Cajun Connection. It's kind of by Starved Rock State Park if that helps.

I live in NorthCentral Illinois and there is a very popular Cajun restaurant by me, literally in the middle of cornfields, that serves awesome fried alligator.

I live in NorthCentral Illinois and there is a very popular Cajun restaurant by me, literally in the middle of cornfields, that serves awesome fried alligator.

I love violet candies.

I've always liked Skor bars better than Heath Bars. The chocolate to toffee ratio is much better.

I was prescribed Tylenol 3 in my second trimester of my second pregnancy due to pain from a sinus infection that was so severe I ended up in the ER in the middle of the night with a morphine drip. The pain was worse than any of my broken bones(or labor and delivery). I was puking from the pain. Dehydration and…

Don't count on it. I'm 34. I have an MLIS and am a public library Director. The classics that I love are Baum's Oz books, Shakespeare's Comedies, To Kill a Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men, Oscar Wilde, and Tolkien. I hate the rest of Shakespeare's work, can't stand Jane Austen or the Bronte sisters, loathed The Old Man…

The three kids were over a span of 10 years, and 2 different types of birth control. After my first pregnancy, my doctor and I decided that the pill just didn't work for, and not just because of the pregnancy. My period was LESS regular while on it than it was while I was off it. Second child, we knew the condom had…

Birth control is not 100% effective. My first child was conceived while I was on the pill. My younger two children were conceived while using condoms. I am barely getting by since I left my verbally and emotionally abusive husband. But, I love my kids. I also have a masters degree. And a full-time job in my field. I…

Saturday is supposed to be a high of 50 in my part of the Midwest and I'm having friends over for a cookout. LOL Last Saturday it was in the 30's and I was thrilled that I could go outside and run in just my underarmour hoodie

I'm a librarian and I felt like I had to read Twilight. How bad could it be? I usually really like vampire fiction. It is really THAT bad. I couldn't force myself to finish the first book. The writing was atrocious! It was like she threw EVERY SINGLE VAMPIRE TROPE ever written into a blender and just threw it into the…

It's cathartic partially because you're alone and no one can judge you, and partially because the warm/hot water helps relax and calm you as you're crying and when you're done. In the shower is the only way I can make it through a panic attack if there's no one around(or available by phone or text) to talk me down.

I usually shower every day because its a nice break from the kids. I'm a single mom of three, it's the only time I'm sure to have any privacy. But because of my curly hair, I only wash my hair once or twice a week unless I had dance class or went for a run and my hair got really sweaty. Because you're right, otherwise…

It's not just self-esteem either. I have a very public job. My bosses are an elected board. And I deal with the public every day. I work in a fairly conservative, high Roman Catholic Central Illinois small town. I am out as an atheist to close friends and family. At least one of the monks at the local abbey/Catholic…

Not all rescues are BS(although the one in this article really is). In my rural downstate Illinois county, there are no pounds or government run shelters. The only animal shelters are rescues. And they do a wonderful job. The one closest to me frequently has people pledge to cover an older pet's adoption fee so a low-…

Norman Reedus as Darryl Dixon. Nuff said.

Oh, I know my friend is an exception, and I can't ever remember using my "mommy tone" on any of my other friends except once(and only once) with my other best friend who is younger than me and more like my baby sister when she started seriously dating because her parents were not very open about safe sex, etc.

Ask about getting it through interlibrary loan. It's when a library orders it for you from another library and has it sent to your home library for you to pick up and check out. I'm a librarian if you couldn't guess :)

Go to the library and ask the nice librarian to help you find the Jello cookbook. They exist.

There are exceptions to this. My best friend acts like a toddler when she's really sick, hurt, or angry. Sometimes the only way I can get through to her is by going into "mommy mode" on her. I don't do it to be condescending, I do it because I've learned through trial and error that sometimes its the only thing that…