Me, More Adventurous in Chicago

Many of you don't know this, and it is slightly embarrassing, but that's okay. I deal with embarrassment daily.

I didn't get a driver's license until I was 18. Yep. Two years late. Actually, I was almost 19. I was a sophomore at BYU and living on my own by the time I got my it. Why? Well, a number of factors. One, I got in a car wreck before I was 16 (I was getting my "hours" required for the license), and I was a little wary of driving because of that. Two, I didn't want to pay my own car insurance, nor did I have much money for gas. Three, it was fairly easy to bum rides off people when you don't have a license. Or ride the bus. I rode the bus to work (MTC dining) when I was in high school, and when I was in college, I worked on campus. I also made my boyfriends and roommates drive me around.

I hadn't quite had my license for 2 years when I got married. And, I never had a car when I was single. So, you get the picture. I didn't ever drive much. I drove quite a bit more after I was done with school and at home with the baby, but still rarely did I do any freeway driving. Whenever I was going anywhere far enough to take the freeway, Dan was with me. And we all know it is the man's job to do the driving (especially when I was nursing the baby half the time in the backseat).

I'm not sure how many hours I have driven on the freeway, but it is probably like 25, maybe. I did help out a bit driving from Utah to Chicago, but how hard can freeway driving be in Nebraska? It was pretty pleasant and non-stressful, actually. Even with all the I-80 construction.

Now I am in Chicago, the third largest city in the U.S. The traffic here is insane. Always. The roads are ridiculously bad. Potholes everywhere. (This bankrupt city definitely has no funds for repairing its roads.) Lanes commonly merge without any signs warning you.

Up until this week, I hadn't driven at all in Chicago. This week I drove three times. I am very proud of myself. I didn't even get lost (which would have been pretty hard to do since we have a GPS!). Tuesday was the furthest trip--all of about 12 miles :). I hauled Violet and myself out to go shopping. It was quite a shopping day. Wal-Mart first for some sheets and mattress pads for Violet.

I went to Target next for some shoes for Violet. They have darn cute baby shoes there for only $9.99, and since I can't afford these darlings, Target is the next best thing. I bought these brown Mary Jane's.

I next intended to go to Hancock Fabrics (I am slowly easing myself into the idea of trying to sew without my mom or sisters (my younger sisters are all much better than I am...Chelle says it is just because I have no patience to do things slowly..haha)). But, I never made it there. On my way, I saw a store called Marshall's. It looked a bit like Ross, my most favoritest store for buying clothes, and which they do not have at all in Illinois. So, I go into Marshall's, and it looks even MORE like Ross on the inside, only a bit messier, and a bit more unorganized. I excitedly start going through the isles looking for clothes. Of course, I failed to notice that Violet had a face that looked like it was covered in dried brown shaving cream. (I bought these "biter biscuts" at WalMart because she was hungry, and they sure work well for smearing all around the face.) I found a skirt for $7, a dress for $5, and a shirt for Violet for $2.99. Pretty good trip. Except that Violet smeared more brown goo all over one of the store's mirrors. I'm sure they hate me. Oh well.

Right next door to Marshall's was Old Navy. I am not sure why I wanted to continue this shopping trip, because it had been three hours by now. Violet was cranky from all the shopping. I was tired from hauling her around (she lasts in the shopping carts for about 5 minutes and then wants to be carried). Yeah, she only weighs like 16 lbs, which is really shrimpy for an almost one-year-old, but it still can be tiring. I never find anything at Old Navy that I like for myself, but I sometimes find things for Dan. The whole Men's Department selection of sweaters were pretty gay looking, so I didn't buy. But I did get a black tank top for myself and a dress on clearance for Violet. Both were $5. Fabulous, right?

I finally ended this trip (I was tempted to go to Sears next door to Old Navy, and Kohl's right across the road, but Violet reined me in). I drove us home through more insane traffic, only missing like 2 turns on the way, and we made it back safely. I feel pretty good about driving here, as long as I don't have to get on the nightmarish freeways. Luckily I don't have to drive much at all because there are grocery stores, playgrounds, the library, and lots of other stuff like 2 blocks away, but the occasional quick trip (or really ridiculously long trip) to Wal-Mart or Target is definitely feasible for this adventurous girl ;).