Wednesday Night Watch Party

Tonight's one of the nights Red Wings fan and I have been looking forward to for a few weeks.  In fact, we both put calendar events in our phones to make sure we didn't miss it and Sunday we decided why not have a watch party together for the Season 3 premiere of Duck Dynasty.  You won't find cooked squirrel or duck at our party but I am making dinner (perhaps even Louisiana themed!).
As far as the rest of the night is concerned, well I guess you can say we'll...

Gotta love the Robertson clan!!

Productivity at its best

I had to take the afternoon off of work today to go to court about a speeding ticket I got about a month ago.  Unfortunately, it wasn't one of those, "plead guilty, mail your fine to the circuit clerk."  No, it was a "take an afternoon off of work, sit in a jam-packed courtroom and wait for your name to be called to face humiliation."  Luckily for me, it only took about an hour for them to call my name, me to ask for court supervision, get my fine and take care of paying the courts.

I knew today was going to be busy at work with month-end close on Friday and export invoices needing to go out so I decided even though I was taking a half day I'd bring my laptop home, see if I could get it to connect to my new wi-fi and spend the rest of my afternoon taking care of anything that came up once we received info we needed in order to invoice our customers.  Sure enough at 4:15 the info required for our billing came through.  I sent MW a quick message telling him I was online and I'd get it squared away before 5 pm.  He was surprised but thanked me for staying on top of everything given I had the afternoon off.  A few minutes before 5, I received a response from our customer, they received our invoice and have the multi-million dollar payment set for next week.

This just may have been the most productive work afternoon I've ever had while being home. 
 Oh and I vacuumed and cleaned my bathroom on top of it.

Ms. McGyver at your service

At the company holiday party I finally met the River Terminal manager I work with on a regular basis.  I'd talk to him at least a few times a week the previous 8-9 months and it was nice to finally put a face to the voice.  When he met me, he informed me that I was probably one of the nicest people he's ever worked with.  I'm always pleasant whether he calls or emails me and I've always been helpful.  I was appreciative for the compliment and really thought of it nothing more than just trying to help a fellow co-worker so we both could successfully do our jobs.
A few weeks ago he asked me to send him more mailing labels so that he could get his invoices and other paperwork to us in a timely manner.  I sent him sheet after sheet after sheet of mailing labels in hopes that I wouldn't slow him down should I not be able to send more before he ran out again.
Today I received a package with one of my labels on it.  I was surprised since typically he send me just normal envelopes but this was in a bubble pack.  In the bubble pack was a box with a note saying, "Lindsay, Thanks for all you do!"
My gift you may ask:

I opened it and smiled. And since the girls call me Ms. McGyver, I added it to my keys right away.
Sometimes just being nice has its rewards and I'm now set with my handy dandy key chain tool.
 

As promised

The winter weather came through the 'Lou as promised yesterday and while this picture looks blurry and out of focus, this is actually how bad visibility was yesterday afternoon.  For some of the work fam it look anywhere from 45 minutes to 3 hours to get home for regular commutes that usually take 15 to 45 minutes.  Luckily for me, I stayed about 8 blocks from the office and didn't risk driving any further in this mess.  It also saved me from a crazy commute into work this morning even though a lot of the roads did get plowed overnight.  And to top it all, I was lucky enough to have my car cleaned off for me this morning and gullible enough to believe that it all melted off my car even though the car parked in front of me was covered with 2-3 inches still.  Hey...in my defense it still was early in the morning, my brain wasn't fully functioning.
Hopefully this is the last of the winter weather around here, I'm ready for spring and warmer temps already!

State of Confusion

In the last week I've received notices from both Missouri and Illinois reminding me that my license plates expire next month and I need to renew my tags.  Missouri sent my notice to my old address and it was forwarded to my new one.  Illinois sent the notice only to my new address.

Correct me if I'm wrong but if I surrendered my Missouri plates and Registration and Title when I moved to Illinois and re-titled my car, shouldn't Missouri know this?

It's nice to know the State of Missouri says on top of these sorts of things.

And don't worry, I'm renewing my tags in Illinois in March.

Confirming suspicions

It's been official to us for a few weeks now, actually I'm guessing closer to 6 or 8 weeks but it became official with some of the work fam friends last night after I was sent a pic of Red Wings fan.
The guys were attending management meetings down south the last few days and in their spare time, found the time for dinner and drinks out together.  Of course, while Red Wings fan was gone, he was checking in and texting me as they had breaks in their agenda.  Last night, the guys were celebrating the end of the meetings and got a bit silly in the meantime.
This pic was sent to me by one of the guys with the caption.  "Red Wings fan is missing you"

Sorry for the super dark cell phone pic!

Little did he know at the time that yes, Red Wings fan was texting me while they were having drinks.  He spilled the beans to them last night (I can only imagine how that came out given the state they were in when they got back to the office today!).
But as they say, the rest is history....all of their suspicions have been confirmed and we've decided to give dating a go.

I'm still not totally accepting of the fact that he is a Detroit Red Wings fan, but I'm looking past that little detail for now.  He does get extra brownie points for being a hockey fan in general though and for liking most, if not all of my cooking so far.  :)

Happy Mardi Gras!

Mardi Gras weekend in the STL...what an experience!!  The streets were packed and it was super chilly on Saturday but we had a blast.  From the 10 am drinks at the local bar and shuttle ride to Soulard to the delish hurricanes and afternoon get together at the local market and coffee shop and then hanging out at Red Wings fan's place, the day was one that involved a lot of laughs and so much fun.
I didn't get as many pictures as I thought I would but it definitely was great hanging with these guys!

Not the French Quarter, but....

With turning 30 this year and seeing how fast my life is going, I decided to start doing things I've always wanted to but never either found the time to do or was too busy or scared to try.  This weekend is a big weekend here in the 'Lou.  While it may be hard to believe, our city has one of the best celebrations for this time of year.  Sure, it's not New Orleans, but this Saturday you will find me in Soulard, watching the famous parade and celebrating....

The Red Wings fan, my bro and a few of his friends will experience the STL celebration.  It's a first for all of us but I can just about guarantee it will be a great time and definitely a memorable one!

Beads, Hurricanes and Cajun Creole Food....sign me up!

I guess I've waited long enough...

Since the start of the new year, I've taken a different approach to everything going on in my life.  Working as many hours as I do and now planning most of my weekends and free time after work, I haven't been nearly as obsessive or overly anal about every little detail of my life and I've especially not been as on top of it as in years past with finishing my taxes super early.  Crazy coming from a girl that used to thrive on calculating her tax return on January 1st.....
In any case, I decided that since it is February and my free time is few and far between, I better get to at least looking at my taxes.  My federal return was super simple but living in two states and working in the city, I had a bit more to do to file my state returns.  Luckily, after sitting here for a few hours, I got all of my credits and non-residency forms filled out and I think I'm good to go.  I'll review the state returns one more time tomorrow but its just about official...my taxes are finished!

Now, let's see how many people "remember" I'm an Accountant and ask for help this tax season. 

Really though, I think I just might "forget" that I'm an Accountant until April 16th