WILW #3 (Chicago Edition)

What I Love Wednesday!

1. Road trips.

I just got back yesterday from a wonderful trip to Chicago, in which lots of driving and minimal amounts of rest was involved. It's probably my last vacation I'll have for a long time. I love driving, but of course driving 9ish hours isn't the most exhilarating thing ever.
There's something about driving on vacations that makes you see more and think more. Not to mention, it gives you time to practice singing skills, learn trivia, develop ridiculous inside jokes, and learn the ABCs. And I had some pretty decent passengers.

2. Oak Street Beach.

An amazing beach off Lakeshore Drive in Chicago. We spent our Fourth of July there, and it was the most relaxing time I've had in a while. Not to mention the people watching was hilarious. In my 20 years of visiting Chicago, I had never dipped into Lake Michigan, so this was a first. And the water felt AMAZING. If there's any beach you should visit while in Chicago, it's OSB.

3. iPhone.

Thanks to Nicole during our time in Chicago, I had some novice experiences with using an iPhone, which is most likely the next phone I get. The one I currently have is a dud. It has the battery life of maybe 10 hours if you're lucky. It's time. That's if I don't drop sand and chocolate Frosty on it ;)

4. Google Reader.

Coming back from vacation, I had 125+ emails. Probably deleted 120 of them. But I was more excited about checking my Reader, which is so awesome. I love anything that can be easily organized yet found in one place. Although I have a list of things I need to do today, catching up on posts on my Reader is one of my non-priority priorities.

5. Optimism.

Probably the most optimistic and encouraging friend I know is sweet sweet Amber. Over the course of this trip, I realized that I could never be as optimistic about people, life's events, and life in general as she is. But it's definitely a quality I admire and want to work on having more often.
*I promise I'll blog about teaching/classroom stuff soon, but for the time being I'm still enjoying my summer vacation time...I only have 12 more days of that!