Lindsay's Random Thoughts

29 on the 29th

2012-01-29T19:33:00.001-06:00

After a weekend of shenanigans, little sleep and more birthday fun than you can possibly imagine, I've made it to Sunday night. I'm extremely grateful for every nice thing done to make my 29th birthday an extra special one -- from the phone calls and cards to the balloons and cake and presents, but mostly I'm grateful for the time I was able to spend with so many great people.

Friday night was a night like no other for me. Besides my Bro, Mom, Michael and my "lake girls," nearly all of my friends from my previous job came out to happy hour. I knew I was liked when I was there and I was hoping that I would see many of them, but to have just about everyone who was invited show up and help me celebrate was very, very cool. After a few hours (why do they call it happy hour when we know it will go on for longer than that?!?), a group of us hit the next spot for karaoke. I channeled my inner rock star and sang my rendition of When I'm Gone by 3 Doors Down (I got rave reviews by the bar for my performance too) and kept up tradition by singing Wanted Dead or Alive by Bon Jovi with Coco. My Bro, who drove an hour after working all day and dealing with some not-so-nice weather, entertained the crowd with a little Poison and he and I finished the night singing Don't Stop Believin' in memory of my good friend Sherri (January 27th would have been her birthday). We closed the karaoke bar down at 1:30 and headed home. I needed to try to get some sleep even though I was still so pumped up because Saturday was going to be a big day as well.

Saturday I was super woman and I went 10 different directions throughout the entire day. I had to take care of nearly everything on my weekend to-do list so that Saturday night, I could sit back and enjoy some poker time. MO and I were invited to play in a fundraiser Texas Hold 'em tournament and we both jumped at the chance to play cards again so soon (and so reasonably priced as well). The tournament was fun and I played probably one of my best nights of poker. I made it to the final table and ended up finishing 10th out of 120-130 people. Not too shabby if I say so myself!

As for today, I made a mean slow-cooked pork verde, spanish rice and stuffed mushrooms and had an early afternoon dinner with my family. My Dad, Aunt and Nicole do not really come over to my side of the river and visit all that often and I was happy to just have a few hours to spend with them at my apartment. Nicole was also highly impressed that I had a mini donut maker so we ended up whipping up a batch of glazed donuts for dessert too.

Overall, I can say, I've had a fantastic birthday weekend and for your viewing pleasure, I'll leave you with a few highlights from Friday.

The Super Sibling Duo.
And in case you haven't heard, my Bro is the absolute greatest!

A little Poison action compliments of my Bro

Cause I'm a Cowboy....


Recreating last year's shot pic. For some reason, everyone got a kick out of this.

I hope you had a great weekend as well!

Party Time!

2012-01-27T16:55:00.003-06:00

While my actual birthday isn't until Sunday, my amazing group of friends are throwing me a huge party tonight. We're going out for happy hour at a local sports bar and then heading out to do karaoke. I've got my songs prepared and I'm ready for A LOT of fun tonight and the entire weekend. Pics to follow if I remember that I actually have my camera with me. :)

As for the rest of my birthday weekend, I'm playing in a fundraiser poker tournament Saturday night (told ya, the bug bit me again!) and then having my Dad, Aunt and Nicole over for dinner on Sunday. I decided instead of going out, I wanted to stay home, spend some time in my kitchen and whip up my own Mexican feast, so that's what I'm doing.

Ready....Set....Let's celebrate!

Early Birthday Present

2012-01-17T21:38:00.000-06:00

With my birthday being in 12 days, I decided tonight that I would buy myself a birthday present. That present you may ask is tickets to....

Yep, that's right, despite my Bro's constant disgrace of me digging Nickelback, I'm going to see them when they come back to town on May 29th. Plus, how can you go wrong with Bush, Seether and My Darkest Days also on the bill?!? Happy Birthday to me!

Now I just have to find someone willing to use the 2nd ticket I purchased.

Poker night

2012-01-14T18:04:00.000-06:00

One year ago tonight, I was in Mississippi watching my favorite dude (Broccoli) take down the 3rd Saturday of the month $5K Guaranteed Texas Hold 'Em Tournament at the Gold Strike. It was a long, yet highly eventful night and one that he and I were always reminiscing about when we were together.

I played poker before I met Broccoli but haven't played much since we broke up, but tonight that's about to change. I got a text from one of my friends at my former job earlier today. His buddies were looking for a few more people for poker night tonight and he wanted to know if I'd be up for playing. The itch has been there so of course I had to accept.
I'm hoping tonight I can be the champ of the 3rd Saturday in January Texas Hold 'Em tourney at MO's buddies' house. I wouldn't mind that title. I just hope it doesn't go until 2 am. Wish me luck!

Missouri, you did me a favor

2012-01-14T14:54:00.002-06:00

I received notification from the State of Missouri that my Driver's License expired this month. At first I wasn't sure if I was glad to be getting a new license or not. You see, my license was taken while I was still trying to lose the weight 6 years ago and anytime I get carded now, it's always a topic of conversation that besides the smile, I looking nothing like the girl in the picture. It reminded me of how far I've come and how much my hard work in the gym and complete lifestyle change has paid off.
This morning, I proudly went to the license bureau and handed over my expiring license and got my new updated one. One with an updated picture and updated weight! It was a bit sad to see Fat Lindsay go, but I'm sure it will cause me less grief when people thing I have a fake ID and I'm nearing 30 years old.

Interesting reading

2012-01-06T17:08:00.000-06:00

While I have a little time in between the holiday craziness and the tax season madness, earlier this week I decided to go to the library to see if there was anything interesting for me to spend my down time reading. Interestingly enough, I found this book:

I figured there would be a few things for me to contemplate and perhaps try before I'm too old, married or pregnant. (For the record, none of those three are on the horizon for me.)
So far, I'm digging some of the ideas even only a few chapters into the book. In fact, I just may take some of these things to do and add them to this year's bucket list.

We'll also see how many of these I've already attempted once I make my way through the entire book. If I had to take a ball park guess, I'm going to say 10.

My kind of winter

2012-01-05T20:02:00.001-06:00

In the good 'ol Lou today we hit a record setting high of 66 degrees. It was sunny, calm and the perfect January day. Who would have thought on January 5th, I'd be leaving the gym in a tank top and have my window down for the drive home? (I'm usually the one wearing 4 layers and bundled up like I live in the Antarctic.) We're expecting more of the same for tomorrow with a forecasted high of 64 degrees and more sun and while I'm enjoying this magnificent winter weather, I can't help but think about how Mother Nature will be getting back as us.
And I'm guessing it will be sooner rather than later but until then, I'm pretending like we've made it to Spring.

Headed back to school

2012-01-04T18:08:00.001-06:00

For the first time in 7 years, my Bro and I will be in college at the same time and for the first time ever, he and I will be taking a class together. It's nothing major (yet!), but we're registered for a continuing ed class offered through the local community college. It's a chance for us to bond (an extended Sibling Saturday of sorts) and a chance for us to get the ball rolling for the bigger and better things we have planned for the future. I'm excited for this opportunity and a bit nervous -- I definitely don't want to look like even more of a dork in front of him than normal because he will totally call me out on it.

Someone is a bit excited today

2012-01-03T06:50:00.004-06:00

I have seen the tweets and music articles floating around the interwebs and I am fairly certain today is the day!

Shinedown are releasing the first single ‘Bully’ on January 3rd, 2012

I am just hoping I get to hear it at some point over the next few days. I'd like to think of it as an early birthday present from my favorite band. Thanks guys!! (Yes, I'm talking to Shinedown as if they followed my blog! Wouldn't that be so awesome?!?) I'm sure even without hearing it, it's as great if not better than everything else you've released.

Yep, I'm a giddy school girl today.

Update: Just caught the song and lyrics on You Tube and I think this song will go great on my Shinedown workout mix. More Shinedown awesomeness for sure! Here's the link for your listening pleasure: Bully

Sources:
#1
#2

Day 2 and not so smart

2012-01-02T17:52:00.000-06:00

I never do resolutions, but instead come up with ideas of things I'd like to work on for each new year. Mostly they are mental notes for making myself better. As of today, the 2nd day of the year, I've already broke one (because I don't listen to that little voice that tries to keep me on track when I want to be stupid) and I'm on my way to making another one work (a BIG dream of mine that will one day come true, I hope).

I would say I'm 50/50 for the year but I think I created a huge mess for myself with the one I've broken already and it probably counts as multiple failures on my part. So much for being smarter in 2012. Personally, I think it would be better if I went back and relived January 2011.

Christmas revisited

2012-01-01T17:51:00.002-06:00

I realized Christmas came and went and I never really said much about the festivities at either parents' house nor the fun we had at my Aunt and Uncle's place Christmas Eve afternoon. Rather than form words, which is a bit difficult since I'm running on 2 hours of sleep right now, (Yeah, I was a party animal with Mom and Michael last night. Don't ask for more details though, I'm still bitter after losing every game of Scrabble the last two nights.), so I'm entertaining you with a photo dump.

Bro as a Christmas present, his bow even matches his shirt!

Dad -- wine holder and trash collector, he's multi-talented

Sibling Love

Bro, modeling his new work attire

Me and my meat thermometer

Bro and his big basket of cooking goodies. (This was my gift to him.)

Dad opening his present from Bro. (We're going to the hockey game!)


Bro wearing my awesome hat from Memphis. He was jealous I was so stylin' on Christmas.

Confused by the present.

Silcone baking mats! (Or cooking drum sticks, your choice.)

Mom and Michael with their healthy popcorn maker. (Yes, that's from me.)

Oreo already asking for a popcorn snack.

Oreo, bummed we told her she had to wait for popcorn.

My new Calphalon Grill Pan!

Despite the extra stress we faced again this holiday season, we had fun and enjoyed our time together. I call that Christmas success.

Delayed anniversary

2011-12-31T14:58:00.000-06:00

Mom and Michael's anniversary was on the 27th, but with being sick and having to plan funeral arrangements that day, I wasn't able to cook them dinner like I normally do. To make up for this we had planned on me coming over after the funeral yesterday and whipping up a dining masterpiece and enjoying game night at their house.

But first, presents! Mom had been asking me time and time again to see if anyone had the movie Meet Joe Black, she had been searching for it and hadn't found it anywhere (For the record, Mom is not an online shopper either.). She went so far as to go to Best Buy on Tuesday where they told her there were two copies in the store and yet when the associate and her went to look for it on the shelf it wasn't there. However, I did find a copy of the movie on Monday when I went out to Best Buy shopping for anniversary presents and I was able to surprise her and Michael with it and a digital photo frame last night.

As for dinner, my menu for the night included orange-balsamic glazed chicken breasts, parmesan risotto ("Come with me, I teach you how to make risotto."....a prize will be given to the first person that knows who said that on Next Food Network Star.), sauteed green beans, a mixed greens salad and mini chocolate donuts for dessert.

Orange-balsamic glazed chicken and sides

Undressed mini donuts - its do it yourself with icing and sprinkles

After dinner we played Scrabble where I got my butt kicked in all 3 games and even after I had the best word ever in game 2!

Can you find my best word ever?

I'm not sure if it was the wine or my Catholic upbringing poking it's head out, but I so spelled out homily. We got a good laugh about that and many other things throughout the night. (Like when Mom got 7 tiles of 4 I's and 3 T's. or when Michael just started making up words.) The night was a total blast and I'm so glad I got to spend the evening with them even if my cheeks did hurt from the constant Scrabble laughter.

For New Years Eve tonight rather than tackling all of the crazies out celebrating in the city, I've decided I'm going to head back over to my parents' house for round 2. I've got my menu planned and my game face on! I'm ready to ring in the New Year and ready for the challenges and changes 2012 brings with it, especially after all of the trials, tribulations, heartbreaks and happiness I faced in 2011.

Happy 2012 to you! And may the New Year be a happy, healthy and prosperous one to you and your family.

Perfect Sandwich?

2011-12-30T16:13:00.000-06:00

Chef Fabio's Perfect Sandwich

Found this article on Yahoo's Shine Food about the perfect late night sandwich and all I can say is obviously Chef Fabio has never had a sammich. According to my supporters, my sandwich creation has a perfect meal record to date and the sammich is close to heaven on a plate. What was once as a last minute experimental lunch panini for Broccoli months ago, has turned into my most requested meal. In fact, I think Broccoli may just in fact regret breaking up with me for this reason alone.

Making it's debut in blogland:

Lunch sammich

Sammich with some sides

And while it may not seem all that fancy or out of the ordinary, it's all about the seasoning blend on the chicken. I think I could package that blend and sell it, its that good. Essence of Emeril?1? Blah! Let's try Essence of Lindsay! (Ok, doesn't have the same ring to it but it could work. Bro, my marketing genius, get working on a better product name please!)

