Next Blog

When you are done here, look up top and click "Next Blog."  I just spent a good half an hour going from blog to blog.  It's like I traveled around the globe and took a peek into the homes of total strangers.  I saw their children, read about their lives, learned a few things, and admired their blog designs (mine is so obviously in its infancy right now).


I read about the evolution of "next blog" somewhere.  Relevant blogs are linked into blog neighborhoods.  Perhaps because this one is so random in its topics, my blog has some very eclectic neighbors.

Free Days

When we lived in Indianapolis, there were only so many places to go with the kids.  It made sense to buy memberships each year to the Children's Museum and the zoo.  As long as we planned to go more than twice in the year to each, we saved money.  They offered community days in which admission was either free or discounted but those days were usually so crowded that the experience wasn't as good. 


Now that we live in Chicago, there are so many attractions available, it would be hard to pick only a couple to join as members. Then there's parking. I did not realize at the time what a benefit free parking in Indy was. Up here, parking is equivalent to another adult ticket each time we go.

What I have learned is that each week I can find at least one spot to take the kids for free. Maybe because community days are so frequent, they don't seem too crowded. On only one occasion, was this a problem. We went to the Shedd Aquarium and the building was at capacity. We stood (in 40 degree weather) in a very long line waiting to get in. Once inside, the place was so full that it really wasn't worth it. I doubt we would have stood in that line as long as we did had I not just paid $17 to park after driving for 30 minutes. I have not ruled out going to the aquarium again on a free day. Many of the local schools were out for spring break that week and perhaps that contributed to the crowd.

So, we still pay for parking but that wouldn't change if we became members to that particular attraction anyway. Also, some places limit which areas of the building are included with the free admission but if we really want to see more, we can typically pay a small price to see it all. So far, we haven't done this because everything we see is new to us. Maybe we'll opt for the "extra admission" on the fourth or fifth visits.

I feel I must confess that going on free days makes me more likely to visit the gift shops. It's like eating a candy bar while drinking a diet soda.

The Shop-Vac

Sometimes a stain is bad enough that you'd just as soon burn down the house than deal with it. I woke up one morning and came downstairs to this. 

Poor dog didn't feel well in the middle of the night.

I didn't want to go near that horrible carpet with my hands and I didn't want it getting into my beloved carpet cleaner. I'm not sure how the shop-vac came to mind but I'm glad it did. I had never used it before that day, definitely not inside the house. I figured it was worth trying. I poured hot water and sucked up all of the mess. The carpet underneath was slightly discolored but the wonderful Folex took care of that.

Actually, the process took all day. Lots of rinse and repeat. Did I mention that the house was on the market at the time? Luckily, we had no showings scheduled for that day.

Silly dog started sleeping in the laundry room that night.