Welcome to Chigacoland!

No seriously, that is the name of our collective suburb. West Chicagoland. I laughed at first, but then I realized it was serious. There is a reason there are about 300 different freeways and highways crisscrossing Chicago and its suburbs. Oh. My. Goodness. And I thought Seattle was bad.

The biggest adjustment for me is that everything is flat. Like a pancake. Not even a lumpy pancake. Earlier this summer we flew into O'Hare, and I commented (with some despair in my voice) that there wasn't a hill over 6 feet tall within sight. Which is a long freaking way. Because there are no hills to block your view. I do not take that statement back. But, I'm am getting to like it. We are on the 5th floor of our apartment, and we can see for miles! And miles, and miles... Its actually really neat. My favorite part has been the thunderstorms. West, and mountain west regions have NOTHING on these thunderstorms. They are just plain Wicked!

Other than the overall flatness, we are adjusting well. Luna slept all 3 driving days, we listened to a book on tape, and we're great! Here are some things I love so far:

1. Fireflies. 'Nuff said.
2. Trees. I missed them living in Utah. Its not Seattle, but the greenery is goooood.
3. People. Everyone that we have met so far is so very very nice! People go out of their way to hold the door open for you, smile at you, say hello... I'm amazed.
4. Our ward. Lots of lovely people that are just so nice!
5. Giordano's Pizza. Look it up. You can have them ship you a pizza. Do it.


Things I do not love so far:

1. Cicadas. They are NOISY! And possibly the ugliest bug you have ever seen. But they are kinds cool in an entomological sense.
2. Humidity. Last week there was a heat warning out. The temp was in the upper 90's, but felt like 109 degrees. I sweat. A lot. Ew.
3. Mosquitoes. Lots of lakes, puddles, and retention ponds = mosquito heaven.
4. Ticks. Haven't found one yet, but Luna got a frontline treatment, and I'm living in fear.
5. Construction. 'Tis the season.

And yesterday we made an amazing dessert. The strangest step for me was to "slowly pour the boiling water mixture over the batter", but it was delicious! And pretty easy. Try it with strawberries and vanilla bean ice cream. :) After you order Giordano's pizza of course.

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Alas! The recipe for Brownie Pudding recipe from the better home and gardens cookbook does not appear to exist on the internet! This is as close as I can find, and mine looked a lot like the picture. I'll try to give you my version in the future.