Merry Christmas!

The holiday weekend was filled with eating, shopping, card games, laughter, visiting relatives and friends, opening presents, Wii, and more eating. Melissa and Jeff had time off from work and were able to be in Naperville this Christmas. Mike left the warm weather in LA to spend his three-week break in Naperville. This was the first Christmas in 12 years that I didn’t have to travel to Naperville for the holiday because I live there now! I can’t believe 2008 is almost over and that at the end of January I will have been back in Chicago for a year.

Click here for some Christmas pictures.

Adventures in Macau and Hong Kong

Yesterday I returned from a two week trip to China for my job. I traveled to Macau to work on a casino/hotel project called City of Dreams. Macau is an interesting place - it's a mix of southern Europe, the Orient and Las Vegas. At the end of my trip, I had some time to explore Hong Kong. Both of these areas are a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China, which allows them far more economic and cultural freedoms than most of China. So, even though I was technically in China, it was very different than mainland China. A visa is not required to travel from the US to Macau or Hong Kong.

Two of my coworkers from the Chicago office (John and Jen) were also out there with me. All three of us love to take pictures, so the pictures I'm posting are a combination of all of our photos. John is really the expert photographer in the group, so the ones that catch your eye are probably his work. The following two links are for the pictures:
Macau Pictures
Hong Kong Pictures

Climbing the Sears Tower

After 2,109 steps, I finally reached the top of the Sears Tower! Today I participated in Go Vertical Chicago, the world’s longest indoor stair climb. Over 2,000 people climbed up to the Sears Tower Skydeck on the 103rd floor to help raise money for cancer research. I dedicated my climb to my Uncle Tom, who died earlier this year from cancer. He was brave man who inspired many people! I love what his daughter (who is in medical school) said about the tiny, little, microscopic cells that were attacking her dad: "...I have started to realize a few other things about those cells. I used to think those tyrant cells were all powerful, but I am starting to figure out that there are a lot of things those cells cannot do. They cannot take my dad’s spirit. They cannot take the love out of this house. They cannot take away my memories. They cannot take away the 24 wonderful years I have had with my dad. They cannot. In fact, those little, clear buggers have tied this family together with a bond stronger than that of the blood brain barrier. They helped me realize how brave, how strong, how charming, how funny, how awesomely amazing my dad is and always has been. I have just been too caught up in things to realize."

It's amazing how many people I know who have recently battled with cancer...in March my high school assistant gymnastics coach (John Lies) died of pancreatic cancer. After 30 years of teaching in the Naperville School District, he leaves behind a trail of so many lives he has touched. He was an amazing teacher who loved his job and truly cared for his students. I also have stories of friends who have won their battle with cancer. Two of my dear friends from Ann Arbor, Dianne and Daphne, are now cancer free! I watched these ladies face this terrible disease with great courage and faith in God. They taught me so much about what is truly important in life.

It's exciting to know that today's event raised almost $400,000 to support cutting-edge cancer research by young scientists who dare to try to overcome a disease that will touch one in four Americans. I will end this entry with words of wisdom from my Uncle Tom: "Remember there isn’t anything better than family and friends. Wake up. Pray to God. Thank God for your family. Thank God for your friends. Keep your priorities. There is so much in life that is not important."

Click here for pictures.

Michelle is going to Macau

This week I booked my airline ticket for China! It's official, I'm going to be in Macau for Thanksgiving this year. This will be my first overseas business trip. I will be working on a project called City of Dreams, which features hotels, apartments, shopping and a large casino.

Macau is known as the Asian Los Vegas and is the only city in China where gaming is legal. The gambling revenues from Macau's casinos are actually greater than the Las Vegas Strip!

Since I am flying in/out of Hong Kong, I will also have the opportunity to explore that area. Click on the map above to see the location of Macau and Hong Kong.

Long Distance Surprise Party

Thanks to the magic of iChat, we were able to have a surprise birthday party in Illinois for my brother who was in LA. A few of Mike's friends in Naperville came over to our house for dinner. Even my sister joined us via iChat from Iowa City! Mike had some problems blowing out the candles on his birthday cake, but other than that minor issue it was a fun way to celebrate his 25th birthday when he was so far away. I wonder if we are the first people to have a long distance surprise party...

Click here for pictures from this event.

Salt Fall Retreat

Last weekend I went on a fall retreat with Salt, the young adult group at The Moody Church. We went to a conference center up in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. The speaker for the weekend was Dr. Bill Thrasher (a professor at Moody Bible Institute). We had beautiful weather! Some highlights from the weekend were the hayride, meeting new people, the campfire, playing ultimate frisbee, the Salt Olympics, and walking to downtown Lake Geneva. It was a fun and relaxing weekend! Click here for pictures.

Moving to Naperville

After 7 months of my house being up for sale, it finally sold! The first weekend in August my parents helped me move the rest of my stuff back to Naperville, IL.

Click here to see pictures from the move.

Fun at the Fair

Last week my mom and I went to the DuPage County Fair. Click here to see some pictures that explain why we were there.

New Mexico

The first week of June I traveled to Deming, NM for a business trip. I flew into El Paso, TX and then had about an hour and 45 minute drive to Deming. My coworker Bill and I did a survey of a hospital to make sure that they were up to code for fire protection issues. It was a small one story hospital, so it was the perfect place for me to be trained how to do these reviews. Not only was it a fun trip, but I learned a lot that will help me become a better fire protection engineer. Click here for some of the pictures I took with my cell phone camera.

Soldier Field 10 Mile Race

My brother and I decided it was time for another race in Chicago. The last time we trained together was for the 2006 Chicago Marathon. Click here to see pictures from the Soldier Field race.