Wow...where do I start?!? This week went by in a blur and I'm still on the run. Really though, it reminded me of old times and how crazy I can be some times, but I'm definitely having fun. Monday was the only night of rest for me and Tuesday started off with a bang. It was a normal day at work and I prepped for my meeting that afternoon and worked on my usual things. In my meeting, I got a little peeved because my numbers were up (let's rephrase that...AR was up, that really needs to be low and cash should be up) but all of my bosses understood and just told me to focus on contacting customers and see what we could work on for next week. I totally understand that, but it seems like the same customers are the problem and sometimes it takes more than me to get the problem fixed, especially when many of them take care of the problem and 30 days later they have the same issues. After my meeting, I came back to my desk and was talking to M and telling her about the meeting and how I felt about everything. She thought I needed a pep talk and told me that we should hang out after work. So after work, we drove over to her house and ordered a pizza and picked up a few coldies. These impromptu nights are so much fun. We reminisced and drank a Fosters (Australian for beer & an inside joke between her and I, which is why we bought it) and had a blast. We were also supposed to be getting everything organized for the graduation party we were helping S with, but after talking about what needed to be done for about 10 minutes we decided that was enough work for the night. I came home and went right to bed since I had to be up early for work the next morning.
Wednesday was my two-year anniversary at work. Two whole years -- I can't believe it! M and I celebrate our work anniversaries and as a gift she gave me a Three Days Grace CD. I absolutely love Three Days Grace right now and I'm relating to many of their songs, so it was definitely a treat to get that CD. She also took me out to lunch which was completely unnecessary but I was very appreciative. For M and I, the work anniversaries are something special because it was only the two of us in the Earth City Accounting department in the beginning. She and I also faced quite a mess with the work of some of our C-town counterparts and we bonded as co-workers and best friends because of all it all.
After work we were all planning on going home when S asked if we wanted to go out for happy hour margaritas at Casa. Of course, we couldn't pass up margaritas so we got a group together and had a few rounds. We met a one of the guys we know from the Coastal and he introduced us to a few of his friends. Come to find out they were going up to another bar down the street for spaghetti wrestling and they said we should go down there to check it out. Now at the time this did sound very intriguing, so I drove M, S and I up the street and experienced a few rounds of spaghetti wrestling. I must say though...there is not a whole lot to it and it actually is a bit disgusting, but I can now check that off of my list of this to see in my lifetime. And for a second night in a row, when I got home I went straight to bed.
Thursday rolled around and it was supposed to be Parties at the Plaza, which was originally the only night of an actual organized get-together for the week; however, there was a chance of bad thunderstorms and they called it off early in the day and rescheduled it for the following week. We had told everyone earlier in the week about it and most people were going to go. M and I felt bad that it was canceled so we changed the plan a bit and went to Sybergs instead. This was not a late night for me...thank goodness, but it was still a fun night. I got to know the new traveling sales rep for the dedicated division a little bit better and a few other coworkers who can't usually make it to the other functions we put together. Of course, everyone was making fun of M, S and I going to spaghetti wrestling the night before also.
Yesterday was an overall good day as well. Everything went pretty smooth at work and I got through the day in one piece. Last night S and I went over to M's to help clean before the graduation party this afternoon. I scrubbed the deck and dusted and moved furniture and tried to help out as best as I could. It went by really fast and we got a lot accomplished in just a few hours. Finally about 10, M and I grabbed a beer and went to sit on the deck for a bit to talk and plan out some of the things going on next week.
Right now I'm getting ready to head back over to M's for the party to help finish setting up the last little bit. I have my cookies ready to go (a big thanks to my mom who helped me out tremendously by making them yesterday! Thanks Mom...I owe you so much!) and other than that I don't think I have anything else that I need to bring. It should be a good time, but I'm definitely planning on taking it easy tomorrow! 5 days of partying is the limit for me, especially since I'm trying to work inbetween! :)
I hope everyone has a relaxing and enjoyable weekend!
