and....the Matyasse Family Adventure Begins...

I am currently sitting in the back of my parents' pale blue Sienna minivan, the faint smell of skunk wafting past my nostrils.  We are headed east on 74...and are somewhere between Champaign, IL and the Indiana border.  Seated in the middle of this packed vehicle are Laura, my brother's sweet girlfriend, and Megan...my saucy sister ;).  My Dad is at the wheel....and my Mom is riding shotgun.  We're a lively bunch, let me tell you what ;).  It is absolutely silent.  I think everyone is pretty tired from a long day at work...

The four of them arrived in Bloomington around 8pm tonight...Jer and I met them at a Steak and Shake for dinner, and then we headed out.  As we packed my crapola into the van, i endured the predictable teasing about the quantity i had packed.  Hey, packing light has never been a strength of mine.  I like to be prepared, what can I say??  And...one (of the, uh, four) of my bags is my work laptop and a bunch of files I need to work on some kiddos' reports as we drive tomorrow.  So, that doesnt really officially "count" toward my "packing," right??  Right. ;)

As we started out (we left the restaurant at 8:50 pm) we were pretty excitable and chatty...sharing goofy stories....however after about 45 minutes of that, silence fell.

We need beds.  Sleep.  A big burst of energy before traveling ~10 hours together tomorrow.  I think I already hear Starbucks calling my name.  Mmmm. What will it be tomorrow?  I've been sadly addicted to Starbucks since graduate school.  I go through phases with my personal "signature drinks"....first it was the pumpkin spice latte in the fall of 2005, during my first few months at Purdue.  I "rationalized" the impractical cost and outrageous sugar and calorie content by thinking thoughts like, "I work hard! I need to stay awake in class! I work out almost daily...the calories don't really 'count.'  I earned this! Etc., etc"  In actuality, I truly believe Starbucks puts some sort of narcotics in their coffee.  I am addicted. It's not even the caffeine, really.  It's something about....Starbucks.  Who knows?  I sure don't get it....oh well ;).  It is sure delicious.

After ODing on said pumpkin spice lattes this past "pumpkin spice latte season" (the fall of 2009)...I moved on to even more delicious pastures.  Thank you, Jillian McGriff for introducing me to the wonder, the beauty that is.....the cinnamon dolce latte.

Yum.

I actually had an iced one this morning....sans whipped cream.  Hey, i may have run 7 miles yesterday and 3.5 tonight....but I don't exactly feel as if I can get away with ignoring calorie counts completely as my darn metabolism slows down.  I'm pushing 30, folks.  I know my role.  Gotta keep my physique or my husband may....lose interest ;).

Ok....I have to pee.

Darn sweet tea.  I asked for a refill in a to-go cup as we left Steak and Shake....1 hour and 22 minutes ago.  Sigh.  There's no way we're stopping yet for a potty break.  My sister informed me of such...she warned me against getting the refill, but it was so delicious that I couldn't resist.

Must...keep....my legs....crossed.....

Stop thinking about running water.....

Oh, thank you Lord for my absolutely unnecessary "smartphone"....allowing me to update facebook, twitter, and keep up with my silly blogging habit/addiction while on the go.  Oh dear me.

Much more to come, I am sure of it.

Ever since I traveled to Minneapolis with 4 of my favorite co-workers in May for a three-day continuing ed conference....any significant amount of time spent in a car makes me think of Taco Bell Cheese Roll-Ups.

Not because I eat them (hello, Gluten!)....but because two individuals in particular (I will refer to them as "The Pregnant One" and "The Male One" ;) ) whined incessantly for me to stop (yup, I was the fearless driver for that grand adventure!) at Taco Bell establishments so they could indulge in their sub-dollar snacks....multiple times.  Cheese.  Tortilla.  Roll Up.  Add heat.  Voila....cheese roll-up.  I will say, they did smell great....but come on!  At one point, as we were driving through some part of middle Wisconsin, The Male One informed me, "I am SURE there will be a Taco Bell off of this exit!  Take this exit!"

Well, oh all-knowing Male......guess what.....you were WRONG, and you just added approximately thirty minutes onto our eight-ish hour trip.  Fail.

But, that's the stuff memories are made of.

Speaking of which....

Do you have any chapstick?

.....because my lips hurt REAL BAD!!

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