Deja Vu and Medicine Heads

2011-12-29T22:51:00.013-06:00

I made it through my day and my week in spite of the holidays, being sick and dealing with the 1 year anniversary of losing my Grandma. It's hard to believe its already been a year and it's still so weird to go visit my parents and know my Grandma isn't around, some days I just expect her to pop her head around the corner and tell me about all of the things she's been up to with her friends, music classes and jokes she's played on Mom and Michael. We thought all of the holiday heartbreak was over with everything that happened last year, but as luck would have it for our family, my step-dad Michael lost his mom on Christmas Day this year. So the holidays were a bit strained once again and now we're preparing for another funeral tomorrow.

On top of the normal holiday stress and dealing with losing another family member, I somehow came down with the worst cold possible. I don't know how that happened, I haven't run myself ragged the last 8 weeks or anything, but the day after Christmas I woke up feeling like I'd been hit by a bus. I loaded up on vitamins at first thinking I'd fight it off with those and finally Tuesday morning, I stopped into Walgreens before work to get the good stuff. Of course, me not being one for taking medicine very often, I felt even more dazed and so much so, I guess it finally showed at work today. I couldn't find a simple journal entry error in the write-offs I was posting and then locked up the batch I was working on in our system. I emailed my boss to "unlock" my work because I was stuck and couldn't figure out why. She promptly recovered my journal entry, informed me of the error and sent me this via email:

December 29: medicine head

Mental fogginess resulting from having taken cold/flu medicine. Common side effect of certain antihistamines.

"I took some NyQuil and now I have medicine head like you wouldn't believe. Everything feels and looks surreal -- but at least I can breathe without coughing."

Appropriate isn't it?

At least I'm done with work for the week so I can hopefully get better and not bring this thing with me into 2012.

Next Cooking Mission

2011-12-20T19:37:00.005-06:00

Saturday afternoon my Bro and I held another edition of Sibling Saturday. He has been anxiously trying to get me to visit this new restaurant that has amazing wood-fired pizza, unbelievable home-made soup and desserts to nearly die for. So before we tackled the crowds to finish our Christmas shopping, we stopped into Peel.

Source

We had a fab time catching up and the food was as delicious as Bro promised. He even treated me to lunch! (Thanks again Bro!!) Lunch did come with one stipulation -- learn how to make the Wild Mushroom Soup. And so my challenge begins! Thank goodness I have some extra days off during the holidays because now that I've experienced Peel, I believe I'm on the clock.

Fancy Dresses & Unlimited Cake!!

2011-12-19T18:59:00.003-06:00

Because I know you've been anxiously waiting to see how Shell & R's wedding turned out, here are the highlights from the festivities last weekend --

- The Happy Couple!

- The girls and by far, we're the best bridesmaids ever!

- The dinner menu. I'm posting this because that wonderfully nice handwriting is mine. This was one of my bridesmaid tasks and I would like to think I nailed it! Not too bad for a lefty either! (Sorry, it's a bit dark, total random cell phone pic.)

Yes, that bottom line says unlimited cake

- And here is me in my pretty dress all dolled up, with my unlimited cake.


I ate both pieces too!!

- There was also a smores bar, dancing on top of the DJ's table and a random conga line around the ballroom. But perhaps the funniest part of the night came from Shell's mom who had a bit of fun once we cleaned up after the reception.

It was a great day and a fabulous night and I wish Shell & R a lifetime of happiness!

Merry Christmas to me!

2011-12-18T13:37:00.000-06:00

The calendar may not say December 25th, but tonight is totally my Christmas. After weeks of competition, the final battle is tonight and the newest Iron Chef will be crowned! Pastry Chef Elizabeth Faulker faces off against veteran chef Geoffrey Zakarian.

While neither of these chefs were pegged as my favorite picks when the competition started, they worked hard to make it to the finale. And tonight, I have a feeling I'll be more anxious waiting for the Chairman's Iron Chef decision than a kid waiting up for Santa next weekend.

I live for this kind of excitement!

St. Louis' Christmas Wish

2011-12-07T17:45:00.001-06:00

Stan the Man has the right idea....

Source: KSDK

In fact, I think this is on just about everyone in St. Louis' Christmas list this year.

Thursday night update: Well, it looks like we can scratch that off of our Christmas lists! I'm still hoping I get a cast iron dutch oven. Maybe that's a more realistic gift from Santa. :)

Yep, I'm alright

2011-12-05T19:41:00.001-06:00

I was at the gym yesterday morning, going to town on my elliptical when one of the regulars came up to me and started chatting. It's a common occurrence for me to mention all of the stuff going on in my daily life, especially if I see you day in and day out at the gym (or you want to know something, just ask me, I'm not about to shy away from much) and this time I started talking about Shell's wedding this Saturday.
After mentioning all of the prep work and how excited I am that the big day will be here so soon, he asked me if I was feeling alright and doing ok since all of my friends are either getting married or are already married and I'm one of the only single ones left. I assured him I'm alright and I've got so many other things going on and I'm not even thinking about getting married anytime soon. And before you tell me that he's either trying to date me or set me up with someone, I know that is not the case. I guess he was just under the impression like many others are that I've got the wedding timer set and it's about ready to go off.

Sure, I'm probably a time bomb, but not for wedding bells. Even when I was in a relationship, that was the last thing on my mind. Guess I'm just a different kind of girl and no, weddings do not make me go bezerk.

Christmas decorating!!

2011-11-27T11:26:00.000-06:00

In order to get myself into the Christmas spirit and get ready for the holiday season, I took some time to get my Christmas tree out in my apartment....

It even comes with lights!

Perhaps this is a better view...

Yes, its small and fits on one of my end tables. But isn't it adorable?!? It was given to me by my Grandma and it's perfect!

(Don't judge...it's all I have room for here and I at least got it out this year! It's more than what I can say for the past two.)

Cue the Christmas music!!

Rock Stars, Turkeys, & Hockey Players...oh my!

2011-11-26T11:06:00.002-06:00

Hope you had a fabulous Thanksgiving!
Blog posts are few and far between here with everything going on...still bear with me until I get some stuff sorted out. You would think with the extra two days off from work this week, I could get on track. However, as luck would have it, I've taken the extra days off and found myself planning anything and everything I could for this long weekend.

First off, pics from last weekend's road trip....which by the way, was super AWESOME!


From 3 Doors Down instagr.am -- we're the ones with our hands up in the crowd!

3 Doors Down was so great and the girls and I had a total blast driving down there, going to Beale Street, attending the concert and then making the trek home.


Me in my fun hat we bought on Beale Street!

Trouble x 4!

It was a short week at work which was also very much needed. I still am struggling with learning everything and now there is the added stress of preparing budgets for next year and working on year-end projects. I was thrilled when 4:30 rolled around on Wednesday afternoon and I headed out to start my holiday.

I was able to spend Thanksgiving with both of my parents and the day went off with very few hiccups. Dad made a turducken which was exciting in itself. Being the foodie that I am, I've always wanted to try one and since we were having a small gathering, Dad thought why not test it out this year. It got my seal of approval and it's another food adventure I can take off of my food bucket list. Mom was a little less adventurous and stuck with turkey and ham, but won me over with her sweet potato casserole and home-made peach cobbler. I was definitely headed for a food coma when I finally made my way back home late Thursday night.

My Thanksgiving Present from Mom & Michael

Yesterday, I got up and tried to get back into my routine and hit the gym for a much needed early morning workout. There was no way I was going to get out and fight the 4 am Black Friday shoppers so while everyone was out making those "money-saving" (or notsomuch) purchases, my butt was in the gym. I did decide late in the day to venture out and continue my Christmas shopping, but after a few stops, I ended that little excursion. Plus, I had tickets to the Blues game last night, so I didn't want to spend the entire day out tackling the crowds.

The Blues game last night was fantastic! Did you see it? The Blues shut out the Calgary Flames 2-0. Elliot looked great in net and I was amazed with all of the obscure saves he was able to make. Hitchcock has steadily been turning the team around. I'm really starting to get back into hockey now too. (This is probably a really good thing considering how poorly I'm doing in my fantasy hockey league right now.)

And this brings us up to today, on the schedule is a birthday party tonight and trying to get some things settled for Shell's bridal shower tomorrow. I'm coming and going and I have so many things floating around in this head. Thank goodness this is a random blog!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

A Concert for A Cause

2011-11-19T06:08:00.005-06:00

I can barely contain my excitement right now. This weekend the girls and I are headed down to Tunica for this tonight...

Source: http://thebetterlifefoundation.org/

3 Doors Down are playing a show for their foundation and I bought tickets! It's a much needed girls' trip for all 4 of us and I am happy to help out one of my favorite bands as well.

Have I told you how much I love the Tunica/Memphis area? Oh yeah, probably only a dozen times already. I'm definitely looking forward to going back and by taking 3 of my favorite girls with me, we'll definitely be in for a grand time!

P.S. Have I also mentioned that my signature karaoke song is When I'm Gone? Yep, I even have pics to prove it.

Getting ready for my debut -- Girls Trip 2009


3 Doors Down karaoke SUPERSTAR!!!!

(Sorry for the dark pic, I was solely focused on singing and turned camera duties over to one of the other girls. I look like a pro, don't I?)

Ahead of the game

2011-11-13T17:56:00.000-06:00

My mom and I decided to go out shopping this afternoon since she needed some supplies for her classes this week and I decided to go along for the ride, but as luck would have it I actually decided to start my Christmas shopping. I think this is a first for me, starting a few weeks before Thanksgiving rather than waiting until absolutely necessary to start. You'd think for someone who plans out as much stuff as I do, starting my Christmas shopping early would be routine. Notsomuch...but I am pretty proud of myself right now.

However, I am not ready for Christmas music, decorations or anything else that will make the next 5 weeks pass by in a blur.

Sneak peek

2011-11-05T22:45:00.000-05:00

Today I spent my day looking for a bridesmaid dress for Shell's state-side wedding on December 10th. I wasn't the only one looking for a dress, actually all 3 of us bridesmaid had the day free and we decided to head out together with Shell on an adventure to find something in the same color but something that flattered our different body types. After multiple stops and a cake testing (yum!), we settled on this....(the lighting isn't the greatest but we're in marine, otherwise known as navy)

I have one month find shoes and get it hemmed to the proper length. Besides that, I'm not sure what I need to do. This is my first (and probably only) attempt at being a bridesmaid. I just hope I make a decent one.

In other news, I have worn myself out the last few days, I'm planning on taking this extra hour tonight and putting it to good use....sleep! Let's hope my body cooperates.

Wow!

2011-10-31T19:53:00.002-05:00

What a way to officially end the season and a baseball career.
From Yahoo news

After 3 World Series titles, La Russa retires

Source: AP

"A rare manager with a law degree, La Russa was voted AL Manager of the Year three times, and NL Manager of the Year in 2002. He will be up for consideration for the Hall of Fame in December 2013, at the same time as Torre and Bobby Cox."
“I think you can make a case for him as best of all-time. Absolutely,” said Detroit manager Jim Leyland, who coached for La Russa with the White Sox after managing against him in the minors.
Leyland said La Russa was the “total package” as a manager, obsessing over the lineup card, outfoxing opponents during games and refusing to bend to public opinion."

Congrats Tony on an amazing season and an fabulous career. You will be missed by the players, fans and all of St. Louis.

The time has come!

2011-10-30T19:59:00.001-05:00

Way back in April I wrote this post. I was excited then for October 30th and have been waiting patiently for the premiere. Tonight's the big night on Food Network!

Source

And while I'm on my own to catch this season of The Next Iron Chef, you can bet I will be watching every episode. I have my favorites picked already and for the final two Super Chefs, I'm picking Chef Robert Irvine & Chef Anne Burrell. Let's see how close I am to being right by the season finale.

Now, in the words of the Chairman, "Let the Battle Begin!!!!"

P.S. Feel free to watch along with me each Sunday night at 8 pm Central and comment as the season progresses.

CHAMPIONS!!!!

2011-10-28T23:25:00.000-05:00


Source: AP

Congrats to my St. Louis Cardinals who went from earning a Wild Card spot the very last game of the regular season to becoming 2011 WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS!!!!

Love this quote from a Yahoo article talking about the win:

In the waning days of August, St. Louis had a 0.2 percent chance of reaching the playoffs, according to AccuScore, a company that calculates probabilities by running thousands of game simulations. Expressed another way, the Cardinals faced 1 in 500 odds
And that was to make the playoffs. Their chances of winning the World Series were miniscule, like a speck of Midwestern dust somehow reaching Manhattan or Malibu. It might have been the greatest comeback in baseball history.

The Cardinals have made baseball history and I'm ecstatic to be able to call them my home team!

Oh, and if anyone happens to know Allen Craig, would you pass my number or email on to him?

Source: Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

Just in case you were wondering

2011-10-25T20:10:00.001-05:00

And because I'm sure you were worried after last night's random post, here's my latest tweet --

Bought my Halloween costume! I'm heading back into the 1920s for this Saturday's parties. Can u guess what costume I picked out?!?

Whew, I knew you were on pins and needles waiting to see if I would get my costume before Saturday. No need to think about that anymore. Now you can focus on what I'm going to be.