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Friday, July 13, 2007
Rollin' down the river
There is nothing better to do on a nice summer day than go floating down one of Missouri's rivers. And after being excited for weeks Tuesday finally rolled around and we were able to take our much anticipated trip down the Meramec. Let me tell you...this was one great trip. My bro is an awesome float trip coordinator and we had a blast! It started at sunrise on Tuesday morning -- actually before that because they were banging on my apartment door at 5:30 am. I had been awake for all of 2 minutes when the clan came walking through my living room. I got ready as fast as I could and we were on the road to Steelville by 5:50. The whole car ride everyone was cracking jokes, especially Ryan who had me in stitches much of the trip with all of his antics. We made great time and missed much of the rush hour traffic and because of that we decided to stop for breakfast at the Hardee's in Cuba. Munching on our breakfast sandwiches and hash browns we all talked about what we were expecting out of this trip. Armed with the directions to the floating outfitter, we got back on the road and finished the last half and hour of our trek. We made it there with an extra hour to spare so after we registered and bought a few hats (I was one dork that forgot to pack that before we left St. Louis), we parked the car and got all of our gear out. Finally at a few minutes to 9, the van came and picked us up and drove us to our starting point.
The kid driving the van obviously knew the roads like the back of his hand and he had me freaked a few times going up and down the hills. Ryan continued to crack jokes and had this guy laughing the entire time he was driving through town. Finally he dropped us off and unloaded all of our gear out of the van. He put the raft halfway in the river and we put all of the coolers and bags and paddles in and 4 of 6 of us decided to sit in the raft. The van driver was laughing his butt off as my bro and Kyle went to put the rest of the raft in the river and offered one simple piece of advice....it might be best if everyone got out of the raft so that it wouldn't scrap the rocks and would go into the water a little easier. So we gave the raft a running start and all jumped in and then tried to paddle our tails off to get going. The first attempt at paddling was not a successful one and we were doing 360s down the river but we definitely gave everyone watching us quite a show.
The river wasn't moving much and most of the time we had to paddle to get anywhere. With Captain Ryan leading the crew though we were able to make some progress although we did have a few paddling mishaps now and again. The river was almost totally empty from other floaters and we continued to joke and sing as we traveled downstream. About 11:30 we decided to pull over a small rock bank and we had lunch. My bro ordered awesome deli sandwiches and we had a picnic lunch right alongside the river.
Perhaps the funniest thing from the trip was when Patrick fell out of the raft and Ryan had to "rescue" him from the river. Patrick had his soda around his neck in a coolie cup and he leaned back to take a drink and fell out of the raft. Well my bro being the hero that he is leaped across the raft to grab him because Patrick thought he was in deep water. Not hearing Magen saying, "guys...the water is only a half a paddle deep," Ryan continued to struggle to get Patrick back in the raft. He wasn't letting one of his men fall victim to the river and finally both boys were back in the raft and trying to recover from a silly, silly scene. I laughed the rest of the trip when I thought about the slip and the recovery and all of the other jokes that came about because of it.
We continued to paddle and a short while later we were at our take out spot. The official time for a 10 mile float in a 10 man raft for this 6 person crazy crew....4 hours and 15 minutes. I have never floated that fast in a raft but we paddled like idiots and it paid off. We brought everything to shore and packed the car and were on our way back to St. Louis in nothing flat. After stopping for gas outside of Cuba, it was decided that I would drive back to my apartment. I didn't mind, but it wasn't my car so I was a little tense, especially since a Crown Victoria is much much larger than my little Mitsubishi Lancer, but I did a fairly good job getting us back.
Everyone just chilled at my apartment once we got back. It was a crazy day and it was nice to just sit back and relax. We ordered pizza and watched "I Love The 80s" on VH1, which was a little weird for me because I felt so old compared to the rest of them considering they were born after 1987. It was a lot of fun though and I do believe this is going to be an annual trip for us. I owe a big thanks to my bro for getting everything organized and buying all of the food and for buying my hat down at the country store. Thanks bro...you are awesome and also a bit dorky for putting together your spreadsheet (like brother, like sister, huh? ha!), but I love ya anyway! (Seriously though, I probably would have put together a spreadsheet too.)
