I love the perks of my new job...

Staying in pajamas all day (it's 5pm) and accepting fun gifts from AOL.

The UPS guy dropped off this new gadget for me. It can print/copy/fax/and scan and the best part is I didn't know it was coming.

For now I'm mostly working from home but my co-workers say once my website launches (Deerfield.patch.com) Nov. 1 I'll be running around like crazy. So I'm enjoying these comforts while they last.

My mom's a rockstar!

She started baking challah and it's unbelievable. I know I'm a little bias since her bakery is a family owned business but I honestly can't believe how good it is.

I was at the bakery a couple of weeks ago on Howard and California and there are loaves laying around for employees to enjoy. Well, at least that's what I thought. So, every time I passed by one, I snuck a chunk! A chunk, probably as big as my fist.

This morning, I cut thick slices, and made french toast...incredible!

An Interesting Way To Kick Off The Jewish New Year

The Westboro Baptist Church came to Illinois on the eve of one of the holiest Jewish holidays of the year to torment some heading to services. The group best known for its protests at military funerals had a clear message for the Jews, "Obey God, or destruction."

This is one of the photos I snapped of protestors outside the Holocaust Museum in Skokie, Illinois.

You know your 91 year old gradmothers's still got it....

when she's leaving a holiday party and she pats your behind and says, "Make lots of money."

$50 Worth Spending

I was in New York training for my new job for the past two days. On Tuesday, I had a 7:35 flight out of LaGuardia and shared a cab with some of my co-workers to the airport. I got there at 5pm, checked in and flew through security. What usually takes me an hour took about 15 minutes. So, I checked departures and spotted a flight leaving at 5:35 headed to O'Hare.

I was told at the gate I could change my ticket for $50 and slip on board; I considered the cost for about 5 seconds and quickly swiped my card. I got home around the same time I was supposed to take off and couldn't have been happier about it.

Welcome Back To Chicago...

Where it costs $11.50 to see a movie. 

Lesson Learned: Virginia State Troopers Are Out To Get You

My father and I recently took a road trip from Greenville, North Carolina to Chicago, Illinois. I was moving back home and my dad was kind enough to accompany me on the 15 hour trip. So, we passed through Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Indiana together. 

If you find yourself on a similar route beware, Virginia is swarming with hungry state troopers. We must have passed dozens of squad cars, with deputies inside armed with radars, ready to bust anyone breaking the rules of the road. 

A couple of nights later my dad told me he had a nightmare about those law enforcement officers and that images of them hidden around curves, on the side of the roads, were imprinted in his dreams. 

When I first arrived in North Carolina I made it through 2 weeks before I got my first speeding ticket. I was clocked going 77 in a 65 mph zone. Which meant a $175 fine. I paid up and learned my lesson, which is probably why we made it out of Virginia ticket free.