I always find that the first day back at work/school after having a few days off is the absolute worst. Well, I took off 4 whole days (2 were my usual days off) in a row and had a nice time, albeit totally dysfunctional, with my mother. We went shopping and went to the casino one night ( I'm too anal to gamble properly and I always lose even tho I only play the slots) and went visited a couple of museums and saw Star Wars and then I had to go with the Q.G. ladies to lunch for my grandma's birthday. I needed another day off just to recover from that. Seriously, that is the last time I will go to lunch with them. I wouldn't have gone but it was my grandma's birthday lunch and I couldn't skip it. And I got a free thimble out of it:> I swear that when my children are in their late teens and early twenties that I will NOT be a clueless annoying person (read like my mother). And when I am a grandma I will not go out to lunch with my friends and run the poor waitstaff around asking for more bread sticks/bicuits/bread and more lemons and more water and more napkins and then tell them not to leave more money on the table b/c gratuity was already added to the check. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! So, yeah, I had a nice time. We went to the Museum of Sci. and Ind. which was fun but it was full of kids and I had to wait in line behind 20 of them so I could ride the tractor in the farm exhibit. And my mom wouldn't wait for me so I didn't get to harvest any soybeans. I got to take a picture of my iris, tho. And we saw the "Super Croc" that measured 40 feet long. And after we couldn't stand the little kids anymore we went to lunch at Berghoff's, a yummy German food restaurant, and I had chicken schnitzel and stewed tomatoes and some Berghoff's house lager. Very tasty. And then we went to the Art Institute and saw the Ansel Adams exhibit. I saw some gorgeous Georgia O'Keefe's and Impressionist paintings (too numerous to mention) and an amazing stained glass window by Chagall dedicated to the Mayor of Chicago in 1977. And I saw a painting by El Greco (can't remember the name--something rising virgin something. Don't tell Mrs. Minnich I forgot the name:>) and it was so unreal to see it in person. It was absolutely huge. Yars. Very fun indeed. We wanted to go to the Mag Mile and Navy Pier but it was chilly and windy and we decided to go in a couple of weeks when it the weather is nicer. I didn't want to sit on the ferris wheel for 20 minutes in the freezing cold. And then the next day we saw Star Wars and I rather enjoyed it. And Hayden Christiansen is a total hottie. He's probably, what, 18 years old or something? Anyway, I highly recommend seeing it. And now that my little vacation is over, it's back to work as usual. At least I get to give notice in a few weeks...