I have been doing a lot of driving around the Midwest over the last two weeks on my way to interviews, which I may or may not blog about soon.  My favorite thing to look at while driving (ooh wait, sorry, SECOND favorite after lakes!) is wind farms!  They are so pretty!  I know some people complain about them and actually think they are ugly because they seem so strange in the farmland, but I think they’re great.

Did you know that Iowa is #2 for having the most wind power installed in a state?  I haven’t seen any wind farms in Iowa; I think maybe they’re in the N/NW part of the state.

Wind farm in Iowa. Pretty, no?

Wind farm in Hancock County

I did see wind farms in Illinois on my trip.  Illinois is ranked #10 in most wind power.

Wind farm in Illinois

Another wind farm in IL

What a good, CLEAN way to get energy!  Way to go, Midwest!  It’s nice to know your boring flatness is good for something.  :)

- Jill

I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy International Chocolate Day!!!  I am going to celebrate by finishing off my ice cream and maybe even the Girl Scout cookies that I still have left.  It really isn’t surprising that I still have some after how many boxes I bought.  I am trapped inside today because my apartment complex’s lawn and parking lot is flooded.

I feel pretty cozy because I don’t think it will actually flood any of the buildings and I have already moved my car to higher ground (that was fun, let me tell you).  I have decided to approach it as an adventure, since many people all over the country are dealing with much worse things right now.  The sound of the rain is soothing and it is pretty amusing to watch people slog through the water to move their cars (I’m sure it was hilarious to watch me).  Right now two guys are playing catch with a football and having a ball diving into the “lake.”

Here are some pics.

Have a great Saturday and eat some chocolate for me!

Jen

So I am innocently driving to work today and I see this crossing the road:

Of all the things to worry about when living in suburban Chicago (murderers, rapists, thieves, scary drivers, high gas prices, and iffy neighbors) now I have to avoid getting eaten alive by coyotes while I am walking in from the parking lot.

I do hope he was okay and managed to avoid the traffic/hunters/train tracks he was headed towards.

Jen

On Thursday, it was 59 degrees as I drove home from work, windows down, hair flying in the breeze. I opened up my sliding door and let my cats square off with the squirrels on the other side.

Then Friday happened…………………………….it was one of those ’snowing-the-entire-time-I-am-at-work-can-barely-get-out-of-the-parking lot-because-the-snow-is-too-high’ type of days. Ugh……….I thought they were long gone. I almost forgot how to use my scraper to clean off my car because I told my mind I wouldn’t need that knowledge again until NEXT winter, since it is officially spring now.

But at least it was warm yesterday and most of it melted. It also caused things to look really pretty, so I decided to document it, since I hear there was no snow in Iowa on Friday.

The poor little plants sprouting up outside my window are not looking so good anymore after being doused with so much snow. Hopefully they will pull through.

Jen

And it’s finally official:

I sent the paperwork in back in November……………glad to know the system works so fast around here.

Jen