Unplugged

I recently rediscovered the joy of being unplugged.

You know what I mean. No cell phone ringing. No text messages pinging. No internet.

Just living.

Living in Chicago, sometimes I forget to exhale. Often my husband has to remind me to just stop for a moment, and relax.

And last weekend that's just what I did. And it was unbelievably nice.
 
I got to spend a whole weekend with my favorite people in the entire world (minus a few, of course). We had swimsuits on, hot summer sun beating down, coolers full of beer, and all we had on our to "do" list was:

1. take a long, lazy 6 hour float down a cool, clear Missouri river. Go back to the hotel, and sleep in extra late the next morning.
2. explore Onondaga cave state park.
3. Stop at cheesy antique mall on the way home. (Where I scored a Sopranos trivia game, and we took advantage of some silly photo opportunities. See the photos below.)

Yes, this Ellie and her soon to be husband standing next to a ufo. And hells yes, this is what made us get off the highway!

Me and the giant pink roadside elephant. Why not?!

My new-in-the-plastic Sopranos trivia game!

 I would say that our roadtrip to Missouri was a giant win in every way imaginable. :)


Hmmm so what else have I been up to lately?

Not only did I get to take a road trip and a float trip down the lovely Meramec with Ellie and her fiance, but the huz and I have had out of town company staying with us pretty steadily lately. I also made it home last week to go fishing with my dad on the river in Dixon.

And I was lucky enough to grab a delicious dinner at the Cozy Noodle (check out www.cozychicago.com), and take in a Cubs game with my cousins E and K, my sister Cher, and  my baby nephew Allen on Monday. The Cubs kicked the Pirates' asses, and it was awesome to see them playing so well, and to catch up with cousins that I see far too rarely.

Is my nephew cute or what?!

I know that I often talking about being broke, and it's true that money is tight. But  I'm really incredibly blessed because I have the best friends and family that a girl could ask for, and I have been having the best summer I've had in a long, looong time.

You'll have to forgive me for blogging less often lately, I'm trying to squeeze all of the fun I can out of the last couple weeks of summer. I start school on August 27th! Can't believe how quickly the break has gone by...