Oh yeah and now, I'm going to 2 parties that night. At least my costume will be put to good use. :)

Back to our regularly scheduled randomness

2011-10-24T18:42:00.000-05:00

Ok, time to get back into the groove here and because it seems like I have an attention span of a gnat right now, you're getting the rundown of anything that's been on my mind.

* Remember when I said I got to meet Alton Brown a few weeks ago? Yep, it was super exciting getting to meet another one of my favorite Food Network personalities. Here's the pic taken by his assistant --

His question and answer session before the book signing rocked my socks off. He definitely inspired me to keep working towards my culinary dreams.
And my gift to myself that day --


Pretty cool, right?

* Speaking of culinary dreams, I have been cooking up a storm. Not just for myself because...well, I have a hard time cooking for one, but I've made dinner for my Mom and Michael last week (Mexican Lasagna), my Dad & Bro (Pork w/Oyster sauce) and homemade from scratch brownies for a World Series party I went to at MO's on Saturday. (Did you see that game?!?! 16-7! Go Cardinals!) And because I was really proud of my brownies, I had to take a picture of them as well.

* On Saturday before the World Series madness, I bought this bad boy --

A mini donut maker, really Lindsay? I thought you were so healthy...how can you justify that purchase? Easy, I'm going to make healthy donuts. I figured its much easier for me to justify eating a donut that I made than to buy them at a bakery. (Fyi, I couldn't tell you the last time I had a donut. This purchase makes me very, very happy and I'm hoping to test it out next weekend.)

* Besides cooking and buying gadgets and books, I planned a trip with 3 of my favorite girls to see a great band for a good cause. 3 Doors Down is playing in Tunica, MS on November 19th and they are doing the concert to benefit their Better Life Foundation charity. I wanted to go to the concert from the time I heard about it and I was able to convince the girls to take the road trip with me. Actually I am using this trip as a thank you for helping me through all of the changes of the past few months and let's get crazy outside of the Lou just simply because we can.

* Really, I should be spending the little bit of down time I have working on finding a costume for this Saturday. I have been invited to not 1 but 2 Halloween costume parties and I haven't thought of a costume yet. :( I'll come up with something I'm sure What's even more exciting is that one of the parties is also a homecoming for Shell, who will finally make her way back home after spending nearly a year in New Zealand. I last saw her 4 days before she left for the trip and I can not wait to see her when she finally gets back to town on Thursday. We've been friends since the summer between kindergarten and 1st grade and we've gone our separate ways over the years, but even with that we've remained good friends. I can't wait to catch up.

* On the work front, well, it's work. I haven't quite made up my mind about the place yet but I'm trying my best each day to take in everything and do what I can do. However, if anyone wanted to give me a pile of money to start my restaurant/catering dreams, I would move on in a heartbeat. Until then, I'll just keep plugging along. This week we have the European partners in from the Netherlands. Of course, in our office they call it Holland and every time I hear it said, I giggle to myself. Why? Because in my head I'm hearing it pronounced by Goldmember from Austin Powers. Silly, yes, but I can't make it stop.

That's all for now. I'll check in again soon. And maybe by that time, my randomness will simmer down (or not!)...have a good one! And GO CARDS!!!

By Now I'm Sure You've Heard

2011-10-17T21:28:00.000-05:00

Unless you have been living under a rock for the last 24 hours, I'm sure you know...

My St. Louis Cardinals Are Going to the WORLD SERIES!!!


Jonathan Daniel/GETTY IMAGES

Like the article in the Washington Post says, No one will ever use the word “classic” to describe this series (NLCS). It is never a good sign when the member of the winning team who gets the most ink is the manager. None of the six games in the series featured a lead change after the fifth inning. There were no memorable starting pitching performances on either side, or even transcendent offensive ones – with the exception of Cardinals third baseman and series MVP David Freese, who singled, doubled and homered Sunday night to complete a 12-for-22 series.

But we'll take the wins and head off to the Championship Series, especially since it was just about a month ago that my team was nearly down and out. I'm definitely excited for this series and you can be sure I will be watching and cheering on my team the rest of the way. I think we even have watch parties scheduled for every game already also. Yes, we take our baseball team seriously.

Let's Go Cardinals!

My deepest thanks

2011-10-15T10:19:00.000-05:00

"You will never know true happiness until you have truly loved, and you will never understand what pain really is until you have lost it."

Out of the few accounts that I follow on Twitter, this was a tweet I happened to catch last night. It seemed to scream out to me and even though I thought I've been able to pull myself together a little bit the last few days, it hit me hard. I'm trying to adjust my life, remember what it was like before I had someone that cared about me so much. It's not about the relationship so much as it is the friendship. The person I would call when something great happened, the person I called to joke around with when something silly happened, the person I offered support to when his life was not going as planned and also the person that picked me up when I needed a boost. I would be ok if I at least knew I still had a best friend. Yes, I loved him like the man I wanted to spend my life with, but I also loved him as a friend that could laugh with me, cry with me and just bring joy to my life. Friends like that are hard to find and that's what makes this so difficult.

Many of people have stepped up to get me through this the past 6 days and I'm extremely grateful for everyone's support. It's so nice to know that many other people care about me. I've appreciated every word of encouragement, every ounce of hope and most of all, I'm grateful for the kind words directed towards me as a person. I am hoping that at some point, I can be that same rock for someone else.

Now is the time for me to focus on my life and make the most of what I do have left. I have many goals, many things I would like to see worked out and changes that I thought I couldn't make in myself before now, I'm going to give all of that my full attention. I also hope to renew other friendships and relationships that I may have neglected in the past. Overall, I want a full and happy life.

As the inscription on my ring tells me, Live the Life You Love. Love the Life you Live.
I'm going to work my best to do just that.

Change of Course

2011-10-13T19:01:00.000-05:00

Well, I had this great post in my head about the fun weekend I had with my class reunion on Saturday night and then the book signing on Sunday where I was able to meet Food Network's Alton Brown, but at it always seems to happen, when things are going really well, something horrible has to happen. And those posts got pushed to the wayside shortly after I got home on Sunday night.

As of Monday morning at 5:30 am, Broccoli decided we could no longer see one another. He hoped to fix the dysfunction in the rest of his family and could no longer be with me. I am hurt, shocked and completely devastated. Our relationship wasn't perfect but I cherished every minute of it. We became a couple after we both had faced some really hard times in our life and after 3 1/2 years together, I thought we were moving forward. I never pressured him for more than a commitment of spending time with me a few days a week and while it seems strange, marriage and kids were never something brought to the table and we agreed the way we operated worked for us. He has kids already and I adored them immensely but I never wanted to be the person stepping in to try to be their mother, only a positive female role model at a later time. He understood that and agreed that my feelings were the best given everything he had dealt with in the past. There never seemed to be any issues with that. And because I am the person that I am, if he asked otherwise, I probably would have accepted anything asked of me.

I lost my best friend, my boyfriend and the guy that motivated me most to excel in everything I tried to do. He was my motivator, cheerleader, and overall esteem builder when times got tough. I'm lost, I'm at a crossroad in my life now. I need to move forward and while everyone keeps telling me there are more fish in the sea, I just want the one back that gave me so much life. I guess now I take this hardship and learn from it and work to make my life what I want it to be once again.

Sorry for the downer post, but I've tried to remain myself as much as possible in blogland and this is the reality of me right now.

Name the Year...

2011-10-08T18:40:00.041-05:00

- Top Movies included Pearl Harbor; Vanilla Sky; Bridget Jones's Diary; Shrek and Ocean's 11
- U2 won Grammys for Beautiful Day for both Song of the Year and Record of the Year
- Other top Songs included Survivor by Destiny's Child; Hanging by a Moment by Lifehouse; Fallin' by Alicia Keys; Drops of Jupiter by Train; Kryptonite by 3 Doors Down; The Way You Love Me by Faith Hill and Get Ur Freak On by Missy Elliot.
- The Baltimore Ravens defeated the New York Giants in the Super Bowl
- The Arizona Diamondbacks won the World Series against the New York Yankees
- The Colorado Avalanche defeated the New Jersey Devils to win Lord Stanley's Cup.
- Dale Earnhardt was killed in the final lap at February's Daytona 500 when his car crashed into a wall

- Federal spending was $1,864 billion and the Federal debt was $5,807 billion

- The Unemployment Rate was 4.8% and the Cost of a first-class stamp was $0.34.
- The Anthrax scare was in full swing.
- Heather Mills became engaged to former Beatle Paul McCartney.
- Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman decided to separate and ultimately divorced.
- Gladiator won five Oscars, including those for Best Picture and Best Actor, Russell Crowe. And, Julia Roberts won for her role as Erin Brockovich.

- George W. Bush was sworn in as the 43rd President of the United States.

As for me, well.....

Senior Prom

- Lindsay was a Senior in high school.
- She was a member of FBLA, FCCLA, National Honor Society and even took 4th placed at the State FBLA competition in Accounting.
- She worked part-time as a Third Key Manager and Ear Piercing Specialist at Claire's Boutiques.

Lindsay Hard at Work

- She signed a letter of academic intent with McKendree College for the Fall.and pretty much was trying to figure out where life was going to take her.
- Finally, if there was any free time left in her crazy, busy schedule (there's one thing that hasn't really changed!), she could be found hanging out with Shell, Lizzie, Amanda, Cara, Greg or Matt.


Project Graduation -- our school celebration after the BIG DAY!

Think you know the year????

If you guessed 2001, you'd be exactly right!!

Tonight I am attending my 10 year class reunion. I'm not sure what to expect and I am excited to see how much has changed for everyone else over these last 10 years. Sure, I check in on Facebook nearly every day and I follow what some of my classmates have been up to, but I think it still will be fun to catch up on a more personal level. High school for me was not a walk in the park; I worked hard and aimed for perfection in nearly everything I did. I was quiet and shy and tried my best to stay away from any sort of attention throughout my 4 years in high school. Now, I am proud to show off my accomplishments (to an extent!) and actually feel comfortable talking to people and being somewhat normal and personable.
Broccoli is going with me tonight and I'm also excited for that. In the time we've been together, I've really just glossed over my time in high school and besides telling him I was a big nerd, I haven't given him much of a clue as to those 4 years of my life. I'm not sure what he expects, but my main hope is that we have a fun night out!

10 years! Geez, I still can not believe it!

Source for non-Lindsay related facts:
http://www.infoplease.com/year/2001.html
http://www.musicoutfitters.com/topsongs/2001.htm

Source for Lindsay related facts:
the one and only Random Girl!

In 9 innings and beyond?

2011-09-28T19:07:00.000-05:00

Saw this pic on Facebook today and had to laugh:

Tonight I'm on pins and needles waiting to see what happens in the Cards-'Stros game and Braves-Phillies matchup. Could we have a one game playoff or could my team be headed to the post season or could my team be packing up tomorrow and getting ready for winter? I guess we'll find out in a few hours.

I, myself, probably will not be watching the game since Broccoli says I jinx the team and cause them to lose when I either watch it or attend one, but I'll be rooting for them while watching episodes of Restaurant Impossible on Food Network.

LET'S GO CARDS!!!!

The Next Bobby Flay

2011-09-27T18:59:00.002-05:00

I got a text from my brother this afternoon that read this:

So I wrapped boneless chicken breasts in bacon. Seasoned with ginger and hot sauce then marinated with italian dressing overnight. Pan seared then roasted in the oven with red peppers. Then I reduced some white wine with butter and garlic salt and dressed angel hair noodles with that. That's right. Your bro reduced wine and made a sauce. :)

He also sent me this pic just to rub it in:

Besides being highly impressed, my initial thought was, geez, I should hire him to cook for me. All I had tonight for dinner was sauteed veggies in a rice vinegar glaze and some grapes. Obviously not the dinner of champs here but after a long day at work, its about all I could muster up with the little bit of energy I had left. Of course it didn't help that my stove and oven didn't work all weekend either due to circuit breaker issues and couldn't plan ahead with a few pre-cooked weeknight meals.

Also, you can bet that when he comes over for our next edition of Sibling Saturday this upcoming weekend, I'm putting his butt in the kitchen to whip me up something delicious.

A new chapter

2011-09-25T13:08:00.000-05:00

A few days before I started my new position, this email was sent by my new employer to my email and all of my co-workers:

It is my pleasure to announce the following additions to our Team:

Lindsay will be joining us on September 12^th; filling the open Staff Accountant position.

We are excited and confident that Lindsay will bring her expertise in accounting and enthusiasm to the accounting department.

New Sales Rep (NSR) has accepted the position as the new Midwest Representative for Really Awesome Shoes. NSR lives in Chicago and will come to the St. Louis office Thursday to meet everyone and pickup her samples.

Join us in welcoming Lindsay and sales rep to their new roles!