The rest of the week flew by and considering all of the adventure I had on Tuesday, I've decided that I needed a low-key Wednesday through Friday. I don't have big weekend plans yet either but that's ok because there is always something to do around here. But right now, I think I'm going to read and clear my head for a bit. Have a great evening and an awesome weekend! :)
The kid driving the van obviously knew the roads like the back of his hand and he had me freaked a few times going up and down the hills. Ryan continued to crack jokes and had this guy laughing the entire time he was driving through town. Finally he dropped us off and unloaded all of our gear out of the van. He put the raft halfway in the river and we put all of the coolers and bags and paddles in and 4 of 6 of us decided to sit in the raft. The van driver was laughing his butt off as my bro and Kyle went to put the rest of the raft in the river and offered one simple piece of advice....it might be best if everyone got out of the raft so that it wouldn't scrap the rocks and would go into the water a little easier. So we gave the raft a running start and all jumped in and then tried to paddle our tails off to get going. The first attempt at paddling was not a successful one and we were doing 360s down the river but we definitely gave everyone watching us quite a show.
The river wasn't moving much and most of the time we had to paddle to get anywhere. With Captain Ryan leading the crew though we were able to make some progress although we did have a few paddling mishaps now and again. The river was almost totally empty from other floaters and we continued to joke and sing as we traveled downstream. About 11:30 we decided to pull over a small rock bank and we had lunch. My bro ordered awesome deli sandwiches and we had a picnic lunch right alongside the river.
Perhaps the funniest thing from the trip was when Patrick fell out of the raft and Ryan had to "rescue" him from the river. Patrick had his soda around his neck in a coolie cup and he leaned back to take a drink and fell out of the raft. Well my bro being the hero that he is leaped across the raft to grab him because Patrick thought he was in deep water. Not hearing Magen saying, "guys...the water is only a half a paddle deep," Ryan continued to struggle to get Patrick back in the raft. He wasn't letting one of his men fall victim to the river and finally both boys were back in the raft and trying to recover from a silly, silly scene. I laughed the rest of the trip when I thought about the slip and the recovery and all of the other jokes that came about because of it.
We continued to paddle and a short while later we were at our take out spot. The official time for a 10 mile float in a 10 man raft for this 6 person crazy crew....4 hours and 15 minutes. I have never floated that fast in a raft but we paddled like idiots and it paid off. We brought everything to shore and packed the car and were on our way back to St. Louis in nothing flat. After stopping for gas outside of Cuba, it was decided that I would drive back to my apartment. I didn't mind, but it wasn't my car so I was a little tense, especially since a Crown Victoria is much much larger than my little Mitsubishi Lancer, but I did a fairly good job getting us back.
Everyone just chilled at my apartment once we got back. It was a crazy day and it was nice to just sit back and relax. We ordered pizza and watched "I Love The 80s" on VH1, which was a little weird for me because I felt so old compared to the rest of them considering they were born after 1987. It was a lot of fun though and I do believe this is going to be an annual trip for us. I owe a big thanks to my bro for getting everything organized and buying all of the food and for buying my hat down at the country store. Thanks bro...you are awesome and also a bit dorky for putting together your spreadsheet (like brother, like sister, huh? ha!), but I love ya anyway! (Seriously though, I probably would have put together a spreadsheet too.)
The rest of the week flew by and considering all of the adventure I had on Tuesday, I've decided that I needed a low-key Wednesday through Friday. I don't have big weekend plans yet either but that's ok because there is always something to do around here. But right now, I think I'm going to read and clear my head for a bit. Have a great evening and an awesome weekend! :)
Saturday, July 07, 2007
Styx -- you rock my world!
