I have a blog?

For the 3 of you that follow this blog, I have been MIA for a few weeks, ahem, months.  I have lots to share including a visit to the legendary Leinie Lodge in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin and a field trip to Maui. 

Updates are en route!  Also, my most excellent friend and sister in AOT, Brianne, also has a fabulous new blog that is fun and witty.  Check her out over at http://thisicoulddowithout.blogspot.com/ .

Table for One, Please!

Did you know that psychological experts have said that being able to go to a movie alone is an indicator of extreme confidence?  I feel like dining alone follows this same thread.

Being newer to the traveling sales representative scene, facing the prospect of time alone on the road is a new experience for me.  When the workday is through and the appointments have a neat little check next to them, all you have left is an evening of solitude.  I hope every past sales manager I've ever had is reading this.  Why even limit it to that?  I think every person who has ever known me well would all tell you the same thing.  Silence makes me uncomfortable.  I start to throw random phrases out in the air just for the sake of breaking the quiet.  Enter the phrase, "Table for one, please."  It's only logical that eating alone would cause the sweat to bead upon my brow.

I know I'm not the first traveler to experience the novelty of dining à l'une.  But I feel confident that many business travelers have had these thoughts. Sure, I could go grab a sandwich and eat in my hotel, but that's a lonely prospect as well.  Instead, I go through the inner conflict of wanting to get out and enjoy a delicious restaurant while wondering if everyone in the restaurant is looking at me thinking, "Oh that poor, sad, lonely woman eating all by herself."  That may be a bit dramatic, but I can own the fact that I am a bit neurotic (and maybe a teensy bit dramatic too).

A little liquid courage AKA The Summer Peach Mojito from Food Dance in Kalamazoo, Michigan...maybe if I am a little buzzed, no one will notice that I am dining all by my lonesome

Farmer's Market Saturdays

I've decided to add a new feature to the blog.  Each Saturday, I am going to explore a farmer's market in the Chicagoland area. 

So what is a farmer's market anyways?  From Wikipedia:  clicky

This Week:

Homewood Farmer's Market

17951 Dixie Highway

Homewood, IL

Saturdays, 8am-1pm, July-October

Skyscrapers and Soybeans Fieldtrip: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

This weekend, I was lucky enough to travel to Toronto to visit one of my best friends, Lindsay, and her mom Marg. In the past few years, I have been to the Toronto area several times and have experienced many of the interesting sights the city has to offer. In my opinion, Toronto has a similar feel to Chicago...it's on a lake (Ontario for those wondering), it's of a similar size and population, and it's a very international city with many diverse neighborhoods. I think that Toronto would make a great weekend getaway for anyone in the Midwest. It's approximately a seven hour drive from the Chicagoland area (my time may be off...I am comparing this to my dear husband, driving like a bat out of hell, from the South burbs of Chicago - our current record it 6h30m) or a 1 hour flight. If you make an extended long weekend of your Toronto adventure, you can even head to Niagara Falls, which is only 1.5 hours from the city.

Listed below are some of my favorite things I have done in Toronto:

South Bend...more than just Notre Dame?

Today I was busy working in lovely Northeast Indiana, specifically South Bend. As much as I hate to concede this, I would wager that most people with any modicum of knowledge about college sports know that Notre Dame is located in this lovely pocket of Indiana. Similarly, most people who know anything about yours truly know that I have a deep dislike for all things Notre Dame. I know, you are all shocked! How does an Irish Catholic girl from the south side of Chicago come to despise the good ole' Fighting Irish? First of all, it was bred into my psyche by my equally Notre Dame hating father. For my immediate family members that are certainly reading this, we will ignore the transgressions of my junior high years when I wore ND sweatshirts and thought that I would some day attend the aforementioned. Secondly and more importantly, Notre Dame fans have a way of believing that the sun rises and sets based on the movements of ND football. If you would like to see a comprehensive list of 10 Reasons why you should hate Notre Dame, I suggest you visit this entertaining article: clicky.

Dedicated to Marcus the Boat Boy

Your humble narrator, circa 1987 aka "The Mullet Years," fishing in Ely, MN

So, I was supposed to update this blog last week while traveling through the lovely state of Minnesota. Well, you know what they say about best laid plans and all that jazz.

Instead of covering the interesting things I did, which were few and far between, I thought I'd share some tidbits from my trip instead.

Once upon a time, there was a little girl...

And this little girl grew up to be a salesman, just like her Daddy. :)

After five years in pharmaceutical sales, I have officially hung-up my pharma-barbie hat and have moved onto my next sales adventure. This new endeavor requires that I travel throughout the Midwest 50% of the month. When initially faced with this travel challenge, I didn't know if I could handle it. Life on the road gets lonely and I worried that I'd miss all the comforts of home, the furry face of my loyal mutt Indy, and the daily companionship of my husband. In the short time I have been working for my current employer, I have found out that all of the above are true.

On the other hand, I've been given an opportunity to truly explore every corner of the Midwest. So why a blog? Today, while planning for the upcoming months, I was exploring Google Maps. While searching the fine state of Indiana for a specific location, I came across French Lick, IN. And then Santa Claus (on Christmas Lake, no less). Mentally, I made a note that I must stop in these places. I mean, who wouldn't want to see the birthplace of Larry Bird and why not share my adventures as I go along?

So follow me as I travel throughout out the Midwest, where no historical marker will remain unturned, no greasy spoon will be denied, and all of the hidden beauty will be discovered, from Skyscrapers to Soybeans.


"The secret to getting ahead is getting started." - Mark Twain