And from that, I was accepted into my new position. I can say it's definitely been a crazy two weeks but I am slowly adjusting to the new job. It's a big change from the business and industry I came from but I think eventually everything will click. I have become more comfortable in some of my responsibilities and I even got my key to the office this Friday. (I hope this means I'm a keeper!) I got through an inventory on Friday and this week is month-end (eeeek!). Ultimately, I need to stay positive and remember I can handle just about anything thrown my way. (Broccoli has been drilling this into my head since we've been together, guess I should really listen to him now, it may really come in handy.)

Perhaps the coolest thing so far was after work on Tuesday when Coco and I decided to go to dinner and hit the mall. While browsing one of the stores, I found numerous styles of one of our brands and more specifically one of the brands I do all of the Accounting for. I became a giddy little school girl and had to take a pic with my phone to send out. (Yeah, my friends think I'm quite silly!)

In any case, I'm starting to get into my groove and hopeful that things continue to move forward and look up.

Moving on

2011-09-11T15:41:00.000-05:00

So my last day at work went fairly well. There were tears but there were also promises to meet up for lunch in the next couple of weeks. My new position is literally down the street from my old place and I have told everyone that just because I'm not in the same building we can still all hang out from time to time. Coco, of course took my leaving the hardest. We became good friends because of the job and experienced a lot of stuff over the past 6 years on both a personal and professional level. She came into work Friday with a little note saying thanks for being my friend all these years and these for me --

I, of course, had a card written out for her too saying thanks for putting up with me and getting me through everything life has thrown at me. I was also going to pick up flowers for her, but I knew she was supposed to head out of town after work to catch her son's college soccer game so I put that off until a later date.

Broccoli met me for lunch on Friday and tried his best to deal with my roller coaster of emotions. He offered support and encouragement for my new position (yes, I am a bit scared!) and understood why I was crying about leaving the old place (cue, Memories please) and overall eased my mind.

After work I decided to finish out this job the same way I started it 6 years ago. I went to my Mom and Michael's for dinner with them. Back then we went to Chevy's for Mexican. This time, I wanted to change it up a bit so I decided to on Chinese from one of my favorite hometown spots. I had a good time catching up with them and mostly tried to de-stress from my two long weeks of training everyone on every little duty and job detail in my head.

Saturday was the second edition of Sibling Saturday 2011. I met my Bro at his apartment and we spent some time catching up and just hanging out. We also went into town to pick up some much needed apartment essentials for Ryan and his room mates and then grocery shopped so we could make dinner for my Dad. Ryan and I thought it would be fun to surprise Dad with a visit and dinner. And Dad was surprised when he came home from work and found both Ryan and I camped out in kitchen creating a masterpiece.
Our creation --


Our version of Moo Goo Gai Pan

And here is Bro enjoying our delicious meal --

Today I've spent my day just trying to prep for my first day tomorrow. I have my clothes ironed, my paperwork organized and my lunch packed. I am excited and nervous but overall I'm ready for 9 am. Transportation turned out to be quite an interesting industry, I can only imagine what shoes and the fashion world will be like. :)

Simple vs. Real

2011-09-09T07:20:00.005-05:00

This was sent to me the other day and I thought it was the perfect thing to post today.

A Simple Friend has never seen you cry.
A Real Friend has shoulders soggy from your tears.

A Simple Friend doesn't know your parent's first names.
A Real Friend has their phone numbers in the address book.

A Simple Friend brings a bottle of wine to your party.
A Real Friend comes early to help you cook and stays late to help you clean.

A Simple Friend hates it when you call after he or she has gone to bed.
A Real Friend asks you why you took so long to call.

A Simple Friend seeks to talk with you about their problems.
A Real Friend seeks to help you with your problems.

A Simple Friend wonders about your romantic history.
A Real Friend could blackmail you with it.

A Simple Friend, when visiting, acts like a guest.
A Real Friend opens your refrigerator and helps herself.

A Simple Friend thinks the friendship is over when you have an argument.
A Real Friend knows that it's not a friendship until after you've had a fight.

A Simple Friend expects you to always be there for them.
A Real Friend expects to always be there for you and for you to know that they are.

Today is my last day at work and I can say, I consider quite a few of my current co-workers my friends, but ultimately I know who my Real Friends are here and who I will continue to remain friends with as I move on to a new phase in my life. They are the few people that in spite of my attitude or tears or days that I didn't have much time to catch up and chat because of my workload, still cared and still wanted to help make things better. These are the same people who encouraged me to move forward and make myself happy even if it meant I couldn't see them and spend time with them every single day.

I work closely with two of my closest, dearest best friends. They are two of the most amazing people you could ever meet. They have provided me with an infinite amount of support and have helped me through some of the hardest days of my life. To them I am eternally grateful. Leaving my position was a piece of cake, leaving them is proving to be a bit harder. Yet, I know, we will always be Real Friends.

The Final Countdown....

2011-09-06T20:35:00.000-05:00

Thanks to the helpfulness of one of my co-workers, this song by Europe has been stuck in my head ALL DAY LONG! He started his morning by asking if I was ready for my last 4 days in the office and proceeded to sing part of the song to me. Of course, me being the music lover I am, started singing the rest of it and now that's the only song stuck in this head. As I was training my replacements, I'm humming it to myself. As I'm doing data entry to help Coco, I'm humming it to myself. As I go to lunch and try to chill out and enjoy the early fall-like weather, I'm singing to myself. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!

I hope tomorrow someone has another good bye tune for me...something has to get this out of my head!

Almost like the real thing

2011-09-05T20:05:00.001-05:00

Broccoli would probably completely disagree with me, but I found a great alternative to a hamburger. I've been making turkey burgers rather than using ground beef for the last year or so and finally on my last grocery shopping trip, I decided to try something different.
So, let me introduce my newest food adventure --

To me, they taste like a regular burger. I may even go as far as to say that they are better than a regular burger because I wasn't left feeling stuffed or like I had just clogged my arteries with all sorts of fat. In any case, I just heated them in my new Paula Deen skillet and then made a burger like normal. Of course, Broccoli would tell you that the only reason why it tasted like a beef burger to me is due to the fact that I pile my regular burgers with so many "extras" (lettuce, tomato, pickles and onions) that I never really taste the meat anyway. I did the same thing with my Boca burger. :)
Now I'm ready to test out some other Boca products -- who knows what kind of yummy lunches or quick dinners I can whip up with their veggie burgers, crumbles or chik'n patties. It's amazing how many more foods I am now willing to try and prepare when I know calorie counts and other valuable nutritional info.

Note: I have not been paid by Boca in anyway for this post. But, if you happen to know someone there, would you tell them how much I love these burgers and have them donate a few boxes to me?!? Thanks! :)

Sucked in

2011-09-04T10:39:00.001-05:00

It's a 3 day weekend and I've already spent my Saturday running errands and cleaning up my apartment. While I was at the gym this morning, I was flipping through my favorite channels and happened to find a marathon on Bravo. Of course, I got sucked in and I've decided that since its a gloomy day here in the Lou, I'm going to spend the rest of my day chilling at home and being entertained by:

It's definitely a train wreck, but so fun to watch.

Hope you're enjoying your Labor Day weekend!

And so it begins...

2011-08-30T21:47:00.000-05:00

At 11:36 am an email went out from my boss to the entire company,

I am writing to inform you that Lindsay with be leaving (insert company name here). Lindsay has been a valued asset to (insert company name here) for 6 years and we are sorry that she has decided to move on. She has graciously agreed to stay on with us until Friday, September 9 to transition her responsibilities to others.

(Mean girl with a horrible attitude) will continue to do driver payroll, but will assume the weekly mechanic and guard payroll, so please send that payroll information to (Mean girl with a horrible attitude) starting with the next payroll. For now, everything else should be directed to me, and I will assume it.

Again we greatly appreciate the many contributions Lindsay has made to (insert company name here) over the last 6 years.

And with that, everyone found out...I'm leaving.
It's possibly the best decision I have made lately. The stress is slowly (actually very quickly) taking its toll on me. When my boss said he will assume all other responsibilities, he has no idea what he is in for. Not only do I handle all Accounting functions, I handle nearly 90% of all Admin and HR functions in our company. It makes my head spin and I've been under this mountain of work for 3 1/2 years with nearly no time off, no lunches and 9-10 hour days. Good luck with all of that! And good luck finding one person to take on all of those tasks. I am training our new part-time Accounting clerk, who officially was given a full time job when I resigned yesterday, but as a fresh Accounting grad, it's going to take awhile to get into my full on "intense Lindsay mode" groove. But, I hope that I can train him and pass along as much of this knowledge that is in my ever expanding brain.

It was nice to see some of the replies from my closest co-workers too:

"What am I going to do now!

You will be truly missed and I want you to know I greatly appreciate everything you have done the last year to help me. You are a great person and I wish the best for you in what ever you do."

"sorry to see you go, good luck. you will be missed by most of us around here. especially the cool people like me. keep in touch."

"Hey what the heck???????????? Good luck in what ever you're going to do, I will surely miss you dearly. You have been a great friend. Thanks for everything"

"AWESOME FOR YOU, SUCKS FOR US. ALONG WITH YOUR (insert company name here) CONTRIBUTIONS I WOULD LIKE TO EXPRESS MY GRATITUDE FOR MAKING THIS PLACE A LITTLE BETTER LOOKING EVERYDAY, THANKS YOU ROCK. PLEASE SAY YOU'LL STILL POP IN FOR HAPPY HOUR SOMETIME, I'VE YET TO SEE YOU HAMMERED, I HEAR IT'S QUITE ENTERTAINING :)"

"Damn girl, I hate to see you go. (Boss) let me know earlier and it made me sad. But I'm sure you are doing what is right for you, and I wish you well."

"I don't get to speak with you very often or see you. But I wish you the Best of Luck with whatever you do!! Thanks for helping me when I do need something!!"

"WOW..!!! Really..?? I wish you the best of luck and hope that you are happy with your career change..

I am very happy for you....Just wondering, I was planning on having you do our 2011 taxes..Will you still be available for that?? Let me know, and I wish you the BEST....GOOD LUCK!!!!!"

My response to them and just about everyone else that I talked to today was similar, I'm heading back into the world of being a Staff Accountant. I will be working in a completely different industry but one that I love and hope I can be successful in. I am excited for the change and ready to get back to my Accounting roots and I start my new position on September 12th.

Oh and as for happy hours, taxes and keeping in touch, I am planning on all three and hopefully more. Some of my best friends work at this company and whether I work there or anywhere, they are my friends for life. I will find a way to make it all work.

Mantras for a happy life

2011-08-28T22:34:00.000-05:00

Post 300! Hard to believe that I've continued to post my randomness for the last 6 years and still find something to write about on a semi-regular basis. Things have been a bit out of control around here lately and I have been contemplating many things, much of which affects numerous aspects of my life. I had to talk myself out of quitting my job, packing up and moving to Memphis/Northern MS and starting over more times than I would like to count over the past 2 months. It's not because I want to live without all of the good things I have here, but I just figured it was easier to start with a clean slate somewhere relatively close rather than trying to fix all of the stuff affecting my attitude and daily well-being. (Brilliant idea, I know....just keep following me, would ya?)

So instead, I tried to look for other ways to make small changes. I'm not one that likes to admit failure, but I can tell you, I've failed tremendously at trying to keep my attitude in check lately. Then I happen to find the two quotes below while researching a happy life online and something just clicked. I've decided to make these my mantras for a happy, balanced life.

Someone once said..."There comes a time in your life, when you walk away from all the drama and people who create it. You surround yourself with people who make you laugh. Forget the bad, and focus on the good. Love the people who treat you right, pray for the ones who don't. Life is too short to be anything but happy. Falling down is a part of life, getting back up is living."

It doesn’t just end at being passionate about what you do. It’s about taking care of yourself (physically and mentally), striving for happiness in a relationship, and having a hobby or interests that stimulate your brain.

My life is changing at a fast pace and in order to get through everything, I need to accept whatever is thrown at me. That doesn't mean that I can not still fight for what I believe is right and fair. I know this change will affect multiple aspects of my life. It will send me into another unknown phase, but one that I am hoping to bridge with some of what is already familiar. I've run more ideas by Broccoli and Coco than I thought humanly possible, hoping they can figure out how to decipher all of this. I've been on a roller coaster of emotions and from one minute to the next I don't know if I'm happy and excited or sad or scared or angry. Ultimately, I want to be happy. I want to have that life I've dreamed about.

I know these changes will make the difference.

Riddle me this....

2011-08-16T21:24:00.000-05:00

What is one way to make an extremely overwhelming and stressful Tuesday a bit better?!?!

How about some Paula Deen cookware?!?!

I know it seems silly, but after being stood up for my consulting gig tonight. I decided to hit the gym for a little de-stresser elliptical workout and then make my much anticipated cookware purchase.
As of right now, it's still packed away nicely in the box, but I'm breaking these bad boys out tomorrow night! CAN NOT WAIT!!

Yes, I'm easily pleased. :)

More randomness

2011-08-14T15:03:00.001-05:00

Sorry, right now there is a lack of time for me to formulate a clever post, so I'll just update you on the stuff floating around in my head at the moment. Ironically, most of it links together is some weird way.
So here we go!

