Google your what??

OK - Cheryl has some cool stuff on her site.

I am stealing this from her (which she stole from someone else - but whatever - still cool)

This is how you play.

Do a Google image search of the following and post the first (or favorite if you want to cheat, but fess up if you do) result for each:

• The name of the town where you were born
• The name of the town where you live now
• Your name
• Your grandmother's name (just pick one)
• Your favorite food
• Your favorite drink
• Your favorite song
• Your favorite smell

So here are all mine I used the first photo I found.

Lowell, Indiana

This is Main Street in Lowell. Growing up if you'd blink you'd miss our town. It's growing. We have an Aldi. So we're big enough to have bargain shoppers. Neat.

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

This is aerial shot of Cedar Rapids. If you look closely you will notice there is an island in the middle of the river. This is May's Island and it holds our City Hall. We are one of three cities in the world that have their municipal buildings on an island (the other 2 are Paris, France and Osaka, Japan.) Nifty - I know.

Colleen

Nope. This is not my ass. I wish it was. I did however haul a lot of wood in one of my former jobs. This is Colleen from Survivor. Maybe if I watched that show I would recognize this ass.

Ellen

No my grandmother is not a body builder or a lesbian talk show host. She does however make a damn good banana cream pie.

Giordano's Chicago Style Pizza

No. Not Pizza. Chicago style pizza. Preferrably Giordano's. Did I mention I am a pizza snob? Cedar Rapids has no great pizza. Just decent - and that place JUST opened. Verdict's still out.

Tom Collins

Made with Beefeater's Gin. It was a toss up - I also really like Diet Coke.

Safety Dance - Men Without Hats

It is not music genius - but it makes me happy every time I hear it. The Barenaked Ladies have WAY too many songs I liked to choose just one. It's a good thing it wasn't your favorite musical group....I would have had to weed through a lot of porn.

Morning Dew

I didn't know how else to put it. When Mr. Chep and I go fishing early in the morning - it's the smell of the lake, the wet grass, maybe it's just morning. It's the best place on earth.

If you decide to do this - let me know so I can check on your site as well!

Our little secrets....

Writermom posted her fetish....I am posting - a weakness. This is a window into my soul. I am unsure why I am sharing this with all of you - maybe in a hopes that if I realize there's a problem...nah - it's just funny and I recognize that!

I have discussed before that my mother is a packrat. Growing up we had a lot of friends that came to the house. They would have plenty to drink - but the rest of the fridge was full of condiments.

They say - like mother/like daughter. I didn't get all of my mother's habits - but as far as the fridge goes....I am most definately my mother's daughter.

This is a full view of my fridge. Most areas of my house are tidy. This however is the exception. I am my mother. I am a collector of condiments.

Let's take a closer look at the contents shall we?

If you look closely at the first photo you will notice that my doors of my fridge have no real organization. Ice cream syrup is hanging out with some BBQ sauce, salad dressing, A-1 (which neither of us even use!) a bottle of wine that some guy at Brad's work made (which sucked BTW) and some lime juice. The photo on the right has a little more I have 2 (yeah 2) bottles of ketchup, mustard, mayo, miracle whip, tartar sauce, louisiana hot sauce, soy sauce, worsteshire sauce and caramel.

Ah yes - the shelves. There are tons of leftovers. But we are not here to discuss those. It's the condiment issue I am here to address. The photo on the left is almost ALL condiments. Jellies, more BBQ sauce, more mayo, sour cream, horseradish, salad dressing, pickles....the list goes on and on.

OK. Now that I have shared I have to make a vow to clean out. Reorganize. No harm no foul. Well the foul has been witnessed and I need to remedy the issue. Hopefully before the end of the year I can share with you my clean and totally reorganized fridge.

Anyone else got any dirty little secrets???

Self portrait Tuesday....

Inspired by: Writermom and FineArtist.

**It was Writermom that thought I should do it upside down this week - read the previous post you'll understand!

What the.......???