Another great summertime week here....it's hot and humid and just how St. Louis should be in July and to top it off its been a great week for me personally. Tuesday was a good day at work. It was busy because of it being a shortened week and because I had to start producing June's financials for all 4 companies, but I made it through the day and was ready to party Tuesday night. I knew I didn't have to get up early for work the next morning because it was the 4th of July so I told M that we should plan on sitting out and having a few beers on my deck or at her house -- she agreed with me and we made it a point to get out of the office on time that afternoon to start our holiday off right. So after work, I headed to M's. We were going to sit on the deck, but one of her sons had just finished cutting the grass and stuff was flying around so we decided to sit inside and listen (actually sing along) to an awesome CD and talk and have a few beers. About 10:45 we were both dragging and hoping to get our second wind so she laid back on the sofa and I laid back on the love seat and we were both out for a 10 minute cat nap. That's what working all the time does to us though! Finally I decided that I wasn't going to get a second wind and that I should be getting home because 4th of July was going to be a busy day.
The 4th of July was awesome! I got up and leisurely got ready. It was definitely nice not to have to get up early and get ready for work. Josh sent me a text message wishing me a happy 4th of July and I sent a few back to him keeping him updated on everything going on up here in the Lou. Later in the afternoon, my bro Ryan, his girlfriend Magen and his friends were coming to hang out and go to the Styx and Def Leppard concert with me so I decided to go to Target and buy a new cooler for our float trip next week and to pick up a card and gift for M for her two-year anniversary at work before they got here. I got back just in time for everyone to come over and the rest of the day passed by in a blur. We went swimming in my pool for about an hour before it decided to pour down rain and I got to horse around with my bro just like when we were younger. We all came back in once we decided the rain wouldn't stop and my bro and I started preparing our exquisite dinner. If there is one thing my bro and I have in common above everything else, is our fascination with cooking. He had called me a few days before everyone was coming over and asked if I'd pick up some chicken breasts and he'd bring over the potatoes and corn on the cob and we'd just have a feast at my apartment. It was a blast and our meal turned out perfect!
Just about everyone napped while watching Mythbusters and then it was time to hit the concert! So we piled into my car and headed out to Riverport. What can I say...the concert was amazing once again! I love that venue and Styx was stellar as always. Tommy Shaw still looks awesome out there rocking the place. Def Leppard was really good too, even though I didn't know many of their songs. I did hear "Pour Some Sugar On Me" though and I was pleased.
It was definitely a late night though and I did my best to get out of the parking lot as fast as I could because I knew I had to be up for work very early the next morning and I needed a decent amount of sleep. We got back to my apartment about midnight and everyone left to go find a late-night snack and I went to bed.
Thursday was a normal day at work and I just came home to crash because I was still tired from the night before. But, Friday was a different story. It was a busy day at work but it flew by and before I knew it, it was time to go. Last night, S, M and I decided to plant flowers at M's house because she's hosting the graduation party for S's son in a couple weeks. We planted the flowers, drank a few beers and tried to plan everything out for the party. I always have a blast hanging out with M and S -- they are two of the most caring and nicest women I know and I'm extremely lucky to have them as friends. I left M's about 11:30 and got home to just head right to bed once again.
That brings me up to today and I'm not sure what's in store for today yet. I probably should clean up around my apartment a bit and do my laundry and maybe I'll lay out in the sun and try to get a base tan before I go floating on Tuesday. Nothing like getting burnt because I haven't gotten much color lately. I'm looking forward to the float trip and the antics of my bro and his friends and I'm sure I'll have some sort of update from all of that later next week.
Hope everyone has a great weekend!
The 4th of July was awesome! I got up and leisurely got ready. It was definitely nice not to have to get up early and get ready for work. Josh sent me a text message wishing me a happy 4th of July and I sent a few back to him keeping him updated on everything going on up here in the Lou. Later in the afternoon, my bro Ryan, his girlfriend Magen and his friends were coming to hang out and go to the Styx and Def Leppard concert with me so I decided to go to Target and buy a new cooler for our float trip next week and to pick up a card and gift for M for her two-year anniversary at work before they got here. I got back just in time for everyone to come over and the rest of the day passed by in a blur. We went swimming in my pool for about an hour before it decided to pour down rain and I got to horse around with my bro just like when we were younger. We all came back in once we decided the rain wouldn't stop and my bro and I started preparing our exquisite dinner. If there is one thing my bro and I have in common above everything else, is our fascination with cooking. He had called me a few days before everyone was coming over and asked if I'd pick up some chicken breasts and he'd bring over the potatoes and corn on the cob and we'd just have a feast at my apartment. It was a blast and our meal turned out perfect!