-- Reserved my spot for my 10 year class reunion being held in October this past week. It's hard to believe that I've been out of high school that long and for me, A LOT has changed in these 10 years. While I debated as to whether or not I wanted to go back and relive any of that, I decided it may be fun just to check in and see what others have been up to over the years. We will see what I think after I attend.

-- What's even more crazy is that my dear precious little Nicole starts high school on Tuesday. That seems darn near impossible. I felt old when Ryan went to high school, I'm feeling ancient now that its Nicole's turn. I may just have a mid-life crisis when she graduates.

-- Speaking of age and birthdays, my Mom's birthday was yesterday. (Happy Birthday Mom!) I invited her and Michael over for dinner on Friday night and I must say, I was highly impressed with my dinner of strip steaks, roasted sweet potatoes, sweet corn on the cob, salad and most importantly, orange dreamscicle parfaits.

-- Every time I cook a dinner for more than myself, I realize I need to get better pots and pans. This again was the case after Friday night so I went browsing while I was out running errands yesterday. I found two sets that I liked and now I'm trying to figure out if and when I will break down and buy a better set than what I currently own. I'm not sure why I need to justify that this is a good purchase, but I am thinking it over way too many times. Yes, I need new pots and pans. Yes, I enjoy cooking and need something better than the starter set I bought when I moved out on my own 6 years ago. No, this is not a life-altering decision (well, unless you consider the fact that I have to choose between Paula Deen and Rachael Ray)....
GO BUY SOME POTS & PANS LINDSAY!

-- Tonight is the season finale of Next Food Network Star. While we are all thrilled Mary Beth isn't competing in the finale, we're torn between the final three. I'll watch any of the three however, I will be a bit irritated if my signature sammich recipe ends up on Jeff's show. Of course, then I'll know for sure the casting directors read my 11 page application!

There are some of the highlights of items rattling around in this head. I'm off to enjoy the rest of the afternoon before I head back into the out of control world of Transportation Accounting tomorrow morning. Catch ya later!

Matchbox Twenty & Kitchen Gadgets

2011-08-06T16:23:00.000-05:00

I'm sure you are aware how much music rules my life and how much I relate songs I hear while working or driving or working out to every little aspect of my life. This morning was no different. I was heading home from my Saturday morning workout, feeling a bit over-whelmed by the amount of projects I had to today's to-do list, and all of a sudden a blast from the past came on the station I've been listening to lately. (St. Louis' own 100.3 GenX Radio for those of you with the iHeartRadio app) -- Matchbox Twenty's Real World. And then it hit me as I was belting out the lyrics to the song -- I wish the real world, would just stop hassling me.

So rather than letting all of the chores and side projects I felt needed to be accomplish today overrule trying to de-stress from another wild week at work and other things I wanted to do, I promptly came home, handled a few things, showered and did something I felt was more important. Something dorky you may say, but something I promised my Bro after he helped me through my (unsuccessful) casting call last weekend -- I bought some kitchen gadgets for his new apartment. Shopping (and not even for myself!) actually calmed me down enough to come back home and finish the next part of the tax project I agreed to work on.

Household chores aren't finished and who knows when I'll get around to them. But right this second, I'm telling the real world to stop hassling me.

Chasing a Dream

2011-07-30T23:23:00.010-05:00

With the two most important guys in my life by my side, I took a leap of faith this morning and went to the Food Network Star casting call in downtown St. Louis. I wasn't sure what to expect especially since it is the first time I have ever done any sort of thing like this, but I figured this was the perfect platform for me to represent my cooking skills and my ideas regarding healthy living and eating. After my short interview with the casting rep, I walked out of there confident that I presented myself to the best of my abilities.

Perhaps the funniest part of the morning came from the fact that while I was waiting for my turn in my group, my Bro was in the holding area making friends. When I got back from my interview, I find him talking to another applicant. Broccoli's response, "You can tell you two are related. You will make friends wherever you go." (Of course, this is also after the fact that when he stopped by, I was in line talking to other women in my interview group.)

Overall, it was a memorable morning and I'm so glad I gave it a shot!! *Fingers crossed for what's next!*

And Bro and Broccoli -- you two definitely inspire me. From taste-testing all of my dishes over the years, to listening to my tips and tricks about healthy eating & fitness and even proof-reading my application, I'm grateful for all of your support and I thank you for being there today!

Back to the real world

2011-07-24T19:49:00.000-05:00

Another weekend I had been looking so forward to has come and gone. It's amazing how long I seem to wait for these things to come around and how fast the 36 hours of fun passes. The good news is that we had an absolute blast together and I have an extra day to rest up since I took a vacation day tomorrow.

And yes, we are an unbeatable team. :)

6 years going on a lifetime...

2011-07-18T06:25:00.011-05:00

Today is my 6 year anniversary at work. It's the longest amount of time I've spent in any one company and I've faced enough trial and tribulation in the past 6 years to last me a lifetime. To anyone who ever thinks that a semi is just a tractor-trailer on the road or that the transportation business is just about moving freight, feel free to come visit me for a few days.

Right now, I'm holding my breath that I can at least get through my day somewhat unfrazzled, leave at a reasonable hour and not be left with a huge backlog for tomorrow. I may need a celebratory drink if I make it through and don't yell or cry at least once today. (You may laugh at this, but the two people that usually get me through my rough times are both gone today. I'm on my own and not feeling so confident in my abilities to stay grounded.)

Ok, time to take a deep breath and put on a happy face....here we go.

Thanks Pooh!

2011-07-17T08:30:00.000-05:00

I forgot how much I liked this song until I saw the trailer for the new Winnie the Pooh movie. Now I can't get it out of my head, which I'm fine with at the moment.

So why don't we go..........

Somewhere only we know.

Taking the plunge

2011-07-11T06:49:00.000-05:00

Fearing a commitment and debating whether or not this was the right time to upgrade, I finally decided on Friday to look into something bigger and better than my current options. By the time I compared services, features and equipment, it wasn't that hard of a decision after all.
Allow me to introduce my brand new main squeeze --

HTC EVO 4G

It's only been a few days and I'm in love. It surprises me constantly and has left me with a warm fuzzy feeling. Who knew?!?!
(Don't worry -- Broccoli understands completely and actually encouraged this relationship.)

Sibling Saturday, Summer 2011 Edition

2011-07-09T09:30:00.003-05:00

Seems like forever since I've posted and the past few weeks have passed in a blur. If I'm not working at my full-time job, I'm working on my side projects or I'm at the gym. Sleeping appears to be non-existent. (And, not really by choice.)
In any case, that's not the reason why I'm posting and don't worry, I'll get through all of that.
But.....today is a BIG FUN day here! It's the first Sibling Saturday of 2011. Yes, I realize it is July and I seem like the biggest loser sister for not planning one of these sooner but both my bro and I have been busy and our schedules haven't worked out until now. There are no set plans for the day, just hanging out and doing whatever sounds good. Plus, I'm visiting him with gifts!!

I think I should be the best sister ever!!

Girls Night Out

2011-06-22T20:39:00.002-05:00

Last year, Rosemary, Coco and I took a chair and pole dance workshop for my birthday and had a blast while getting an awesome workout! This year the same studio posted a similar deal and this time offered Hip Hop. Since I'm always looking for a new and entertaining way to work out, I asked the girls if they would want to take a class with me. Rosemary couldn't make it but Coco, GMP and myself hit the fitness center, felt the beat and got the one of the best and most entertaining hour-long workouts.

Now I'm trying to justify a monthly membership to another, yet different kind of fitness club. Too bad money doesn't grow on trees....

Just sayin'

2011-06-21T06:41:00.001-05:00

A major morning workout at 4:30 am, followed by a full 9 hour day at your main job, followed by 2.5 hours of side accounting work and then going out for drinks with your friends afterwards and not getting home until 10:30 makes you very tired and makes it very difficult to get up and be raring to go for Tuesday.

I don't know what made me think that Monday was a great time to push myself to my limit but I'm definitely feeling it this morning. Oh and in case you're wondering, my alarm went off at 4 am so I could get my morning workout in again today and it promptly was turned off.

Right now, I'm just hoping I stay awake at work today.

2011-06-19T06:49:00.007-05:00

Happy Father's Day to all of the awesome dads out there, but especially to my own Dad, who I must say is the absolute best!!

Guy, Paula, Memphis & more

2011-06-15T21:50:00.001-05:00

Well, since I officially agreed to more side accounting work starting up again next week, I figured I better provide some details on all of the fun from the past 4 weekend rewards before I have to buckle down and get back to work.
So, here we go!

Bon Jovi came to town and rocked my socks off!

Dad and I got to meet one of my Food Network favorites!

An essential part of any 3 H weekend -- home of the best hoecakes!

Learning a few tricks of the trade from another one of my Food Network faves!

So it's not really Paula, but I was still really excited!

Me and the King -- Memphis is definitely one of my top spots for a road trip.

I'm extremely glad I let loose a bit and I enjoyed every second of my extra time off. Now it's back down to business...at least for a few weeks.

Love & Best Dishes

2011-06-10T18:57:00.000-05:00

My love of cooking has grown dramatically over the past year. I feel comfortable and most at home when I'm in my teeny tiny kitchen or talking about ingredients, recipes, my restaurant dream or anything else food related. Nearly 2 weeks ago, I was able to see Guy Fieri when he visited St. Louis and I thought I was in heaven getting to attend an event of someone pursuing their food dreams.
Soon after I purchased my tickets to see Guy, a notification on my popped up on my Facebook page that another one of my food icons was scheduling a visit to Harrah's in Tunica on June 11th. Normally, I would wish to go but never follow through with a plan to actually make a trip to an event like that. Until now...

After verifying with Broccoli that I was not crazy for wanting to take a 24 hour trip to a city 5 hours away for something as silly as seeing one of my favorite Food Network stars live and in person, I decided to ask Coco if she would be willing to tag along on my adventure. And....she willingly agree to make the trip! So tomorrow morning, these two girls are headed to Tunica to see one of the greatest home cooks/restaurateurs of all times, Paula Deen!

Photo credit: PaulaDeen.com

The Tunica/Memphis area is a great place to visit anyway and being able to make this whirlwind trip to see Paula is a once in a lifetime chance. I am soooooooooo excited!!

One upped

2011-06-05T21:32:00.000-05:00

Remember when I posted this?!?

I didn't think there would be another chance to experience anything nearly as awesome as that weekend back in January, yet, this weekend totally surpassed it. A weekend break away from home, away from the hustle and bustle of my job, away from my household responsibilities and away from my crazy workouts. It was a chance to relax my mind, body and soul and enjoy some quality time with the person that loves me despite all of my idiosyncrasies. I truly am one lucky girl.

I definitely had a hard time being thrown back into reality when I got home tonight and I'm not really ready to restart my routine but I am hoping that all of the fun weekend memories will make it easier.

That's Money

2011-05-28T20:18:00.001-05:00

In the last few years my brother and I have shared the interest in cooking (him more so with grilling) and creating our own signature dishes. Then, somehow I managed to get Broccoli involved in my love of cooking to the point where he is coming up with meals to wow me with. He also doesn't complain when we watch hours and hours of Food Network. Now, I've even gotten my Dad on board with the culinary craze!

Tomorrow, Dad and I are going to....

The Guy Fieri Food Tour presented by the National Pork Board will mix the best elements of a live cooking show, the fun of a variety revue, and the non-stop adrenaline rush of a rock concert. Fieri will take center stage with an unscripted and wildly entertaining performance—complete with interactive cooking stations, secret tips and dishes from his forthcoming cookbook, as well as behind-the-scenes stories from the road, and much more.

We've made it a Dad and Daughter event and I'm really excited! In fact, as Guy would say, it's "Off da Hook!"

It's all about balance

2011-05-22T18:09:00.002-05:00

"Balance is not better time management, but better boundary management. Balance means making choices and enjoying those choices." -Betsy Jacobson

I've started to push the Type-A Lindsay boundaries a bit but I'm really thrilled with the choices and fun things I've planned for the next 4 weekends. After working my tail off for nearly 6 months with all of the extra accounting and tax projects I have taken on and finally giving the last completed project to its rightful owner on Friday afternoon, I decided to let loose and enjoy my new found free time to the fullest.
Tonight starts the first of 4 weekend rewards. From concerts to cooking to mini road trips and hanging out with some of the greatest people in my life and I'm looking forward to experiencing every minute.

If I remember my camera, I'll update and post pics of my adventures. No promises though as my brain is enjoying the free time as well.

