. I usually work about 20 hours/week (plus classes and homework), but last week I worked almost 30. The usability testing is going well so far, and I'm learning a lot about what students think about our online instruction materials. I'll be reporting the results of this study at ACRL (Association of College and Research Libraries) next month in Seattle.

Weather-related news: we had a few days this month of abnormally high temperatures (highs near 70), but now winter is back. Simone uses our desk lamp as a heat lamp to get through the winter months. :)

Trip to Cache Valley: January 13-18, 2009

Mike and I made a belated holiday visit to Cache Valley last week and had such a good time. In fact, we were so busy visiting with friends and family and doing fun things that we didn't take a single picture! I packed the camera and then left it in my suitcase for the whole week. Oh well -- fun memories are better than photos. :)

We got to see so many of our family members and friends. We stayed with my parents, who are empty-nesters now that my baby brother has moved out. Mom and Dad are so much fun! They took us cross-country skiing up in Immigration Canyon in Idaho. On the way there and back we saw a moose and a herd of deer! It was a gorgeous day: the sky was deep, deep blue and the sun was shining off of the dry, sparkly snow. The snow was perfect for skiing and the temperature was between 30 and 40 degrees. Michael is very good at skiing; I'm a bit awkward and clumsy, but I do enjoy it. After skiing and lunching we went and sat in the therapeutic minteral water at Riverdale Resort.

Rob, Sarah and Nick (my siblings and sibling-in-law) came over to Mom and Dad's house a couple of nights for dinner and games. We played Wii and also lots of card and board games. I love my little bros and Sarah.

My cousin Emily invited us over for dinner and it was so fun to see her, her husband, and their two cute little boys. At dinner with the Munks we also got to catch up with a college friend, Shanna, and her husband and kids. It was wonderful to see everybody! We had a great time playing games and visiting.

We spent some time with my grandparents and with Mike's grandparents, including his delightful 92-year-old grandma in Provo, UT. We got to see some aunts and uncles and my good friends Mary (for lunch) and Wendy (for pastries and knitting).

It's always hard for me to leave home when the vacation is over, and this time was no different. I try to "buck up," but every time we leave I cry and cry. Leaving my childhood home and coming back to my real life as an adult can be tough -- last night we returned to a musty-smelling house, a very lonely and needy kitten, and an empty refrigerator -- but it is nice to get back to a regular schedule, school, and work. We loved spending time with family and hope to see you all again soon!

2008: Year in Review

This morning on NPR several commentators bid "good riddance" to 2008, a very bad year for financial markets (and political corruption, and natural disasters . . .). Thinking back on my personal experiences this year, I bid a much fonder farewell to 2008. It was a good year in the Bowles-Terry household.

Mike and I had a lot of fun following the presidential campaign. It consumed much of our free time and conversation all year long. Political drama is really some of the best entertainment available. And, as most of you know, we were thrilled with the way the campaign came out in the end and are hoping for good things in the year to come.

We took several short road trips in 2008: Carthage, Nauvoo, Chicago, (and Chicago and Chicago again), and Indianapolis. We had a wonderful visit from the Terrys in May and a fun-filled visit from my Mom and Dad in October. We spent time in Cache Valley during the summer and we're going to be there again in just a couple of weeks.

Mike has been very successful in his position at the bank, and my career as a librarian is getting ready to take off. I attended and presented at two different conferences in 2008, had a job interview and a job offer (that I didn't take), and will graduate in four months!

Our church activities have kept us busy over the past year. I lead the children's music program and love it. I'm also the pianist for the church choir and for our regular Sunday meetings. I love teaching music to the children -- I learn so much from them! Mike does a bit of everything in our congregation: he makes a lot of visits to people who need assistance, teaches in our Sunday meetings, and generally helps out wherever necessary.

We spent Thanksgiving this year with Mike's former Logan roommate, Karl, in Lafayette, Indiana where Karl is working on a PhD at Purdue. We had a fabulous time catching up with him and sharing an excellent meal.

Digging delicious cornbread/sage stuffing out of the turkey's body cavity. Yum!Karl & Mike coming up with a plan of attack for the carvin' of the bird.

We feel very blessed to have good friends in our church congregation; the George family invited us over for Christmas this year and we had a really wonderful time. We had a delicious turkey dinner, played games, and had a huge show-and-tell session of gifts received by G (6), M (4), A (2), and E (9 months). Actually, E didn't show off her toys. She got a bit overexcited and napped for much of the afternoon while we were there. :)

We wish the very best to all of our friends and family in 2009!

In Memoriam: Montague (Monty) Brough Terry

Unfortunately, I didn't get to know Monty well. We only met a few times, but I'll never forget the first time I met him. Mike and I went to Albuquerque for a visit with the Terry family and I was sort of nervous -- we'd only been dating a couple of months and it would be my first time meeting many Terry family members. Monty made me feel so welcome -- I sat down on the couch and almost immediately found 90 pounds of beagle on my lap. Unexpected, yes, but also very endearing. He was a very sweet dog. -- Melissa

Melissa's memory of Monty points to what I'll always remember most about him - his unconditional love. I'll always remember how excited he was to see me, whether it was first thing in the morning or after I had been away from home for a semester at Utah State. He would wag his tail so hard that his whole body would shake. Or if it had only been a little while since he'd seen me, if I walked into the room after being in another room for a little while, Monty would start to wag his tail. If he was laying on the floor, I'd hear the "thump, thump" of his wagging tail hitting the floor.

The most fun that Monty and I had together was on our walks. When I would put on my tennis shoes, he knew it was time to take a walk, and he would get so excited! He'd run and jump, and it was kind of hard to settle him down enough to get his leash attached to his collar. But after the pre-walk drama, we were off to sniff the neighborhood together. Some walks lasted longer than others. If something happened that Monty didn't like - if a strong wind blew in the wrong direction or if Monty spotted a hot-air balloon overhead - he'd turn around, hunker down, and drag me back to the house.

Monty, we love you and we will miss you. -- Mike

For more remembrances of Monty, see Bob & Emily's blog and Rachel & Jake's blog.

Happy Holidays!

Melissa and Mike in Chicago in August 2008

We wish all of our friends and family a very merry Christmas, happy holidays, and a healthy and productive new year. We're grateful for your friendship and love.