"I was wondering why they put Queen Elizabeth on American money."

The quote above was heard in a certain Honda CRV in a certain toll-booth on a certain interstate on between here and Chicago. It was uttered by a certain 16-year-old girl. In order to protect her identity, she shall remain nameless. I'll call her "Schmalerie." The statement came after a particularly sour toll-booth operator gave us a particularly sour look after inadvertently attempting to pass him a Canadian dollar coin. He shot us his look, and all four occupants of aforementioned Honda shot him one right back, as we were all indignant that he would even suggest the notion that our 16-year-old in tow had incorrectly doled out foreign money. Until he held it up and handed it back to us. Oops. So we dutifully counted out 4 quarters in replacement, tucked our tails between our legs and rolled up the window and waited for the arm to raise and allow us to continue our adventure.

It feels like it's been ages. But I'm back now.

"Wicked" was phenomenal.

The Ford Center for Performing Arts / Oriental Theater is indescribable. A bit on the chilly side, but still awesome. :)

Saturday at home was about as perfect as you could get. We spent almost the entire day outdoors - raking, mowing and playing, and therefore, had a couple of very happy children.

Winona was... well, Winona. As it always will be. Filled with memories, college students (who just keep getting younger and younger - while interestingly enough, we just don't seem to age!) and the best darn appetizers and burgers you can imagine. We drove home on "the Wisconsin side" of the river, which I have never done before. I felt like I was looking at the world through a new pair of glasses. What a silly thing to go through life always doing things the same way. So that's my challenge for you today - mix it up a bit. Change a hard-wired routine, even just one time. It's amazing what it will do for your outlook on life.

And now, here we are. Back to it. Which is what I shall now do.