Very Impressive

2011-05-15T14:23:00.000-05:00

I went to the gym this morning, like I do most mornings, and got into my zone so I could get my long Sunday workout in. Saturdays and Sundays are usually my big workout days as I try to make up for the lack of gym time I have during the week. I also try to work harder on the muscles that may not have gotten full attention during my early morning before-work workouts.
This morning, I finished my cardio and proceeded to pull out all of the items needed for my core workout. I did my supermans with 12 lb weights, planks, crunches, bicycles and push-ups (boy-style, not girl) non-stop for 3 full reps. Overall, it's about a 15-20 minute routine, nothing too out of the ordinary for me. I've actually gotten pretty accustomed to this routine or a similar one at least once a week and it (along with the combo of all of my other workouts) has left me with a fairly flat mid-section. I finished my routine this morning and went to put all of the equipment away and while doing so, someone else in the gym came up to me and asked if I was preparing for some sort of fitness competition. I told him, "no, I'm just doing my regular workout."
He about fell on the floor from shock that this was my normal workout. He told me he was a trainer at another gym and had been observing me doing my workout and he couldn't believe how intense it was and it was highly impressive for someone my size. He also told me that even though he's a trainer, he wouldn't have been able to go non-stop through my whole routine.
I had to smile. I have worked my tail off to get to the point where I'm actually impressing other people in the gym. Not so long ago, had you asked me to put together an intense workout, I wouldn't have had the slightest idea what to do for one and secondly, I probably would have given up because it was "too hard" on my body. Now, I have other in-shape people watching me and seeing all of the hard-work I put into staying fit and healthy.
Needless to say, I was quite proud of myself and it made my arms, chest and back workout afterwards seem like a piece of cake.

Scrambled thoughts

2011-05-07T14:34:00.002-05:00

I really wanted to post, but my thoughts are heading in different directions, so today you're left with more of my randomness.

- Last Sunday was the season finale of America's Next Great Restaurant and I was pleased with the outcome. Congrats Jamawn "Soul Daddy" Woods!!

I've never really ever wanted to travel to Minneapolis, but now it may be fun to experience some of the food that landed Jamawn 3 fast-casual restaurants around the US.

- Last Thursday, Coco, TL and I went out to celebrate Cinco de Mayo and rather than trying to fight the crowds at every Mexican restaurant around town, we settled on a sports bar and billiards parlor. Believe it or not, they had specials for the Mexican holiday as well. I could totally eat my weight in chips and salsa.

- Speaking of weight, today is the 6 year anniversary of me taking the plunge and starting my weight-loss journey. While the last year has been more maintenance than weight loss, I still must have the same drive and focus to make sure that all of my hard work continues to pay off. There are some days that I still wonder how I was able to lose over 80 lbs, but I'm very proud of the healthy changes I've made in my life. And for the record, I weighed exactly the same today as I did on this day last year. Hoo-ha!!

- I'm working on my vacation for the summer and am having a few set-backs in the planning since the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers have decided that flooding is more important than me getting some much needed time away. In years past, I've gone to Memphis for the Memphis in May BBQ championships along the Riverfront. This year, the Mississippi has proven she's mightier than any plans I could have had, so I'm backing down for now. I'm just hoping that by the time my official summer vacation rolls around the flooding will have subsided. If not, a spur of the moment Plan B will be thrown together -- I'm thinking Vegas.

And finally, tomorrow is Mother's Day. Happy Mother's Day to all of the women who are lucky enough to be called Mom. May you have a wonderful day!

The Highlight of Fall

2011-04-25T19:56:00.002-05:00

Earlier last week I found out that Scripps released a statement on the next season of The Next Iron Chef and I won't lie, I was a giddy little schoolgirl when I found out who was competing to be a part of the Chairman's culinary crew. I was so giddy that when I met Broccoli for lunch on Wednesday that the first words out of my mouth after hello were, "you have got to read this press release!" and I handed him a copy of the info I found online. And, I do believe he was nearly as excited as I was after reading it.
Perhaps the funniest thing comes down to the fact that we have so much invested in catching our favorite Food Network or food competition shows that we knew of nearly all of the chefs competing giving each other our opinions as to how the competition will play out. We're even working on our own The Next Iron Chef fantasy team and of course, we've pegged who the other person will pick as the winner.

You may not be as excited as we were, but here's the release from Scripps:

Food Network Selects Roster of Ten Superstar Chefs for the Ultimate Culinary Battle - Each Looking to Become The Next Iron Chef

Elite Chefs Go Knife-to-Knife in High-Stakes Challenge to Become ‘The Next Iron Chef’
Hosted by Alton Brown, Season Four Set to Premiere Sunday, October 30^th at 9pm ET/PT

NEW YORK – April 18, 2011 - Food Network, the leader in food and lifestyle entertainment, today announced the all-star casting and start of production for the ultimate season of The Next Iron Chef. Slated for premiere on Sunday, October 30^th at 9pm ET/PT, Alton Brown will again host this 8-episode, top-rated series, which will shoot in Los Angeles and New York. The elite cast includes ten renowned chefs:

Anne Burrell – Secrets of a Restaurant Chef, Worst Cooks in America (Food Network)
Michael Chiarello – Bottega Restaurant (Napa Valley), Easy Entertaining with Michael Chiarello (Cooking Channel)
Elizabeth Falkner – Citizen Cake, Orson (San Francisco), Iron Chef America – challenger (Food Network)
Alex Guarnaschelli – Butter, The Darby (New York), Alex’s Day Off, Chopped (Food Network)
Chuck Hughes – Garde Manger (Montreal), Chuck’s Day Off (Cooking Channel), Iron Chef America – challenger (Food Network)
Robert Irvine – Robert Irvine’s eat! (Hilton Head Island), Dinner: Impossible, Restaurant: Impossible, Worst Cooks in America (Food Network)
Beau MacMillan – Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain (Phoenix), Challenge, Iron Chef America – challenger (Food Network)
Spike Mendelsohn – Good Stuff Eatery (Washington D.C.), Kelsey & Spike Cook (Food2.com)
Marcus Samuelsson –Red Rooster Harlem (New York), 24 Hour Restaurant Battle, Chopped (Food Network)
Geoffrey Zakarian – The National, The Lambs Club (New York), 24 Hour Restaurant Battle, Chopped (Food Network)

Judges include the original ‘Next Iron Chef’ Michael Symon, esteemed food journalist Simon Majumdar and UK Iron Chef Judy Joo.

In The Next Iron Chef, the contestants bet on their culinary skills and put their reputations on the line for the chance to compete in legendary Kitchen Stadium. The winner will join the ranks of chefs including Bobby Flay, Marc Forgione, Jose Garces, Masaharu Morimoto and Symon as a member of the Chairman’s team on Iron Chef America.

I'm definitely not wishing the summer away but I can't wait to catch this series!

Not a Good Friday

2011-04-22T21:30:00.001-05:00

A very scary evening here -- storms and tornadoes have pummeled us for days and tonight it was a little too close for comfort.
A tornado touched down at Lambert Airport tonight around 8:15. You're probably saying, "So what? The Midwest is known for their crazy springtime weather and chances for tornadoes."
And I would agree with you, of course when you live less than a mile from the airport, it starts to freak you out a bit. Tonight was one of those nights when I was at a complete loss as for what to do and where to go. I saw the circulation in the air and couldn't believe it.

Definitely don't think I could be a storm chaser.

Saturday morning update:
After all of the devastation last night, here's the latest from KMOV.com..

Now the fun begins -- figuring out which areas that I regularly travel were hit and avoiding them until all of the damage is assessed and cleanup begins. Thank goodness most of my friends in the area were not seriously affected by the storms and are safe and sound!

Just like old times...

2011-04-13T19:34:00.000-05:00

I took today off of work and decided to just have a day to enjoy the spring weather and recharge myself. I was planning on meeting my Dad this afternoon for lunch and to hang out with him for a bit. Come to find out, my brother was also going to be able to meet us. We ended up having the best afternoon!!

It reminded me off all of our Thursdays nights growing up. Thursdays used to be the night my Dad came to pick us up and we would bum around town for a few hours and grab dinner and just catch up. Some nights we'd go to the park and play, other nights we'd go to the library and then other times we'd go shop for school supplies or clothes or whatever we were in need of at the time.

Today we grabbed lunch, all shopped for new tennis shoes at Kohls (yes...New Reebok Retones!!), stopped into Verizon for a new phone for my Bro (I was too chicken to upgrade my LG EnV2, which I'm still in love with), picked up a new spring skirt for me at Old Navy and browsed Best Buy. It brought back many good memories of all the time we got to spend together as my Bro and I were growing up and it made me cherish the great relationship I still have with both my Dad and Ryan. It's not all that often anymore that our schedules all work out to enjoy time together, but I'm so glad that I had the opportunity today.

I may have to take days off and do this more often....

Afternoon surprise

2011-04-05T19:16:00.000-05:00

Guess who gets to ditch work early tomorrow and go to the afternoon Cardinals game?!?

This girl does! Woo hoo!!

My boss emailed me today and told me that an opportunity presented itself and if I was available, he would like for me to attend the baseball game with him and our bankers. I was excited and after re-arranging a few things, I am all set for the game!

The bonus -- the weather is supposed to be a perfect spring day as well!!

The wildcard -- whether or not the Cards can pull off a win against the Pirates! LET'S GO CARDS!!

How 'bout them apples?!?

2011-04-04T12:31:00.000-05:00

The company worked for during college throws together an NCAA March Madness basketball pool every year and while I know next to nothing about college basketball, I still enter a bracket or two, just for the fun of it.
Most years, I end up middle of the pack and just donate my $3.00.

This year, I will either finish tied for 2nd if UConn beats Butler or 4th if Butler wins. Either way, I'm thrilled! What's even funnier is that I offered one of my current co-workers a shot at entering a bracket into this pool as well and he's in the money as well.

I'm not sure if we'll be invited back into this pool next year, but you can bet, I'll be watching the game tonight!!

Experimental Baking

2011-04-03T12:10:00.000-05:00

I decided to try making a somewhat healthy egg-less chocolate cake today. Not sure how its going to taste but I figured it might be a nice complement to the dinner I'm hoping to whip up before America's Next Great Restaurant and the finale episode of Chopped All Stars.

On a semi-related note, I totally want this game.

USAopoly Scrabble Cooking Edition:

The Cooking Edition of Scrabble includes classic Scrabble fun with a cooking twist allowing players to earn bonus points for words related to everyone's favorite past time. Recipe cards are the perfect mix as players double and triple their scores with directives for all new custom game play. Become the master chef as you spell your way to victory with tasty abbreviations and names of your favorite celebrity chefs. Can you spell D-E-L-I-S-H?

I love playing Scrabble and cooking is one of my favorite hobbies, so why not combine the two?
Sounds like a great idea to me!

Opening Day 2011

2011-03-31T18:27:00.000-05:00

Today is an unofficial holiday throughout the city - Opening day of Baseball Season and all of Cardinal Nation is celebrating. Some played hooky to attend the game or pep rally or in our case, our office threw a mini-BBQ, wore our Cardinal red and turned the game on this afternoon to support the team.
This season is sure to be an exciting, yet uncertain one -- Lance Berkman is playing right field for the first time in a few years, Albert Pujols is playing with the possibility of not being a Cardinal after the end of the season and Adam Wainwright is out with a season ending elbow injury.

As of right now the Cards are tied with the Padres, 3-3 in the top of the 11th.

I'm rooting for my Redbirds.

Music feeds the soul

2011-03-27T13:59:00.000-05:00

Yesterday my Bro threw his Belated Birthday Shindig so I headed out to visit him and my Dad. While I was there, the subject of music came up. As you know, music is a big part of my life. My Bro and my Dad are also big fans of music. Ryan will listen to just about anything and will serenade you with Michael Jackson, Earth, Wind & Fire, Journey and then Eminem; whereas my Dad is a fan of mostly Classic Rock, but occasionally he'll surprise us and mention that he likes a song by Train or Uncle Kracker or Kid Rock.
As for me, well, I'm across the board as well. Depending on my mood, I may listen to Classic Rock, Top 40, Modern Rock, Rap, Pop or Country. Right now, I'm in the Country phase.

As our conversation continued, I guess I got a bit excited and mentioned how I heard a Garth Brooks song when I went to lunch on Friday and the fact that I had no Garth Brooks on my Ipod and I really needed to get some on there ASAP! Somehow my lack of Garth Brooks sounded like I had a major disaster on my hands and in true sibling fashion, my Bro ran with and had us laughing like crazy.

I guess I'm a bit intense about my musical tastes. But, you can bet the next time I buy any music, I'm getting some Garth Brooks.

3 Ingredients, Endless Possibilities

2011-03-21T19:53:00.000-05:00

We've started a new Sunday tradition here.

The work week has been extremely stressful for both Broccoli and myself lately so for the past few weeks we've settled into a low-key Sunday night routine which involves watching two of our new favorite shows on TV --

This week we decided to throw a little competition together to spice up the evening. It was Battle Dos of our version of Chopped. Our basket included chicken breasts, balsamic vinegar and jalapeno peppers and we had 30 minutes to create an entree to impress the other person with. Nothing like a friendly competition, right? No, not really -- we take cooking competitions very seriously here but we had so much fun with it!!

I pulled some inspiration from my Rachael Ray cookbook and Broccoli came up with something on the fly but both were equally delicious and fairly healthy as well.

