  As I write this, it is Saturday night (June 5) and we are driving across Indiana on I-80, a little over halfway on our final trek from Minneapolis back to State College. We’ve been on the road for about 11 hrs (ugh), but we are going to drive another couple hours to Toledo, stop for the night, and drive the remaining 6 hrs tomorrow, Sunday, in hopes of getting there with time to grocery shop, catch up on mail, do laundry, etc and jump into the week feet first on Monday. Steve will be finishing his dissertation this next week, to give to his committee next week, to defend his dissertation the week after that!
:-O Needless to say, he’s a little stressed about that. The rest of the trip to Minnesooooooota was great! At the Mall of America on Tuesday, I bought new black sandals (slight heel, criss-cross straps). Later that night and also Fri after dinner for drinks, we went to visit Steve’s college friends and roommates for his last year at “the U” (The University of Minnesota): Pam & Aaron (married now), Betsy, and Dave (a new edition the past couple years, Betsy’s boyfriend). I had heard a lot about them, and it was fun to hang out and get to know them! Their tradition when they get together is to play Monopoly and listen to David Bowie. I only observed both games, as they are a sacred tradition and any newbies change the dynamics of the game. Well, I was Steve’s official dice-roller in the second game, his good luck charm (and he won!). I’m not mean enough to play Monopoly well (with them, anyway), to exchange property, wheel and deal my way to fortune, etc. :-) Of course, I got the inevitable question, “what are your intentions with our Steve?” when he was out of the room, and he got the “so where is this going, heh? ?” question when I was out of the room. LOL. And just in case YOU are wondering, our plans are to be together, but an official tying of the knot won’t happen for 2-3 more years.
Wednesday morning, Steve’s dad Gene had also made us his cracked wheat breakfast cereal, which was so excellent, I brought back the recipe for it. It tastes like a nutty oatmeal, especially how he fixed it with apples, raisins, cinnamon and brown sugar. YUMMY and good for you! Then, we continued having a healthy morning and went to the gym. In the afternoon, we both went to Stillwater with Steve’s mom Kathy, and his sister Jen. It’s this cute little town about 30 minutes from them, on the St. Croix River. They had lots of antique shops, arts & pottery studios, hip boutiques, and the like—something for everyone! I bought a $2.50 used copy of a 1940 edition of “Anne of Green Gables,” which I absolutely *loved* growing up. We also found the perfect Fathers Day gift for both their dad and mine—a flax seed grinder (a good source of fiber and Omega-3s…especially important for vegetarians but a good supplement for everyone). They’re both into health food, raw food, vitamins and supplements. Too funny that it’s perfect for both dads, isn’t it??
Steve & Jen already gave their dad his present, and at the Jax house, it now sits on the table beside the pepper and salt grinders! We also went to a hip uptown theater to see a documentary, “Super Size Me.” It’s about this guy who decides to eat nothing but McDonalds for 30 days, and the effects it has on his physical and emotional health. He had a team of doctors and a nutritionist follow him—he was eating 5000 instead of the needed 2500 calories to maintain his weight, and as a result, gained 10 lbs in the first 5 days, and 25 lbs total by the end of the 30 days.
His cholesterol doubled, his liver wasn’t functioning well, he was depressed, and started to become addicted because he felt elated only immediately after eating. :-O If it comes to your town, see it, though be warned that you may never want to eat fast food again! Thursday we went to the gym again, and had a lazy day, sunning ourselves by the neighborhood lake, reading and we even took a nap. We have invented something we call “Naps Across America,” taking note of the public places where we’ve napped. So far, it’s Pittsburgh, Florida Keys, Detroit airport, San Francisco park by the Golden Gate bridge, and now Shoreview MN. :-) We also took a walk around a different lake that night with Kathy (Steve’s mom) and saw several deer up close, some less than 10 feet away! Check out my webshots soon to see pictures…deer are such beautiful animals, even though I fear them when I’m in my car! TOTAL LAKE COUNT that Lauren has seen in Minneapolis: 7 out of 10,000. Total lakes walked around: 2.
Friday, we went to the Minneapolis Institute of Art in the morning, where I bought postcards of my favorite pieces of art. My ultimate plan is to put them together on the wall above my bed in a collage, and after several years of collecting them like this, I have quite a few! Then, we met Jen (Steve’s sister) at the free zoo in the afternoon. I have some pictures of the gorillas and orangutans (a baby one too! ) that will be appearing on my webshots soon, so stay tuned. Well, we’re now in Ohio and only about 30 minutes away from our resting place for the night! We haven’t had dinner yet either, though we did have a late, filling lunch of Indian food (yumm). Leave me a comment if you love me!
:-) 
