This is not a big secret amongst my friends and family, but I love, love, love the city. Yes, I realize I am a farm wife and will probably be one until the end of my days, but hidden just below the surface of dirt on my vehicle thanks to my country road is a girl who craves the lights of the city; its hectic pace; and, of course, the shopping.

So when I was asked to attend another Moms Meet-Up in Chicago this past weekend, I jumped, strike that LEAPT, at the chance! Even better, the event fell upon a weekend where we were neither harvesting nor calving, so my husband could come, too, and did I mention 3 of my four kids were with one grandma, and my parents were in the city as well, so babysitting was available for our baby, too?

Sweet.

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Grateful to be guest blogging today from Prairie Farmer!

Who doesn't love a road trip? I have been game for hitting the open road with a girlfriend since, well, since I turned 16 and could. My first was but days after my 16th birthday, when my best friend and I loaded up in my mom's Caprice Classic and headed to the big city, where we each got a second hole pierced in just one of our ears. We were total rebels.

So when the opportunity arose to travel to Chicago on behalf of Illinois Farm Families for an evening with a group of Chicago moms, I jumped on it. So did Emily Webel, of Confessions of a Farm Wife fame. In fact, we commenced to emailing each other pretty much instantly and formulating our wild plans. The lengthy exchange ended with a reference to cruising the square in high school; I'm not sure how we got to that point in our conversation but it was a fun one.

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Being a self-employed farmer has many advantages. Living in the middle of a corn field or a soybean field with a beautiful sunrise and sunset is just one of the many benefits to living in rural Illinois.  Another benefit is that we set our own schedule.  This allows us to do many different things, making each day different.  This week, I was able to travel to Lincoln Park Zoo with three other farm women and had the opportunity to talk to consumers about Illinois Farm Families and about our farm.  Our three sons were also able to join us for the Illinois Farm Families day at Lincoln Park Zoo.
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