Here are the results from our little battle --

Balsamic-orange glazed chicken and veggies over rice

Balsamic and cracker crusted chicken with homemade cheesy mashed potatoes

Can you guess who's dish is who's???

One difference in our Chopped battle -- neither of us would chop the other dish. We both were so pleased with the outcome that we didn't mind sharing the title of Chopped Champion. And I think it's safe to say, bring on the next basket!!

A green baby is what I wanted....

2011-03-17T00:00:00.006-05:00

...and a green brother is what I got!

Happy Birthday Ryan!!!

May you have the best birthday yet!!!

I still can't believe that 24 years ago today, I was throwing a fit and telling Mom and Dad to leave you at the hospital if I was getting a little brother because I only wanted a little sister or a green baby and lo and behold, you came into this world a green baby. Now 24 years later, I'm glad I didn't let Mom and Dad leave you at the hospital. You're the best brother any sister could ever ask for and a great friend!

Enjoy your day to the fullest!!

Shrove Tuesday

2011-03-08T18:17:00.000-06:00

As a kid, we always had pancakes for dinner on Shrove Tuesday. I never knew why, but I've kept that tradition as I entered adulthood. Finally this year as I was contemplating what type of pancakes I wanted to make, I decided to look up why the heck I've continued to do this year after year.

According to Wikipedia,
"In the United Kingdom and many other countries, the day is often known as Pancake Day. Making and eating such foods was considered a last feast with ingredients such as sugar, fat and eggs, whose consumption was traditionally restricted during the ritual fasting associated with Lent."

My family was English born and bred! Now it makes plenty of sense!! I did make my pancakes again tonight, but this time with a healthy twist -- oatmeal and vanilla protein powder. Pretty good if I do say so and my Grandma would be proud I've had my pancakes!

Tax Season

2011-03-01T20:43:00.000-06:00

This is the time of year when I have friends come out of the woodwork. People I barely keep up with through the rest of the year, find me and usually have all sorts of fun tax questions.
No, I'm not a CPA, I'm a few hours short of sitting for the exam and no, right now, I'm not planning on going back to school and getting those hours. But, like I tell most of them -- yes, I understand and can complete simple tax returns; yes, I'm up on many of the tax law changes (thanks to the info provided by our Company's auditors) and yes, because I actually do process payroll, I do have a decent knowledge of withholdings and pre and post-tax benefits.

Perhaps the funniest lines ever said to me came from one of our department heads this afternoon. Now mind you, I have worked with this Director nearly every single day for 5+ years and today when he called me down to his office, he told me that some of my co-workers have mentioned that I know about taxes and that he may need my help. Then, in all seriousness he states, "I had no idea you were an Accountant."

I didn't know what to say so I just smiled and nodded. But, I'm thinking, "dude, I've been with the company 5 years and I wear a badge with both my name and title on it. A badge that your department created for me because it's a requirement for one of our certifications. Not only that, we communicate regularly via email, in person and by phone. I didn't just make up that cute little signature that is attached to all of my emails just for the fun of it."

If that were the case, I would have given me a title like Office Party Planner because it sounds so much more exciting and fun.

Pasta maker = AWESOME!!!

2011-02-27T17:46:00.001-06:00

Friday night was date night here and while most women would prefer to be taken out and wined and dined, I asked if we could stay in and test out my pasta maker. Being the good sport that he is and willing to put up with most of my silly ideas, Broccoli agreed and even helped me make the dough, run it through the pasta maker and cook a yummy and homemade fettuccine and red sauce dunner. We laughed and joked and pretended that we actually knew what we were doing and just had a blast! I forgot to take pictures, but it was hilarious trying to find spots to put all of this rolled and cut pasta in my teeny tiny kitchen.
Of course, I made enough fettuccine to feed an army, but it was delicious and I'm so glad I decided to use my birthday money for this. It is definitely money well spent! I am even making good on my promise to my co-workers and I'm bringing in a batch for them to try tomorrow! Who knows, I may become the Mario Batali or Giada De Laurentiis of the office. Think they'd let me transfer from Accountant to Office Chef??

A happy girl

2011-02-23T19:04:00.000-06:00

It's been a LONG week and it's only Wednesday but nothing makes a week seem more bearable than when you get a gift. The item today that totally made my day -- my new Kitchenaid Stand Mixer Pasta Roller and Cutter.

Yeah baby!!

It was delivered to work this afternoon and I was so giddy to finally have it that it made me dance around the office. (Sometimes it's the little things!)

So, guess what I'm doing this weekend?!?!

Oh and somehow in all of the excitement, I promised an handful of my co-workers homemade pasta next week so I better get good at pasta making really fast!

It's that time!

2011-02-20T12:04:00.000-06:00

Daytona 500 2011 -- are you ready?

I will be sitting here, in anticipation that my boy, McMurray will pull out all of the stops and win the race for a second year in a row. Yes, I know I'm asking a lot, but I believe in him.

With new rules and a few good duels under their belts, this NASCAR season should be an exciting one!

Welcome to the team

2011-02-20T11:47:00.001-06:00

Photo by Mark Buckner/NHLI via Getty Images

The final score between the Ducks and the Blues looked more like one you would see in baseball, not hockey, but it sure was an exciting game to watch!!! And, for all those that though the Blues would be taking a hit by trading Erik Johnson and Jay McClement, you were sadly mistaken.
Welcome to the Blues Chris Stewart and Kevin Shattenkirk!!

I don't think I've jumped off the couch and yelled so much during a game all season -- definitely renewed my love of hockey!

Could it be true?

2011-02-16T07:34:00.001-06:00

Not that I believe in this sort of thing, but my daily horoscope was emailed to me this morning and for once, I think it may hit the nail on the head. Despite all that has happened in the last 20 hours, I feel like I know what I'm doing for once.

You can't help but show off your independent streak today, and it certainly casts you in a positive light. It may also tick off your mate or family, but they have come to embrace your peculiarities.

Stay tuned....

Channeling Paula Deen

2011-02-12T19:32:00.003-06:00

Ah, what a week!! Last Saturday at this time the girls were strutting off of the Party Bus and we were headed for one more surprise for the night.

From the very beginning, Coco couldn't believe that a Party Bus was pulling down her street when we picked her up for her afternoon and night of fun and she was completely surprised by all of our birthday antics. As you can tell, I was also relieved and excited when we picked her up!

Overall, such a great time and so many awesome memories for all of us!

Sunday was a little rough though and while the Super Bowl party was fun, I wouldn't have minded staying home and watching the game in my jammies on the couch. And after the week I experienced at work, those few hours of down time were greatly needed.

In spite of all of the craziness, I did throw an office party on Thursday to celebrate Coco's 50th birthday. I couldn't let the actual day go uncelebrated and since we're co-workers as well as really good friends, I felt it necessary to decorate her desk and bring in snacks as well as make a homemade gooey butter cake (her favorite!). I didn't make just any gooey butter cake though, I pulled out all of the stops and went with the Queen of Butter's recipe.

Delish!!!

It got rave reviews and was gone in a heartbeat -- the two things I love to see when cooking and baking for others. It was also decided that there are birthdays every day for the rest of the year and I'm supposed to provide the desserts for these celebrations....if I only had the hours in the day and endless capital for this venture!

We joke that I should open a snack cart and run that from my desk too, especially since I wear so many hats there as it is. Somehow, I'm thinking my bosses might not like that idea....just a hunch though.

Super Bowl XLV

2011-02-06T16:37:00.002-06:00

Ben Roethlisberger totally resembles one of my co-workers.

With that being said, my money is on the Packers for the Super Bowl. (Sorry Joel!!)

My Kinda Party

2011-02-05T12:54:00.001-06:00

If you're singing Jason Aldean, we're on the same wavelength. (Scary!)

In any case, I'm getting ready for another BIG party weekend. We're surprising Ms. Coco today since her 50th birthday is Thursday. She thinks Rosemary and I are taking her out for a low-key girls' dinner. Little does she know, we've ordered a party bus and 15 of her girlfriends are picking her up for an afternoon on the town.
To top it off, the bus is dropping off us off tonight and one of her favorite places where the rest of her friends are surprising her with a massive birthday party. It's been soooo hard keeping this a secret -- almost as hard as keeping the Bon Jovi trip a secret last year! I can not wait to see her face, when we show up to pick her up in the bus!!

Tomorrow is Super Bowl and similar to years past, I've been invited to my boss' house. He has a huge party with the perfect layout to watch the game and mingle with a bunch of fun people. We always have such a great time and I expect this year to be no different. And the bonus to the day would be if one of my squares paid off!! Ha!

So...
"Lets get this thing started. It’s my kind of party."

A birthday summary

2011-02-01T19:13:00.005-06:00

Birthdays don't get much better than this one! I had a great time celebrating with everyone and I'm so glad I agreed to all of the plans.
Here are a few pics from Friday night, aka Birthday Extravaganza Day 2:

Posing in the rock garden -- I was dared to do this by the girls!
I think they just wanted me to show of my sexy shoes!!

One of my presents -- LUSH: "Liquored Up Sister Hood"
I also got the new Paula Deen cookbook, cute measuring spoons,
a yummy candle, lottery tickets & a Victoria Secret swimsuit.

Success! I caught a flying shrimp!!


I owned this shot! And I impressed the tables sitting around us too!!

Dinner with my family on Saturday was also quite memorable albeit a little more low-key than the night out with the girls on Friday, but still so much fun!

And, I topped off my weekend with a date night on Sunday night. Since the rest of the weekend was pretty busy, Broccoli and I decided on a low-key night in. I think it's exactly what we needed and we were able to catch up with some must-see tv.

I wasn't sure what to expect turning 28, but I must say, it's been fairly good so far...let's keep it coming!

Today's news headlines...

2011-02-01T17:41:00.000-06:00

- Blizzard Warning for St. Louis Metro Area
- MODOT: I-70 Closed from Wentzville to Kansas City
- Schnuck's Markets Closing for Weather
- Tonight's Blues Game Canceled Due to Weather
- Missouri Road Conditions Deteriorate
- Hundreds of Flights Canceled
- May Not See Clear Pavement for Days
- Illinois National Guard Mobilized to Help Stranded Drivers

I made it to and from work today safe and sound with the help of SS, who was awesome enough to chauffeur me through this mess. Thanks SS for being calm and cool while I was a nervous wreck in dealing with the weather!! As I've told him numerous times and probably everyone else I've come into contact with lately, I hate winter! I'll handle the summer humidity, no problem, but snow and ice have to go.
As for work tomorrow, well, I'm aiming to get there at some point. We'll just have to see....definitely don't want to have to burn a day off for something like being snowed in, but I'm sure I can keep myself occupied here if necessary.

Seriously?!?

2011-01-31T19:06:00.000-06:00

I'm done with winter!! I can not handle one more inch of this stuff!! Please tell Mother Nature to bring back those nice pleasant temperatures and forget about this stupid snow and sleet and most of all ICE!!!

From KMOV.com:

4Warn Storm Team Forecast (Updated today at 6:41 PM)

This Evening: Near 30. The freezing rain/sleet/rain mix will taper off to a some patchy freezing drizzle or just drizzle in some areas this evening. Watch for icy areas on untreated surfaces or areas where chemicals were washed away and the damp pavement may freeze more easily. Ice accumulation generally around .10" to 0.25". Winds East-10 mph.

Tuesday: Low 25/High 28. Blizzard warning for areas North and Northwest of St. Louis where winds and snow will create whiteout conditions. Heavy snow and or ice in the St. Louis metro, especially from late morning and continuing all the way through the evening hours. Snowfall will be determined by how much sleet mixes in for St. Louis as we could see 0.5" to 1" of sleet with 4-10" of snow. If there is less sleet, snowfall totals in St. Louis may reach 15-20". Areas Northwest of St. Louis will see 12-20" of snowfall as they will see less mix and mostly snow. Areas South and Southeast of St. Louis will see more of a mix with freezing rain accumulation of .25" to .75" and less snowfall ranging from 2-6".

The parts in red have me most furious since it's for my area. I guess I'll be surprised tomorrow -- snow, sleet, ice, or a combo of all three. Yipee!!

All I can say is spring better get here fast!!!

Tired...

2011-01-29T08:44:00.006-06:00

Birthday Extravaganza Day 2 was a blast!!! Dinner was absolutely hilarious (my apologies to the sweet newlywed couple that had to spend their date night with us, although we did provide priceless entertainment for the evening!) and then we went to dance and listen to an awesome cover band at another local hot spot. I haven't partied that hard in a long time. I am realizing that I don't bounce back that quickly from a crazy night out. My alarm went off this morning and I woke up in a huge state of confusion. Of course, only I would plan a morning workout and an eye doctor appointment for my birthday.

Tonight the festivities continue with dinner with my family at one of my favorite Mexican restaurants. I'm thinking a short nap is in order before that. In any case, I'll post pics of all of the birthday antics later.

Party Time!