Sorry it has been so long - I have been fighting with Adobe to get this posted.

Some of you may be looking at the photo and thinking...WTH?

It all started on Sunday morning.

10:30AM. Phone rings. It's my mother.

Chep's Mom: I waited as long as I could to call. Is everything alright????

Chep: Yes - why??

Chep's Mom: The tornados in Iowa - we were so worried about you out there!


**WTH? The tornado hit like 1.5 hours from our home but she is not from Iowa - so I let it go**

Chep: Thanks - mom - but we are fine - the tornado was like 1.5 hrs away. So what's new?

Chep's Mom: Well your father - he's at mass performing again (my dad plays the harmonica with the choir....don't ask)

Chep: That's nice - so what else?

Chep's Mom: OH! I have decided that I am going to hang Virgin Mary upside down in the window.

**WTH??** This obviously requires a follow-up - so I bite:

Chep: OK.....WHY?

Chep's Mom: Well I heard that if you hang the Virgin Mary upside down in your window then the person you pray for will become pregnant!

**Oh yeah - I am 31 with no children - and my mother desperately wants grandchildren**

Chep: So is this a proven thing? Have you heard others speak of this?

Chep's Mom: Oh yeah - there were a couple of ladies that said they heard that too.

Chep: OK....so will it work if you do it?

Chep's Mom: YEAH! OH and now I am counting on you to screw your brains out OK?

Chep: I am aware of how it works *change subject VERY QUICKLY*

******WHAT?????*******

You notice I didn't totally freak out and make a big deal about my mother's statement. This is because this is the same woman that shortly after our honeymoon we went to her house to swim. She announced very loudly that she and dad were leaving for awhile and that they would turn off the light outside if we wanted to "swim" *WINK*

YIKES!

Anyway - I am fully expecting to arrive at my mom's on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving to see Virgin Mary upside down in the window and for my mother to explain it to all that ask.

And you all wonder why I am the way I am.

Cat's outta the bag!

My Transgender Choice: Inspired by Cheryl

I was brought to Cheryl's site by her Which B-movie BadAss are you on Writer Mom's site.

I was intrigued by her most recent post which asked the question "If you could wake up tomorrow as a character of the opposite sex, who would you want to be?"

WOW. I never knew I could have this much trouble picking a male character I would want to be.

Now if you asked me who my favorites were - that would be a little easier: Jake or Charlie Harper on "Two and a Half Men". The more I thought about it I decided that waking up with an STD (Charlie) or with the hormones of an 11 year old boy (Jake) would not be fun. However; I must admit their antics are extremely entertaining.




OK - Neil Patrick Harris has had an array of interesting characters which is why his most recent character Barney on "How I Met Your Mother" crossed my mind (NO not Doogie Houser MD). He's funny, loud, and always trying to rope Ted (his best friend) into crazy little adventures. After a little thought I decided the point was NOT to select someone like yourself. Not to mention he's a man-whore (are you seeing a pattern here?)


So who did I decide on? Well Greg Sanders from CSI. He's witty, smart and let's face it down right sexy (plus he's got the best hair of the bunch too!) Anyone who has the ability to be a geek and get the ladies is worthy of waking up with (oh I mean as!)

So how about you? Who did you choose? Oh and don't forget to visit Cheryl's site and tell her too!

A Cowboy???

Big Boo-tay!

Which B-Movie Badass Are You?
brought to you by

My assignment as requested

Writermom asks - and we deliver.

Let me explain WHY I chose the item I did.

This is Froggie. This is Peppercorn's FAVORITE toy. When she plays with Froggie - it makes me smile. There's nothing I enjoy more than being happy. SO - I guess this is my favorite inanimate object.

Oh yeah - don't laugh.

Random Crap.

Visiting somewhere new? Or want to rediscover the town in which you live?

You may want to visit this site before you take your trip http://www.roadsideamerica.com/.

That's all I got today.

Lame.

