When I was a kid, all of our family vacations were spent camping on family land outside Volga, Iowa. Getting there took between four and five hours of driving, including significant portions through northern Illinois and southwestern Wisconsin. Rolling hills of farmland - cows, corn, soybeans - with a few unique landmarks mixed in.

By the time we neared Platteville, Wisconsin, we had been peering out the windows for at least half an hour looking for this: the "Big M." When we saw this, we knew we were closer to our destination than we were to home.

There were two things that were notable about entering Prairie du Chien: Hardee's and the bridge across the mighty Miss. We didn't have a Hardee's in Rockford until the 80's, so stopping for a Hardee's cheeseburger was a huge treat. It was a fun, positive stop that got our minds off of crossing this old suspension bridge. By the time they were building the replacement, there were flagmen at each end limiting the number of cars crossing at any one time. To a kid of six or seven, that bridge was simply scary. It was high above the water, and rattled as you crossed.

There was another notable sight once we crossed the bridge: Pinky the Elephant. What's better to a kid than a huge pink behemoth overlooking the river?

Painting - walls, not canvas.

My husband and I recently decided to paint our bedroom. We've hated the original mint green color since the day we moved into the house. It didn't help that we chose the color - we thought it would be more of a sage green than it ended up being.

Well, this time we chose a dark clay-colored paint. It's been awhile since we've painted; I think it's been about five years. We used red then. Unfortunately, we forgot how difficult it is to get coverage with a red tint. This spice brown color we chose this time contains a lot of red.

We primed the walls with a tinted primer. It took two coats of primer. We started with the spice brown color on the walls. The weather was fantastic - sunny, breezy, 50's into the 60's. Of course we didn't finish it during the weekend, so it was put on hold. Now, it's cold. We're under a winter storm warning. It's supposed to start snowing within the next hour. I refuse to paint if I can't open the windows.

Lessons learned?

• Don't use paint with a red base.
• Remember to use low or no VOC paint.

How do I create a resume?

If you're brilliant and well-connected: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2008/03/why-bother-havi.html

If you're smart and practical: http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2009/02/guest-post-memo.html

If you're conventional and always do things by the book: http://www.how-to-write-a-resume.org/