2011-01-28T07:01:00.002-06:00

Tonight the girls are taking me out to celebrate my birthday in true girlfriend style. We're going to dinner at Kobe Steakhouse of Japan and then out for a night on the town.

The last time I dined at Kobe, I caught a shrimp in my mouth and was spit on by the owner of the company I work. I thought that was pretty crazy but I can only imagine what the night will bring when I have dinner with my 5 favorite girls who have been given the aliases of Mi Mi, Di Di, Si Si, Wi Wi and Pi Pi for the night. (Per the email invitation/instructions we were given this morning.) I laughed my tail off from that alone. One can only expect us to be a bit out of control at dinner.....but who knows for sure.

Oh and in case you're wondering, I'm Li Li for the night.

Have a great Friday!

What was I thinking?

2011-01-25T22:15:00.000-06:00

In a mere 24 hours, I go from not wanting even one birthday celebration to now having a 4 day birthday extravaganza. It's not the fact that I didn't want to recognize it because I look at each birthday as a milestone measurer and a stepping stone to bigger and better times in my life. But, this year has been crazy since the drop of the ball and I just didn't feel like I had much energy left to plan a party/dinner/night out/etc. Today, in spite of being pulled in many different directions, I gave my blessing to whatever ideas were mentioned and when the day ended, I realized my no birthday celebration turned into something else. From a quiet, fancy schmancy dinner at home to a girls night out to dinner with my parents to a date night -- I think I'm in for a memorable 28th birthday.

Yet, somehow I think I'm going to regret that Monday is January 31st and I have month-end, a 401k census due and 1099s to get mailed. Oh well, you only live once, right?!?

New Challenge

2011-01-22T18:28:00.000-06:00

For Christmas I received Rachael Ray's new cookbook Look + Cook.

I'm a huge Rachael Ray fan and when I was going to the gym after work during the week, I always made sure I was on the elliptical to catch the evening episode of 30 Minute Meals. I've decided to take on a few of her new recipes and impress anyone and everyone with my version of her dishes.

First recipe I decided to try was the Bocconcini Stuffed Meatballs with Tomato-Pesto Sauce.

I didn't get a picture of my masterpiece but I was happy with how much my version looked like the awesome photo in the book. I made a few minor changes, using ground turkey and regular mozzarella cubes (do you know how hard it is to find bocconcini in my part of St. Louis?!?!? Nearly impossible!) and dried herbs, but overall, the meatballs were delicious. Broccoli gave it a thumbs up as well and we'll probably add this to the list of dinners I will make again.

Being extremely ambitious, I also decided while I was grocery shopping today to pick up ingredients to make a few more dishes next week. Nothing too outrageous, but some items out of my normal range.

Seems like this is going to be a fun project, one that will hopefully cure these winter blues!

Best Weekend Ever.

2011-01-16T19:26:00.000-06:00

Ever have a span of 3 days that you have experienced so much fun and it was far greater than anything you could ever possibly have imagined it to be?

Yeah, that's what this weekend has been for me.

I'm a bit bummed to be home but by request and for my own piece of mind, I'm currently working on a future plan to top it. It's gonna take a lot of research and planning, but I'm definitely up for the challenge and it gives me something more to look forward to so I don't bawl the rest of the evening.

This really was the best weekend ever.

Just sayin'

2011-01-11T06:46:00.000-06:00

Snow days are no fun when you're forced to get up and go to work anyway. It stinks even more when you have to go clean inches of snow off of your car before you can even make the trek to work.

Of course, you're telling me I could call in and take a PTO day -- no can do, it's a double payroll day, if I don't go in, no one gets paid on Friday (including me!).

Yeah, I'll find a way to make it in.

Exciting first day back to work

2011-01-03T13:15:00.000-06:00

These are pictures from the lake behind the building I work in. Focus on that little dot in the lake in this first picture. The second picture is a closer shot.

Can't make out what that is in the water? It's a car.
The last picture is of two of my co-workers checking it. We joked with them all morning saying these are the two guys that ran the car into the lake. (I can assure you, they were not.)

Here's the story from KMOV.com:

Two men safe after car crashes into water in Earth City

(KMOV) -- A car crashed into the water near the Earth City Expressway and Lakefront Drive.
This happened just before 7 a.m. Monday in Earth City.
Authorities said two men in a Honda approached slow moving traffic. The driver swerved off the road and into the pond. Both men were able to get out the car safely.

What a way to start off a morning.

By the way, if you're prone to road rage, be sure you know what's around you before you try to swerve around slower drivers, you never know when you may end up in a lake.

Miss You Grandma

2011-01-01T10:00:00.001-06:00

As promised,


Grandma -- the musician

Enjoying a St. Louis Cardinals Game with my Mom

Stopping by for a visit

Celebrating her 79th birthday

Visiting with the Grand kids

My Grandma came to this country from Bermuda in the late 1940s and raised a family while learning American culture and tradition. Always one to love and care for her children and grand-children, there was never a day that went by that she wasn't excited to see us. She loved going anywhere and experiencing all life had to offer -- from going to sporting events to para-sailing on a cruise last year to random road trips, she inspired us all to try new things. She was a caring and giving lady and until her last day never complained about not feeling well or life being unfair. After all of the treatment and hospitalization she struggled through, she still smiled and told us she was ok, even when we knew she just didn't want us to worry about her. She was a true matriarch and the glue that kept us together.

Relaxing in our hotel room in Hawaii

Spoiling the Grand kids

Showing me a few things in the kitchen

Grandma, you will be truly missed, but your spirit will remain within me. You taught me so much over the years and I hope I can someday pass on all of your knowledge and wisdom. But for now, I'll just keep my promise to you. Love you always!

Bring on 2011!

2010-12-31T19:28:00.000-06:00

As a way to relax and enjoy a bit of downtime, my Mom and I spent a good part of the afternoon shopping. Nothing says Happy 2011!! like 6 new pairs of shoes, a new purse and some fun costume jewelry and that's just what I bought for myself. Mom had a really successful shopping trip also. Guess this is why we don't shop together all that often

I'm hoping the new stuff brings on the positive energy for the New Year. If not, we'll at least I'll look fashionable while trying to take on the world.

Hope you have a happy and prosperous New Year. And be careful if you're going out to celebrate tonight.

One More Angel

2010-12-29T21:44:00.001-06:00

I'm suffering from pure exhaustion from the last two days and while my brain is not thinking clearly at the moment, I just wanted to post this pic. It's from my Grandma's birthday back on November 3rd. It's one of the last pictures I have of just her and I. Today at 3:06 pm, she lost her battle with cancer.

I know she is looking down over me and everyone else and will continue to protect us as she's done over the last 79 years of her life. It has been a horribly painful 48 hours. Once I gain back some composure, I will dedicate another longer post to her. Until then, I will just continue to remind myself that she is at peace.

Naughty or nice?!?!

2010-12-26T15:18:00.002-06:00

I guess I was really good this year....

What's really funny is that out of all of these things on my wish list, I had only really asked for the knives and spice rack. But, I have such an amazing family, that they all knew how excited and grateful I would be for the other gifts.

I had been scoping out Kitchenaid Stand Mixers online for nearly a month but thought it was something too extraordinary for me and my cooking and baking abilities. My mom, on the other hand, thought it would be fun to surprise me with such a gift. I was definitely surprised and very thankful for her generosity. I plan on baking many desserts and whipping up plenty of dinners to show off.

My dad gave me the Cuisinart Food Processor and thought that I could use it along with my spice rack to create my culinary masterpieces. (Very good thinking Dad!)

Perhaps the craziest thing has to do with part of the gift I received from Broccoli. While I was out at Bed, Bath and Beyond last Wednesday night picking up a few last minute gifts for my Mom, I happened to see a chef's jacket on sale. I contemplated buying it for a few minutes, but figured I would wait until after Christmas to come back and pick it up. There was no real reason I waited to buy it besides the fact that I just didn't want to carry more stuff upstairs to my apartment that evening.
For the last few weeks, anytime I was stressing out or putting too much pressure on myself, Broccoli would joke with me about what I was getting for Christmas and without letting on to what I was getting would put me back into a better mood.
Thursday night, Broccoli and I exchanged our gifts and with mine was this awesome chef's jacket. I was completely shocked and elated. I told him the story about the night before and I think that relieved any uncertainty he had about whether or not I would like it. (By the way, I love it!)

The entire weekend was fabulous. I'm so glad I was able to spend 3 days with extremely exceptional people. Today, I'm sitting at home playing with my new toys. Who says Christmas is just for the kids!

Hope you had a fantastic Christmas!

Merry Christmas!!

2010-12-25T07:53:00.000-06:00

From my family,

to yours...

We wish you peace, love and happiness this holiday season.

May you have a blessed Christmas wherever you may be.

3 Days...

2010-12-23T17:34:00.000-06:00

...3 Christmases.
While I may not have any Christmas decorations out or a Christmas tree up, I have shopped or made all of my Christmas presents and even wrapped them and ultimately, I'm ready for what's next.

Tonight is Christmas with my main squeeze. Since we both have family functions on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, we're celebrating our Christmas a tad early. I'm making a semi-fancy dinner (only because I'm using wine in my roast beef entree) and we're going to exchange our gifts. We aimed for the hand-made, thought-provoking aspect this year. Hopefully he'll find my gift to be a clever one. :) He hasn't given me any clues as to what he put together for me but I do know he's searched high and low for materials. I'm sure it will be perfect.

Christmas Eve, I'm heading to spend the evening with my Mom's side of the family. A bit of good news came Tuesday night as my Grandma was released from the hospital. While she is still struggling, it is comforting to know that she will be spending the holiday at home with her family.

That leaves Christmas Day and as long as the weather cooperates, my Bro and I will be driving out to my Dad's and spending the afternoon with him, my aunt and uncle and cousins. We're playing it by ear until the system comes through the region but we're all hoping that its nothing major and that our plans hold up. Otherwise, we'll move our celebration around to combat the snow.

It will be a fun-filled weekend for sure and the best part is that its not all lumped into one day. I wish holidays worked this well every year.

Very grateful

2010-12-19T15:29:00.000-06:00

Yes, I'm gonna gloat a bit. Right now, I'm sitting here enjoying a wonderful lunch prepared by the most awesome Broccoli. Realizing that I've pretty much run myself ragged this week, he was nice enough to drop by a delicious, home-made meal while I'm trying to wrap Christmas presents and clean up some loose ends here at home.

This has been one of the hardest weeks I've ever faced. My Grandma went back into the hospital after getting extremely sick from this last bout of chemo late Sunday night. Luckily, I was able to work obscure hours in order to be able to spend time with her and help out as necessary. My Bro came to spend the first part of the week with me so that he could also visit my Grandma and was met with an apartment with less than plentiful resources. My plan was to grocery shop last Sunday when we had snow and I decided not to venture out since I knew the stores would be nuts. Being the clever guy that he is, he was able to piece together a few meals from my cabinets when he was hungry and we were able to enjoy a great dinner with my Grandma and Mom at the hospital on Tuesday night.

To top it off, it was the busiest week of the year at work for me with preparing for our Christmas party, handling our employee appreciation for 5+ year employees (this is our first major milestone as a company since we were only formed in late 2004), completing the retro increases we were promised and then explaining the calculation to every employee that called for clarification and then dealing with other miscellaneous issues that popped up. I was completely exhausted when I finally was able to make my way home at night.
In the back of my mind, I was also bothered the fact that I hadn't really started Christmas shopping and knew that this weekend was probably going to fill up fast with other priorities, so by Thursday, I was in full freak out/overload mode. Somehow, Broccoli pulled me out of it and got my head straight so that I could "schedule" and plan for nearly everything that needed to get done.
Amazingly enough, I was able to run around like crazy yesterday and not only finish my Christmas shopping but also my Mom's (she's been at the hospital pretty much non-stop since Sunday night), re-stock my pantry and fridge and then spend the rest of the evening with my Grandma. It didn't take long for me to fall asleep when I finally decided to go to bed.

Through all of this, I'm realizing how very grateful I am for the little things. The idea that someone (or a few someones) is thinking about me and trying to lighten my load and ease my mind a bit is amazing. In spite of how busy others are, it's nice to know that I have surrounded myself with people that do look out for me and are willing to do what they can to help out. While the circumstances stink, this Christmas season is a special one.

Who called for snow?

2010-12-12T10:55:00.000-06:00

All week, the meteorologists had been saying that the snow was gonna bypass us completely and we'd only be dealing with extremely cold temperatures. Not sure what it would look like here if they had actually forecasted snow --

This is what I woke up this morning. Perfect for a day when I'm supposed to be finishing up my Christmas shopping. Most people would say, "oh that isn't too bad." Yeah, here in STL, when it rains, we're in for great fun on the interstates, when it snows, you just better plan to stay put for most of the day. It also doesn't help that the wind is blowing 20-45 mph. Brrrrrrrrr! I'm definitely not ready for winter.

Guess it's the perfect day to stay in and work on my homemade Christmas gifts.