Just about everyone napped while watching Mythbusters and then it was time to hit the concert! So we piled into my car and headed out to Riverport. What can I say...the concert was amazing once again! I love that venue and Styx was stellar as always. Tommy Shaw still looks awesome out there rocking the place. Def Leppard was really good too, even though I didn't know many of their songs. I did hear "Pour Some Sugar On Me" though and I was pleased.
It was definitely a late night though and I did my best to get out of the parking lot as fast as I could because I knew I had to be up for work very early the next morning and I needed a decent amount of sleep. We got back to my apartment about midnight and everyone left to go find a late-night snack and I went to bed.
Thursday was a normal day at work and I just came home to crash because I was still tired from the night before. But, Friday was a different story. It was a busy day at work but it flew by and before I knew it, it was time to go. Last night, S, M and I decided to plant flowers at M's house because she's hosting the graduation party for S's son in a couple weeks. We planted the flowers, drank a few beers and tried to plan everything out for the party. I always have a blast hanging out with M and S -- they are two of the most caring and nicest women I know and I'm extremely lucky to have them as friends. I left M's about 11:30 and got home to just head right to bed once again.
That brings me up to today and I'm not sure what's in store for today yet. I probably should clean up around my apartment a bit and do my laundry and maybe I'll lay out in the sun and try to get a base tan before I go floating on Tuesday. Nothing like getting burnt because I haven't gotten much color lately. I'm looking forward to the float trip and the antics of my bro and his friends and I'm sure I'll have some sort of update from all of that later next week.
Hope everyone has a great weekend!
Monday, July 02, 2007
Summertime in full swing
Wow...we're already to July...I feel like I don't have time to blink anymore without another month passing. I guess that is alright as long as you're staying busy and having fun and I seem to be experiencing both lately. Last Monday and Tuesday were a bit crazy at work since M was on vacation but I made it through. Of course it did help that J kept me sane on Monday with his emails. I would have been completely lost if it wasn't for his comforting words of wisdom. Well that and the jokes....and it definitely made me wish that he was back in our office helping me get through all of the trucking craziness. Maybe someday he'll be back up this was for a visit. It would definitely be nice to catch up in person rather than through email or phone calls down to the terminal.
Thursday was quite a day for all of us and my department decided that the best thing to do after a busy day at work was to go to Hooters for wings and beer. We were having a blast and decided to continue the party at M's house. S and I picked up a 12 pack and drove down the street to M's. After talking to M and catching her up on so many things that I wasn't able to tell her while she was gone and having her do the same, we finally decided to call it a night about 1:50 in the morning. I don't know how it got so late so fast, but I knew there was going to be trouble when I tried to get up for work a mere 4 hours later. It didn't help that I couldn't sleep when I got home and I had a horrible stomachache from the hot wings and the beginnings of a hangover. And by the time it was all said and done I got about an hour's worth of uninterrupted sleep. Work was an absolute blur on Friday and I would have probably not have cared about coming in but it was month-end and that is the one day that I have to be there no matter what. I actually was able to make it through the day and I got out of there right on time. And because of our antics the night before, M and I decided to skip any parties on Friday night and we both went home to crash. That was until 7 pm when she got a phone call from another friend that had two extra tickets to the Toby Keith concert and wanted to know if we wanted them. Of course we wanted them! So I got up and got ready and M picked me up about 7:45...not too shabby if I say so. Of course, I was in no mood for drinking so I had a lemonade and I just had fun singing and listening to Toby. I must say though, I believe he is my new country boy crush. He looked awesome in his cowboy hat and jeans and his arms were absolutely amazing in his cut-off shirt. The concert was great and I'm glad that I didn't let the night before hold me back from such a good show. I did come home and crash right afterwards though because I was completely exhausted.
