Friend Makin' Monday: My Community

If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s questions on your own blog then add your link in the comments section at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!

My Community

1. Where were you born? Did you grow up there? I was born in a small town in east central Illinois. I lived in that town until I was 19 and then my family moved to an even smaller town about 20 minutes away to live on the lake. A year after moving with my family, I moved back to the town I grew up in with my boyfriend. I've lived in that same town ever since!

My mother took this photo on the lake where they live. Beautiful!!!
(I turned it into a postcard. Anyone want one?)

2. Tell us about your favorite spot in your city.  The lake would probably be my number one favorite spot, but that's easily followed by our local coffee shop. About 8 years ago, I worked as a barista at Common Grounds. It has a bright and fun atmosphere with some really tasty foods and drinks. I really loved working there but had to move on to bigger and better things. My favorite thing is to take a book in, find a booth in the corner, order a latte or chai tea and relax and read for a while. Amazing!

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3. Do you volunteer for any organizations? If so, will you tell us about it? I don't, but I would like to... I actually saw an article in the paper where they were requesting people to sign up for the Big Brother/Big Sister program. I think that would be an amazingly fun time. I just haven't gotten around to signing up for it!

4. Tell us about your favorite local restaurant. Just one? Nahhh... I'm going to pick three... in different cuisine types. First off, American food. The ORIGINAL Burger King (not the chain) is in my town. They actually went to court against the chain (copyright laws) and won! A chain restaurant cannot open within 20 miles of our restaurant. They have amazingly good burgers that make your arteries clog just thinking about them. The restaurant has earned the name "Greasy Burger" in my family. LOL

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Next I'm going to go with Mexican food. I love Mexican and my favorite place has gotta be this local joint called Don Sol. It's the newest Mexican joint in the area, but their food is so good! They have a great menu and good prices and it's the only place in town to get horchata... Never had it? Try it! It's this Mexican rice milk. To me it tastes like you're drinking a cinnamon roll. So good!!!

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Finally, probably my most favorite place in town is an Italian place known as Angelo's.  They have the best Italian food in town. I actually went out to eat with my friend and her parents on Thursday night for their lasagna special. It was delicious as always! The waitstaff is super nice and I love going there to eat... Oh, and they have the best stuffed pizza south of Chicago. No lie. :)

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5. Has your city ever experienced tragedy?  If so, how did it recover? No, it hasn't experienced any huge tragedies. There have been several crazy events, but nothing huge. The biggest event I can remember is the murder of a bartender that took place a few months ago. They figured out who the murderer was and he got killed in a police shootout in Alabama. Crazy!

6. Share at least one unique thing about your neighborhood. Probably the neatest thing in my neighborhood is the mural. An older street on my town has a very old world feel to it. They took this huge open brick wall on the side of a building and painted a mural on it. The people in the mural depict real people from our community. A boy I went to high school with who was killed in a motorcycle accident is on that wall.

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This really isn't related to my neighborhood, but my town is also the "Bagel Capital of the World" and currently holds a Guiness World Record for largest bagel ever created. Each July we hold "Bagelfest" which is exactly what it sounds like. A festival to honor bagels! There are carnival rides and fair foods and vendors and bands and a free bagel breakfast and even a Miss Bagelfest is crowned! It's the biggest event in my town each year.

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7. If you could do one small thing to change your community, what would you do? I would add more teen-centered activities. There isn't much fun to do in my town. The nearest town to do anything is over 45 minutes away. To do something even more fun, you'd have to go at least 2 hours away. I think we need a youth center where fun things could be done by teens... I think it would help lower the amount of delinquents we have around here.

8. The Powerball is currently up to 400 million dollars. Would you move to a different place if you won? I more than likely would stay where I am. I would just buy a nicer house and donate to more local charities and help my town grow and prosper more. I love where I live and, while there isn't much to do, it is home to me. It has potential to be a great place and I think with more donations it could be amazing!