Ohio Road Trip: The Way Home - Part V

Our ride home was all well and good until we reached the Skyway into Chicago. I've got to say that it is the worst part of our trip. Over seven years motion sickness has been an ever increasing illness. It's to the point where I cannot sit in stop-and-go traffic for long periods of time. The nervous energy in Chicago, the methane from landfills, carbon monoxide from vehicles, and a jerking back and forth motion made me violently ill. This is why I hate the city of Chicago, and why I will never live there. It might be pretty, but it's not worth my health. San Diego, nor Madison are even close to the monstrosity of Chicago. I've been to Detroit, Portland, and New York City. None of those cities kill me more than Chicago. NYC has marks for the craziest traffic, but it never made me sick.

Thank goodness for the Des Plains Oasis! That was a stop I needed for some necessary walking. Nevermind food or any other sort of reason to stop, we were walking.

We decided to get food at Buffalo Wild Wings. Unfortunately we had to wait until Crystal Lake. Believe it or not those suckers are hard to find. We were originally thinking Hooters, but they weren't anywhere north of Rand Road. Well, Yelp didn't find one. The dinner there was very good. I had the Mango Habanero Chicken Salad. Mango Habanero is their best sauce for wings. It's just right. The Parmesan Garlic ones are good, too, but I prefer Mango Habanero. Of course the kid had a hamburger. Peter had wings and ribs. Everybody was happy.

While at BWW I text messaged my sister to see if Isabella wanted to spend the night. Izzy and Stephanie missed each other so much over the course of the school year. So, I arranged to have Izzy spend the night as a surprise to Stephanie. That was a lot of fun. Isabella played the "I miss mommy" routine, but this time we didn't give in. I read them the first chapter of Matilda. Then we played Phase 10, Uno, and Go Fish. Before bed we also did some yoga.

The next morning we were up and ready to go to church really early. I put on The Princess and the Frog for the girls. Who am I kidding? I put it on for myself as well. They were good. While they were here they saw Bailey and pet him twice. Izzy was so happy about that. Bailey is a good cat with the kids. He even rolls over to let them pet his belly. After church we went to the play ground next door. The kids had fun. We played red light green light, swung on the swings, climbed the jungle gym, slid down the slide, and even had some obstacle course races. Let's talk about the slides for a minute. I tried to go down the slide. To much sadness my hips barely fit in the first slide. The second slide was big enough, but how depressing is it to not go down a slide because you're old and fat? Ugh! The swings were much of the same. The back and forth movements made me very sick. That made me want to cry because I love to swing. We had fun anyways.

After the park we visited at Northwind Perennial Farm. The farmers market had officially opened that day! We went to talk with the vendors and take a walk on the grounds. They had some new paths there. It was amazing. We found frogs, koi, and kitties. Gordon is still the king of the farm! We had a good time there, too.

Then we went home. I had some work to do and they needed a rest! Shortly after we got home, I realized it was my night to do dinner. Holy smokes! So, we got back into the car and went to visit Wal-mart. This time I remembered to bring Stephanie's gift certificate from Christmas. She decided to get a playground ball, frisbee, and Headbandz. I picked up the ingredients to make stuffed shells, breadsticks, salad, and some fruit for dessert. While I made dinner we played Headbandz. Peter even played with us. That was such a treat. Amazingly enough Izzy, the 5 year old, won! I say amazingly because the game is for players ages 7 and up. Not bad for a little one, huh?

After dinner I took Izzy home. Then it was time for sleep.

I hope our adventure tickled your fancy, and made you laugh.
<3

Happy Friday!

First the important stuff, the giveaway winner! The number generator gave me the number
"8
Random numbers generated Oct 14 2010 at 12:42:5 by www.psychicscience.org 
Free educational resources for parapsychology, psychical research & mind magic."

This means Lacey is the winner! Congratulations and I hope you enjoy your prize. Thank you to everyone who participated in this month's giveaway. Stay tuned for a more Christmas like giveaway next time.

In other happenings, yesterday was spent baking. Here are some fantastic pictures of what was in the oven. All were very tastey. That bread will be made again soon, too.

Ugh!...

I apologize for not continuing with my update. ::sigh:: Everyone ordering anything that is new will get 10% off their purchased price because I have been so neglectful. This will be good through the 22nd of August.

On the 10th I was preoccupied with a sleep over. Isabella, my three year old niece, and Stephanie, nine year old step-daughter, were having a grand old time. Having Izzy around fills me with so much joy, and everything else just seems to fall to the wayside. Can you tell that I really want to have a child one day? I'd get a puppy, but at least with a kid they learn to clean up after themselves. We had a grand old time. The girls passed out to watching My Neighbor Totoro around 9 p.m. Oh and we had ice cream called Monster Cookie by Blue Bunny with Hershey's Syrup. That gave Peter and I time to relax and chat before bed, shortly after.

On the 11th, I made breakfast. We had scrambled eggs, blueberries, strawberries, and toast with cinnamon and sugar or jam. The girls each had a banana before breakfast. Overall, it was a healthy breakfast for everyone. Afterward, the girls played until it was ready for Izzy to go back home. We had one "trauma" for the day. Stephanie and Izzy weren't paying attention, and Izzy's hand got shut in the vanity drawer. No bleeding, no breaks just pain. It was, in hind sight, some one-on-one attention time between Izzy and me. It's not often I get just us time with Stephanie around. She has this idea that a person has to be right next to you at all times when you're over or around her. We're slowly working her out of that notion.


Today, I didn't forget, but got the migraine from hell after going out to Office Depot to make copies of a couple e-books around 12 p.m. However, they are all pretty, bound, and ready for reading. After a nap, medication, and water this migraine will not go away. The next thing to try is some caffinated tea. I've eaten, which is sometimes the cause, but it still remains. Miss Carol from River's Edge Weaving Studio has given me one other remedy option, caffeine. So it's Lady Grey Tea to the rescue! ::woosh, the kettle is now on the stove::

Tomorrow, Stephanie's grandmother will be picking her up around 1 p.m. Hopefully I will have pictures taken and a small shop update for you. lol I was planning a larger shop update, however, there is a craft fair in a little less than two weeks from now. Can't have a fair without something in supply. What a Homer moment.

Sometime tomorrow afternoon will be a shop update.