Saturday I decided that it was time to buy a new swimming suit. This summer I have a few things planned water-wise and since I haven't gotten a new suit in nearly 4 years, I felt I was due. What is extremely awesome about losing 60 lbs is that I was finally able to buy a two-piece! A tankini to be more specific, but it is absolutely adorable! I'm excited about wearing it on the float trip next week and if I'm able to make it, the trip to the Lake with the girls at the end of the month. Plus, when I finally decide to lay out and get some sun, I have a new suit to wear that will allow me to get more tan than any of my other suits. Maybe I can lay out for a bit on Wednesday for a few hours since I'm off of work. I hope to have a nice relaxing morning before going to the Styx and Def Leppard concert with my bro and his friends. The concert will be a blast but I know that I'm going to be extremely tired going into work the next day...maybe everyone will have some pity on me going back to work however, I don't think I will be that lucky! It is definitely worth it though and I'm sure I'll get more than 1 hour of sleep so I'm already doing better than last week. ;)
I'm not sure what else is going on this week. I'm going to try to play it by ear and see what happens. Hope the 4th is fun for everyone! Enjoy the day with friends and family and remember how important our independence is, especially in today's world!
Thursday was quite a day for all of us and my department decided that the best thing to do after a busy day at work was to go to Hooters for wings and beer. We were having a blast and decided to continue the party at M's house. S and I picked up a 12 pack and drove down the street to M's. After talking to M and catching her up on so many things that I wasn't able to tell her while she was gone and having her do the same, we finally decided to call it a night about 1:50 in the morning. I don't know how it got so late so fast, but I knew there was going to be trouble when I tried to get up for work a mere 4 hours later. It didn't help that I couldn't sleep when I got home and I had a horrible stomachache from the hot wings and the beginnings of a hangover. And by the time it was all said and done I got about an hour's worth of uninterrupted sleep. Work was an absolute blur on Friday and I would have probably not have cared about coming in but it was month-end and that is the one day that I have to be there no matter what. I actually was able to make it through the day and I got out of there right on time. And because of our antics the night before, M and I decided to skip any parties on Friday night and we both went home to crash. That was until 7 pm when she got a phone call from another friend that had two extra tickets to the Toby Keith concert and wanted to know if we wanted them. Of course we wanted them! So I got up and got ready and M picked me up about 7:45...not too shabby if I say so. Of course, I was in no mood for drinking so I had a lemonade and I just had fun singing and listening to Toby. I must say though, I believe he is my new country boy crush. He looked awesome in his cowboy hat and jeans and his arms were absolutely amazing in his cut-off shirt. The concert was great and I'm glad that I didn't let the night before hold me back from such a good show. I did come home and crash right afterwards though because I was completely exhausted.
Saturday I decided that it was time to buy a new swimming suit. This summer I have a few things planned water-wise and since I haven't gotten a new suit in nearly 4 years, I felt I was due. What is extremely awesome about losing 60 lbs is that I was finally able to buy a two-piece! A tankini to be more specific, but it is absolutely adorable! I'm excited about wearing it on the float trip next week and if I'm able to make it, the trip to the Lake with the girls at the end of the month. Plus, when I finally decide to lay out and get some sun, I have a new suit to wear that will allow me to get more tan than any of my other suits. Maybe I can lay out for a bit on Wednesday for a few hours since I'm off of work. I hope to have a nice relaxing morning before going to the Styx and Def Leppard concert with my bro and his friends. The concert will be a blast but I know that I'm going to be extremely tired going into work the next day...maybe everyone will have some pity on me going back to work however, I don't think I will be that lucky! It is definitely worth it though and I'm sure I'll get more than 1 hour of sleep so I'm already doing better than last week. ;)
I'm not sure what else is going on this week. I'm going to try to play it by ear and see what happens. Hope the 4th is fun for everyone! Enjoy the day with friends and family and remember how important our independence is, especially in today's world!
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