I know.

Maybe tomorrow.

Employment Loyalty vs Employment Diversity

A couple of weeks ago a guy at work and I decided to make a list. No, nothing productive like things to do - more like a competition - on who has had more jobs. OK - can't say I'm proud - but I won.

The Jamoker's blog about Gahoogle Jamokes inspired me to talk about my employment history and how even loyalty can sometimes make it harder to find a job. Logical? I think not.

Before I moved to Iowa I worked at the same place for 6 years. It took me several months to find a job despite the fact that I had a degree and experience in management. Was it the reason I left? Poor interviewing? (could have been) or was it fear that I had worked at one place for too long and was lacking experience in different jobs that caused me trouble?



One thing I will tell you - my current employer was IMPRESSED that I had worked in so many different positions. It apparently made me marketable to this employer. Who knew? Maybe I should have listed my entire list on my resume.

Curious to see the list? Here is it.

1. Academic Administrative Assistant - (Current)
2. Recruiter/Trainer Staff Management (left for employment closer to home)
3. Trainer/QA Specialist - GC Services (company closed)
4. AnswerNet Operator - GC Services (Promoted)
5. Customer Service Operator - GC Services (position change)
6. Assistant Park Manager - LCPRD (relocated)
7. Bartender (seasonal)
8. Stage hand - IU MAC (graduated)
9. Short Order Cook - IU Food Service (injury caused me to resign)
10. Groundskeeper - LCPRD (seasonal)
11. Concession/Rental supervisor - LCPRD (seasonal)
12. Programming assistant - LCPRD (seasonal)
13. Cashier - Burger King (seasonal)
14. Umpire - AAU Softball (seasonal)
15. Babysitter

OK - 15 different positions - many with the same company. So I guess it isn't that bad - and I am only on the 4th company since I graduated from college.

Is it fair that Google requires a 3.0 to continue to an interview? NO. Is it fair that Whit who has been with the same company for 8 years has a harder time finding a job than I did? NO.

I will say - that each employer searches for the best fit - and I would be willing to bet because I graduated with a 2.58 I most DEFINATELY would not fit in at Google.

And my father who worked at the same company for 30 years would not fit in with a company like the one I work for now.

What am I trying to say? If you're searching for a job and it takes awhile don't let it get you down.

Remember: The job I found after 5 weeks of being laid off from GC Services - I HATED. I will say this - it's better to wait and find a good match than to take the first thing to come along. The year and ahalf with the job I hated was the longest in my life! So take your time when looking - you don't want to wear the wrong size shoes forever!

Pickles Needs a Female Cousin Soon...

Chep is letting me come over here to write about the MIL.

This is her with Pickles this weekend.

The MIL has a thing about big clip-on earrings.

She has a thing for putting them on small children.

I am glad she now has Pickles, because Jack was really getting tired of having to wear them.

Ahem.

Random Post

OK - I am still feeling a bit - well let's face it - CRAPPY. All I do is cough. It sucks.

Here is my lame post for today.

Inspired by Segue's post "The Greatest Dayton Picture ever" (or what I like to call Indiana proof of hillbillies in KY), I thought I would show the greatest picture from Duncan, SC.



A year ago I spent 6 weeks in Duncan, South Carolina on business.

Each day on my way to work I passed this roadside phenomenon.

This is a photo of an ACTUAL roadside vending machine found in Duncan, South Carolina. I am not making this up. Hell who could?

It's a 24 hour milk vending machine.


$3.00 will buy you a gallon of Whole, 2% or skim milk. 24 hours a day - 7 days a week. No need to locate a 24 hour supermarket at 2am to get your milk.

Convienent - yes.
Fresh? Not so sure.

I passed this machine everyday for 6 weeks - at least 4 times a day. I never once saw anyone insert dairy products into the machine.


Why do you think that is? Well I would suspect the reason is: there were not one, not two, but three 24 hr supermarkets within a 10 mile radius of this machine.

