Julie's Personal Daybook

**I am copying Julie's prompts for today's daybook because I like them and because I always use Julie's blog to get the daybook prompts. I may add a few of my own prompts we'll see...
Outside my window...I am in Chicago this week and it's dark outside and nice and cool. I have not idea what the temp is but I know that I am a little bit chilled. They have had a really mild, cool summer. I'm glad we get to share a week of it.
I am thinking...how many hours can I get away with on the computer tonight?? I haven't been near a computer in two almost three days. I have lots of catching up to do!!!
I am thankful...for safe travel and good gas mileage. We left FL with a full tank of gas and have only stopped twice for gas. Our best mpg was 43.5! We made it 582 miles on our second gallon!
From the kitchen...I won't be doing much cooking this week but I do get the pleasure of eating the family's cooking and this family is slap full of good cooks. Tonight we had a wonderful Indian meal over at Tim and Lisa's (Ollie's brother and wife).
From the learning rooms...I think we may go to the Field Museum in Chicago sometime while we're here. Lots of learning will be happening there. We are also learning to get along in a small space for hour upon hour on the road. I learned how to (mostly) control my emotions as we set a tent up in the rain the other night after about 11 hours on the road.
I am reading..."A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith. I almost never read a book more than once and this is the third time I'm reading this one. It's that good. My book club is reading this and I decided to read it again and I'm just loving it all over again. It really is a must read. It's about a little girl, Francie Nolan, growing up in New York during the depression.
I am praying for...continued safety on the road and that I can be nice and pleasant to my family. :0)
I found this quote to ponder..."Just because it comes in your size don't mean you have to wear it!" This is a quote from a teacher I used to work with in reference to some of the awful outfits some of the girls would wear--skin hanging out everywhere!
I am listening to...silence and it's beautiful.
Around the house...it's clean, uncluttered, and nicely decorated (you can tell I am not at home!)
One of my favorite things..."hippie" clothes and tie dye--my SIL took me to a hippie store today and I had a ball! I got three long "hippie" skirts and a great shirt. There was a ton of tie dye in there and some amazingly wonderful purple overalls with butterflies. If only I had had more money to spend! Thankfully the three skirts I bought were marked down to $8 from $36 because of a slight tear in the waistband but I'll be cutting that off anyway to make them the right length for me. They had lots of tie dye hoodies but they were out of my price range. Sad but true.
A few plans for the rest of the week...we are going to a lakehouse in Wisconsin tomorrow and will be there for a couple of days, Field Museum, maybe to a movie, spending lots and lots of time with family, maybe a trip to the Sears Tower.
Trip highlights so far (this is the category I made up)...dinner with my family in GA--southern cookin' so good it'll make you want to slap your momma!, making the best of a very wet situation when we were camping in NW Tennessee--just as we were trying to get the rain fly on the tent the bottom fell out and we got totally soaked and never really did get dry until we left the next morning, camping at its best!, lunch at Lambert's "home of the throwed roll,"--this was the coolest restaurant! They throw rolls, have huge portions, and then come around giving you more food--fried okra, black eyed peas, fried potatoes, sorghum syrup, etc. I have pictures but they'll have to wait, visiting with a friend of Ollie's at the St. Louis zoo for the afternoon, spending the day with the family today catching up and having fun.

A picture... Here's an oldie but goodie. This is from spring break about 4 years ago probably.
Peace out friends!