A Windy Day At The Park

Geof got a bike for his birthday from my parents. It's been too cold here for him to ride it much so yesterday we went to the park so he could, in his words, "test out his bike". It was a beautiful day in spite of the terrible wind. We both had a great time and learned an important lesson: never stand on a playground with sand during a windstorm...it hurts!

Intuition

The Merriam-Webster website defines "intuition" with the following...

Main Entry: in·tu·i·tion
Pronunciation: "in-tü-'i-sh&n, -tyü-
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English intuycyon, from Late Latin intuition-, intuitio act of contemplating, from Latin intuEri to look at, contemplate, from in- + tuEri to look at
1 : quick and ready insight
2 a : immediate apprehension or cognition b : knowledge or conviction gained by intuition c : the power or faculty of attaining to direct knowledge or cognition without evident rational thought and inference

The part that reads, "immediate apprehension" is ringing loud and clear today. Geof and I returned from taking Nathaniel up to the truck stop this morning and I had an overwhelming feeling that I shouldn't drive too much today, particularly near a certain intersection close to home. I had no idea why, but the vibes felt a bit off. I kept seeing us getting T-boned or rear ended at the intersection. As soon as we got in the door my phone rang, it was Nathaniel asking if we could bring his cell phone to him because he had forgotten to get it. No problem, I put the thoughts of disaster out of my mind and took his phone to him. On our way home I was almost side swiped twice in town, then I went through the dreaded intersection. I was waiting to turn left behind another car. The car in front turned and I followed, then the asshole stops to chat with another driver waiting to turn right leaving me stuck out in the middle of the road right in front of on coming traffic!!!!! I was livid. Luckily both drivers realized this before anything bad happened. I'm still shaking and pissed. I had planned to go shopping today and take Geof to Toys R Us but I think we'll just stay home instead. I'm not taking any chances today.

photo courtesy of corbis.com

Chicago

..and no, I'm not referring to the musical or the movie. Chicago is the place we've decided to vacation this year. Last year we went to St. Louis and were totally spoiled. A lot of the things we did there were free or very cheap...and you know how much I love a bargain. In my research for things to do in Chicago, I've discovered that there are not a lot of things to do on the cheap there. Here are some lists because I love lists.

Free

1. Lincoln Park Zoo
2. Millennium Park
3. The Art Institute of Chicago ...free Thursdays 5pm-8pm

Not Free

1. The Field Museum
2. Navy Pier
3. Sears Tower Skydeck

That's about the extent of my research so far. We'll be there the last week of May into June. I've already picked out which yarn store I'm going to hit up..very excited about that, by the way. That's the only thing on my itinerary so far.

Now, I'd like to ask for some reader input, opinions, and answers. When we travel we have the whole "When in Rome" mentality, meaning that we like to do what the locals do. Of course we'll do some of the touristy stuff, like visit the Sears Tower, Navy Pier, or one of the ball fields. I would like to get some input on local eateries, places to shop, kid-friendly places, places to avoid, etc. Basically, how do you see Chicago on a budget? Even if you've never been can you recommend a website you've used that helped you plan a vacation that provided a sneak peek into what lies off the beaten path? Any input would be greatly appreciated!!

ICK!!

Ick...that is how today has been since my eyes first opened this morning. It's been terribly windy and cold here today and I woke up to stomach cramps, severe nausea, and mud butt. Yes, mud butt is exactly what it sounds like...I'm so mature! Luckily Geof is fine and even allowed me to take a nap this afternoon.

On the up side, the sun is still shining and I can at least pretend that it is nice outside; I woke up to Valentine wishes via text message from a great friend I don't get to see often enough; Geof drew hearts for me; I got to take a nap; Geof is healthy; and I still have a nice bouquet of yellow roses with pink tips to admire while Nathaniel is away. He did the whole Valentine thing early since he's on the road today. I think I'm one lucky beotch in spite of all the ick!

Oh Harry!!

Am I alone in finding this extremely erotic? I must control myself, he's only 17...I feel so dirty and wrong!! Kinda makes me wish I had been swept up in the Harry Potter craze a little sooner!

By the way this is not an ad in favor of bestiality..ya perv..apparently he's set to star in the play Equus in London.
The rest of the scoop.

A Note From The Woman Behind The Curtain

Did that last post seem a little weird to you? There's a reason for that. It was a shameless plug...well, maybe a delayed shame plug. I signed up with Blogvertise a few weeks ago. This is how they say it works, taken from their FAQ page.

"Our blog advertising service is setup for bloggers and online journal writers to earn revenue/income from their online blog/journal in an easy to use, simple and effective system. It is free to register your blog and add your blog to the system for approval. Once approved, your blog goes into the assignment queue. The blogsvertise administrator then assigns writing tasks for what our advertisers want you to mention in your blog. You don't have to endorse the website product/service, just mention it in your blog and link to the advertiser website 3 times in your entry."

I've been asked to plug online gaming sites mostly, but I never wrote about them because well, they were dumb. Then I was asked to plug the wedding site so I did and that was the subject of the last post. I'm not sure if I'll be paid for it or not. That assignment was supposed to pay $5 after 30 days, but I think I have to provide my social security number first, and I'm very leery about giving that information out freely. We'll see. Just wanted to explain. In the future, if you see a post with a label that reads "plug", just keep in mind that I was paid to do it. Does that make me a blogging whore?

If you're interested in checking out some pay-per-post sites, here are some others I've found that seem to be more credible than most. Sign up at your own risk, I'm just sharing here, please do not consider it a gun to your head.
Blogvertise - emails sent to you with assignments you can accept or decline. payment made via verified paypal account 30 days after your blog entry is approved. SSN required for tax purposes.
Associated Content * - write an original 400-10,000 word article on something you are familiar with (baseball, crochet, cooking, etc). emails sent to you with content ideas and special offers. SSN required for tax purposes.
Blogitive * - once approved to the Blogitive system, you are given access to opportunities from companies to post about their news releases. you are paid per posting weekly via paypal.
Blogads * - haven't figured this one out yet

* = I do not have first-hand experience with this site/company

Love Is In The Air

When I got married almost 5 years ago all of the wedding planning was done my yours truly. Usually, just like for first-time parents, opinions and offerings for help flow freely. Not so in my case. It was my own fault though, I knew what I wanted and didn't want to bother anyone. I married young, none of my friend were married then, and I had never been involved with planning a wedding. I was clueless! Now there's a new wedding to attend about every 6 months.

A friend of mine sent me the link to Wedding Needs. I'm amazed at what's out there! I had never heard of "save the date" and now they make the coolest magnets reminding guests to keep that date free. They also have a wedding budget tool. I'm pretty good at keeping up with expenses...and we all know how out-of-hand wedding planning can get...but it would have been nice to have a tool like this.

Hopefully I won't be planning any weddings any time soon (if I do, this is the invitation that will be sent out!), but I can look forward to anniversary milestones and celebrations. My parents celebrated their 25^th anniversary a couple years ago, and my grandparents celebrated their 50^th!! With the divorce rates as they are these days, I'm very lucky to have such great role models. If we live long enough, maybe Nathaniel and I will see our 75^th...hey, it could happen!