Funny - this is a machine I would expect to find in rural Indiana or Iowa. But alas, it was found in a fairly populated area in South Carolina.

Do you have an odd photo to share? A local oddity? Find it - and share!

The Formation of the Princess

OK - 2 days ago I started a blog about my parents and their creative side.

I should continue that blog - however I am a little loopy from the drugs. Bronchitis. FUN.

I will add one photo and call it a night.

This one shows of the start of the decline of the "Kiddie Parade". OH - don't get me wrong - the "floats" got better and better as I got older. This however led to putting me deeper and deeper into costume.

Nope - I don't have an older brother. A younger sister. My first taste in cross dressing.

Giant section of chicken wire to change into a giant flag: $15
Costumes for children: $10
Turning my sister into a princess because she got dragged in the rain so my parents could win the KIDDIE Parade: Priceless

(wonder if they found that section to fight those nasty squirrels WriterMom is so worried about)

Hopefully I will have more spunk tomorrow.

Ciao.

Pepper's little adventure....

If you haven't already figured it out - my husband and I don't have children (either that or I don't like them much because I have never mentioned them)
I do however have a dog.

Meet Peppercorn.

She's a 3 year old Miniature Schnauzer and she's like my baby.

She has a "house" (otherwise known as a kennel) next to our bed and she sleeps in it each night. We don't force her - she chooses to sleep there.

My husband (for whatever reason) must close the door to the bedroom when we go to bed. I guess he thinks if someone breaks in - that if the door is closed - they can't get in. "OH well the door is closed - guess I can't go in there..." Whatever.

Anyway - last night I went to bed after my husband and the house was dark. The dog followed me to the bedroom - but apparently did not follow me in. She spent the night - out of her comfort zone. Here is her story:

10:30pm on couch with master.

Ahhh....that one smells like dinnner....see what she thinks of that one.

Blah blah blah does she EVER stop trying to talk that blogger lady into moving to Iowa? Does she ACTUALLY believes anyone will move here? OK sounds like she's done. Finally time for bed.

**Lights darken**

SHIT - where did she go? I was just behind her. She actually almost stepped on me. Damn it's a good thing I'm fast. *BAM* Shit. Door. How do I get in? **rattle rattle** Shit - can't hear me.

I think I'll sit here at the door. Maybe she'll check on me. (5 minutes pass) Well I had best find someplace else to go. This floor is cold.

Couch. Mmmmm...not as nice without mom. Chair! I like the chair. Mmm....smells like....eww I was farting over here. Still smells. Can't stay here.

Maybe I'll check the bathroom. MMMM toilet paper. I had that once. It's fun. I ate it. I pooped it out for 3 days. The masters gagged every time they cleaned up the caca from the yard - that was great. OOhhh but it stopped me up something fierce.

Check the kitchen. Cool stuff in the kitchen. OOhh potatoes. Ate those once too. Threw them up. Smart. Not Smart.

Nevermind. I'll just wait. Right here. By the door.

And that's where she was when the alarm went off at 5am. At the door. Like nothing happened. The unconditional love of a dog. It's great.

The Cardboard and Duct Tape King

As I mentioned in Homemade Halloween my parents were the creative type. They put some time into Halloween costumes but took great pride in what our town called "The Kiddie Parade". Here is a little backround on the event. Held over Labor Day weekend kids of all ages ride bicycles, drag wagons or walk down main street dressed in little outfits trying to win ribbons for the best costumes.

I'm not sure how my parents got so involved in this "Kiddie Parade" maybe it's because I was barely able to walk when I first entered. I think I won - and my parents being the competitive types they are wanted to win again - and again.


It started off simple. I am guessing from the looks of this photo I was about a year and a half.

Mom dressed me as Raggedy Ann, turned my wagon into a block and had me pull it down the street.

I think we won.

And so it began.




Little Bo Peep
I dragged my sheep
To the end of the street.
I was 3
Yes that's me
Oh yeah - and we won - SWEET!




