So I'm home in Centralia for the moment and it feels awfully darn nice...good food, my own bed, etc...and no hard water. My hair is so fabulous when I'm here. Too bad it was just an overnight trip.

Last night was girls night out w/ Cheryl, where we had a 2 1/2 hour dinner in Mt. Vernon w/ girly drinks, good food, and great conversation. Haven't seen her since the end of August, so it was good to play catch up. The nice thing about best friends is that no matter where you are or what you do, and no matter how long it is between visits, you can always pick right up where you left off. Such is true of many of my friends from home. First weekend in April I made plans to come to STL to go out w/ the crowd from KC and such-I'm so excited, I haven't seen so many of those kids in such a long time. And we're planning to go visit Krissa just as soon as the three of us can get a weekend in common...hopefully something towards the end of April.

But anyway, back to being home...I've forgotten how nice a small town feels, it's like nothing in the big bad world can harm you. Just like the Alabama song, "Down Home". Not to act like I don't like the big bad world, but it's always good to go back. I'm forever grateful that 26 years ago, when my father graduated college, he chose to turn down a job w/ the Chicago Trib and take a job at a downstate newspaper instead. Many people may be like, "What was he THINKING?" but I'm forever grateful that he and my mother chose to call SO-IL home, and I'm not just another suburbanite. Southern IL, where people are still cordial to one another, you can leave your car and house unlocked w/o fear of being robbed, and where you can still see the beautiful night sky without the blinding city lights. Anyway, enough banter from me...I'm headed back to Springfield in a few hours for a couple of days, and then heading down to Memphis for Spring Break.

Right now I'm observing my father's high school class, and I find it impossible to believe how immature they all are. It's kind of ridiculous-it makes me cringe to think that I was this age once.

Anyway, enough out of me for now. I'll post again before I head on break, until then everyone, take it easy.