This was one of the last times I got be a girl at the Kiddie Parade and by far one of my favorite "floats".

I even got to ride my tricycle. For those of you who care the wings were made of chicken wire and those little squares of tissue paper.

I believe this photo was taken in 1979.

My parents diassembled the wings LAST WEEKEND to use in their garden to protect their bulbs from being eaten by squirrels.

And Writermom thinks her parents keep things for a long time. I will say one thing for my parents - they did ACTUALLY need it for something!

Homemade Halloween

After reading WriterMom's post about how her costumes from this year erupted - I was inspired. As I think back - there is only one year I can recall where we had storebought costumes. Mom never took photographs of that year. Come to think of it - mom didn't take a lot of pictures of Halloween. My parents had another fasination - one which I will address at a later time.

For starters let me just say that I always wanted to wear those store bought costumes. I always wanted to be like everyone else (didn't most kids?) However; as I look back I realize my parents were extremely talented and actually did me a huge favor in molding my creativity.



1983 Age: 8

Scene prior to a Halloween costume contest at the local park.

Chep: "Snowmen in October?"
Mom: "Yes! You will be most entertaining"
Chep: "But MOM it's so BIG! The head keeps falling down!"
Mom: "It adds to the character - it is SO cute!"
Chep: "Well why do I always have to be the BOY" (this will be seen in future posts)
Mom: "Because your sister is smaller and makes a better girl. Now quit arguing and get your father some candy!"

Fast forward to 1985. Age: 11

We went trick or Treating with friends. Who (obviously) got to wear store bought costumes.

Mom: "So what do you want to wear?"

Chep: "I'd like to be a witch"

Mom: "Your sister's being a witch. How about the Statue of Liberty?"

Chep: "WHAT? Why would I want to be that? I don't think so"

Mom: "It will be COOL! We can make you a crown and a torch out of a flashlight!"

Chep: "I don't like the sound of that. M and D are going as Star Wars characters can't I do something cool like that?"

Mom: "What is cooler than the Statue of Liberty? You don't have to go at all you know. You are a BIT old"

Chep: "Fine. "

Mom: "Great! You will be SO cute!"

And ya know? She was right. It was creative - I had a flashlight built into my costume so I didn't have to wear one of those dorky blinkers like everyone else did!

As I got older I started working with the parks department and was an active participant in the Haunted Forest. It was a chance to use this creative energy given to me by my parents. I will admit - my costumes did get a bit - well - more horrific as you can see here.

I don't look down on those that do the store bought costumes - however I must admit - that being a child of the "Cardboard and Duct Tape King" made for an interesting childhood!

Arranger vs Pack Rat - Part 2

If you got the paper today - you may have notice an article closely related to a previous post of mine Arranger vs Pack Rat. There have been other posts that also dealt with this issue (see October posts at Writer Mom's website). I am doing what I can to help the masses.

Hopefully this article will help you help others (or yourself if needed). America's "Orgy of Consumption" (yes that's really what it's called) deals with our growing obsession of collecting crap. Are you unsure if you are a clutterer? Take the test sponsored by Clutterers Anonymous. Sadly it does not appear they have an organized meeting in NWIN yet - so my mother will have to find another means of assistance for her growing problem.

See photo below for examples of a few more of her "collections".

**Note: faces have been altered to protect innocent bystanders.**

If anything this article got me thinking about items I need to post on e-bay. Ah - maybe tomorrow. I have football to watch!

Age: It's all in the eye of the beholder....

And apparently to the kid in front of us at the hockey game today - we were too old to know (or sing) Kid Rock songs.

Kelscraggly and I went to a RoughRiders hockey game tonight. The Roughriders are part of the USHL junior league. The oldest player was born in 1985 with the youngest born in 1988. But this did not make me feel old.

The game was a 2 for 1 deal with Iowa/Iowa State playing first. It came to my attention that I have been out of college for almost 10 years. That alone did not make me feel old.

The kid who sat in front of us was 13 and would turn around regularly to see Kelscraggly with a big ole can of Labatt Blue in her hand just having a grand ole time. To us: we're just kids - having a few beers and watching other kids play hockey. To the kid in front of us: we were weird old people that had a few too many. This - made me feel a wee bit old.

Why? Not sure. I always thought I had a "connection" with youth because of my wit and charm. This young man thought Kelscraggly and I were insane. That is until Kelscraggly got hit with a hockey puck and didn't even flinch. I entered "cool" when I made a witty comment about keeping your hands on your own stick when the other team grabbed one of our teammembers sticks.

I suppose I can't pretend anymore - I am reaching the age when songs from my youth are played on classic rock stations and Halloween costumes are based on TV shows that I used to watch! How do we fight it? Crimp your hair, peg your jeans and walk around on Halloween as if you didn't dress like this 20 years ago - and feel good about it!

Chicagoland it's a real place....

In case you haven't figured it out yet - I am originally from Northwest Indiana (Lake County, IN) 40 miles southeast of Chicago's Loop. Some (like kelscraggly :-) feel that although I grew up with Chicago radio and television that I should not consider myself a Chicagolander.

Well - I do. I grew up listening to WLS (on the AM with Larry Lujack).

I fought the traffic on I 80/94 - and if you aren't familar with the area: "Chicago traffic is really bad. Folks think Boston's is bad, but according to a ten year longitudinal study, Chicago's traffic is third worst in the country, trailing only LA's and NYC's." (taken from http://underscorebleach.net/jotsheet/2005/09/chicago-traffic-reports)

Even Wikipedia says Chicagoland is a real place http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicagoland and it even includes Wisconsin (who knew!)

As for the "Armpit of America" I am not the only person out there who believes that Gary should be labeled as such. DVD Talk posted a forum http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/printthread.php?t=381978&pp=40 related to the subject. Glad to see I am not the only one!

Mr. Men on LIfe

If you haven't read the Mr. Men/Little Miss series of books you should. I have adopted Mr. Happy as my own personal step-by-step guide to life's little problems.

I received my very first (and only) Mr. Men book when I was 8. I still own it. I have it sitting next to my computer and the picture of Mr. Happy is enough to "turn my mouth up at the corners" when things aren't going my way. This book was the start of what some might say is infectious positivity.

Alright - that's almost enough to make my mother barf - but it's true (in it's own sick way). In fact there aren't many of us "positive" people out there. Here's what I mean.

Our company does a Gallup test called "StrengthsQuest". It's all the rage is companies trying to find the best way to work with their employees. If you are not familiar with this "test" here is a brief summary.

The assessment tool asks a series of questions to help determine what your top 5 (out of 36) strengths are. This way an employer, instructor or student can work/learn best based on their strengths.

My top 5 strengths are WOO: (Winning others over) , Communication, Arranger (see Arranger vs Pack Rats post for an indepth look), Achiever and Positivity.

"So what" you say? Well my company has every employee take this "test". Out of 70 staff and faculty members - I am the ONLY positivity.

Guess I can thank Mr. Happy for my lighthearted look at life!

Chicago Fan for life....

OK I have to admit. I grew up a Cubs fan. I still am.

After moving to Iowa I found that I watch whatever Chicago team is on TV - and having married a White Sox fan (yes also a Chicagoland native) I find myself drawn to the White Sox and their AMAZING season thus far.

Bandwagon jumper? Not really - been watching the Sox for years. I love baseball - and I love Chicago sports teams. Needless to say I am thrilled to see the "blue collar" team of Chicago succeed.

Game 2 has so far proven to be just as exciting as the rest of the season - and I hope for the cursed teams of the MLB that Ozzie's boys pull this one off.

As for the Cubs? There's always next year!

Iowa's state tree is NOT a telephone pole....

It's peak color time.
Brad and I took a drive to some of our favorite spots to dispell the myth.
Enjoy!

A funny thing happened in Iowa last night....

Trip to South Dakota to shoot the mule deer: $500.

Cost to mount the head: $500

Telling your friends that your deer mount fell from the sky, an antler hit a girl on the head, caused the fire department, police and ambulance to report to the local college and the deer lived to tell about it: PRICELESS.

To everyone else: it's just a deer mount. To me: it's a story of a lifetime.

Arranger vs Pack Rat

I am an Arranger. I like things orderly. If someone moves my stapler - I move it back. Today I reorganized my filing system - again - and I enjoyed it.

They say there is a condition for my behavior - OCD. I can live with that. What I can't live with is: the Pack Rat and it's aftermath.

The photo above closely resembles many of the faculty desks at the college. For obvious reasons I avoid their offices as often as I can - for fear I might start to clean.

They are currently relocating to an office where they have smaller "personal" space. One of the instructors (who shall remain nameless) cleared most of his office today - and the amount of crap he removed from his current (5'x5') space greatly disturbed me.

Below is a short list of the items he had to take home:

• 1 - 24 can case of Coke
• 1 - 24 bottle case of Coke
• 1 crockpot - with crusty food still located at the bottom
• 3 calendars
• 3 shot glasses
• 2 coffee mugs

The sad part about this list: I didn't know he had ANY of it in his office until today.

This is what frightens me when my parents pass. They too are pack rats. I asked my mother 7 years ago for a cappuccino maker. She still hasn't found it. She mentioned she would give it to me when she found it. Still waiting. I wonder how long it will be......

This is a small example of my mother's obsession.....know what this room needs? An ass load of nutcrackers!

The things we leave behind

When relocating to new areas leaving family and friends can be the most difficult part of the move.







The In-laws












The family....








One of the most difficult things we had to endure when moving to Iowa was what we left behind. Don't get me wrong - there is something to be said for distance between family members (mom doesn't call every other day to have us fix a computer or remove some dead animal from under their porch - but that's for another time). I will say that times like those in the photos cannot be enjoyed as often; however when we do see each other the time is well spent.

So how have we coped from being far from family? We have made our own.














This is part of our Iowa family - and we hope to add more! We have an Indiana import (Scraggly), a Georgia return (ELK) and an Iowa lifer (Whit). Sure they will never fully replace our family - but they do help fill the void - and make you feel a little closer to home.

Ahh...the life....

Where people matter...

As my husband and I sat watching Numb3rs (Episode #16) Obsession - I had an epiphany of what makes Iowa special. The celebrity on the show was quoted as saying "It's better than the alternative.....moving to Gary, Indiana. My mother lives there, no one pays attention to you there"

I lived just south of Gary for most of my life - I can attest to the truth of that statement. The only time someone payed attention to you was when you stole their parking spot at the mall...and then it wasn't a pleasant experience. There were many times that my husband and I actually believed we were indeed invisible. On more than one occassion we found ourselves sitting in an eating establishment for more than 20 minutes without one person stopping at our booth to offer us assistance.

Cedar Rapids home of 120,758 people is a big city with a small town mentality. When you drive down the street, people wave. When someone asks you how you are; they really want to know. Iowans are genuine, honest and friendly. I am even on a barter system to have my dog groomed.

The news is full of feel-good stories. I used to find this odd. Now I find it oddly comforting. Never would I think of my morning weatherman as "the guy next door".

Iowans often ask me why I would ever want to leave a place so close to Chicago - I sometimes wonder why it took me so long to leave.

From Chicagoland to Farmland

Cedar Rapids, Iowa


















Gary, Indiana (The Armpit of America)

Seven years ago my father-in-law was offered a job in Cedar Rapids, IA. My first impression (upon hearing and not visiting) was less than favorable.

But here I am, 7 years later living (and loving I might add) the beauty of Iowa. My blog is devoted to the reasons we chose to move and the reasons we choose to stay. Enjoy!