Feeling spoiled

Finally decided to pamper myself after working my tail off for the past few months. 

Thursday night Coco and I went and got manicures and pedicures.  Usually this is something I do as soon as the open-toed shoes are pulled out for the spring and summer but time just got away from me this year so when Coco mentioned it while we were at work on Thursday, I decided to tag along.  We had so much fun!  And I still giggle every time I think about the color I chose -- Burnt Buns.  Not sure why it's named that considering it's a cross between coral and hot pink, but it still is funny to me.
Next week I have an appointment for a much needed hair cut and highlights and then finally on the 30th we leave for our Girls Trip to Chicago filled with shopping, sunbathing, the Bon Jovi concert and a night out on the town.

By the time August rolls around, I might be so spoiled, I'll have a hard time dealing with my normal self.  I guess I should start warning everyone else to slap me back to reality if my head ends up too far into the clouds.

Reminiscing and Cooking

Last night Broccoli and I were talking about our upbringing and our grandmothers and how they spoiled us with such amazing home-cooked meals throughout the years.
He told me about the homemade pizzas, breaded pork chops, fried chicken and warm lunches his grandma made for him while growing up and I told him about my Grandma R, who I lost in 2007, and how she continues to inspire me to cook, create recipes and recreate her signature dishes that she just seemingly threw together.  I truly believe my Grandma is the reason why I love cooking and baking so much now.  I can remember as a kid we'd watch PBS together on Saturday afternoons catching Julia Child, Jacques Pepin and Yan Can Cook, among others, hard at work.  I am still inspired by my Grandma's self-taught cooking abilities and wish that I would have had a little bit more time to learn from her.

A friend of mine sent me this cooking meme and thought there was no better time than the present for me and others to learn more about my cooking style.
What is your go-to ingredient?
Chicken, I can turn it into just about anything.

What nationality of food do you like the best?
Mexican, I love testing new taco, burrito, enchilada and quesadilla recipes.

What’s your favorite meal of the day to prepare?
Lunch or dinner, I feel like I can be more creative with those meals.

What is/are your signature dish? (What dish are you ‘known’ for?)
Chicken quesadillas with black bean and corn salsa.

What is your favorite comfort food?
A hearty bowl of chili

What cooking shows do you watch?
Top Chef, Hell's Kitchen and just about everything on Food Network

Your top three favorite cookbooks are:

Fast & Fit
Rachel Ray's - 2, 4, 6, 8 Great Meals for Couples and Crowds
The Complete Cookie Jar

Your must-have kitchen accessory is:
George Foreman Grill

Do you ever eat fast food? If so, what?
I really do not eat many meals out.  I have found that I can cook healthier and cheaper than most restaurants.  However, about once a month I will splurge for a Lion's Choice Roast Beef Sandwich or 6 inch Whole Wheat Roasted Chicken sub from Subway.

Most memorable meal you’ve had while on vacation:
There were two dinners in Puerto Vallarta that stick out in my mind - Pipi's Puerto Vallarta was an experience because it was the first time I'd ever had authentic Mexican and then Garibaldi's where we had the best red snapper appetizer I have ever tasted.
I also enjoyed Memphis tremendously.  Dinner at Neely's was one of the best BBQ meals I've ever tasted and Rendezvous was also everything I expected and then some.

What restaurant do you want to eat at that you haven’t yet?
Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill or Paula Deen's The Lady and Sons

What’s your favorite dessert?
Toll House Pie from Miss Aimee B's.

What scent in the kitchen do you love?
Sweet - vanilla
Savory - sauteed garlic and onions

What ingredient(s) do you avoid/dislike?
Even though I love to cook Mexican dishes, I'm not a fan of cilantro.  I just don't like the flavor.  I stick with flat leaf parsley if a recipe calls for cilantro.

What’s your secret splurge at the grocery store?
I don't splurge on much at the grocery store, I plan menus around items I can find on sale and in season and stock up on staples for everyday meals.  If anything, it's probably herbs and spices.

What’s the most decadent dish you’ve ever had?
The BBQ sampler from Neely's.  Not only were all of the meats smoked and cooked exactly the way I like it, all of the side dishes and their sweet tea made it an incredible meal.  I'd make the drive again just for more BBQ.

What’s your favorite midnight snack?
Marshmallows, they satisfy my sweet tooth and are not loaded with too many calories.

Summer fun

Went a little crazy at the grocery store last night.  There were so many different fruits on sale with the 4th of July holiday and for the simple fact that just about everything is in season.  I figured since I've been on a major healthy, unprocessed foods (minus my marshmallow obsession) kick for the last couple of months, it wouldn't hurt to pick up some variety either.

The last few weeks have flown by at warp speed.
Work is unbelievably busy to start with and then we've had vacations to cover on top of it.  I have the pleasure of working the 4th to try to get caught up on billing.  Not that I want to spend my 4th working but at least there will be peace and quiet in the office so I can get a good chunk of it caught up -- plus it doesn't hurt that I'm picking up some comp time to use when I decide to take off for our girls trip to Chicago later in the month.  It's funny that for nearly a year and a half the transportation business was declining due to the economy and all of a sudden every company needs trucking services ASAP.  It's definitely nice to see pick up, but geez, I can't work much more or harder than I am without losing some serious brain cells.

Last weekend my dear friend Sherri's daughter A got married.  It was such an honor to be invited to the wedding and to celebrate A's big day.  A was a beautiful bride and Sherri would have enjoyed the day immensely while being extremely proud of her daughter.  However, it was bittersweet for all of the Lake girls knowing Sherri wasn't there to party with us at the reception.  The Lake girls spent the night exactly where Sherri would have wanted us, out on the dance floor, laughing and giggling and having a blast together.
I did feel somewhat old though because I met A when she was just finishing up high school and heading off to college, now some 4+ years later, she's married and starting a new journey.

That's about all from here right now.  Hope you have an enjoyable 4th of July weekend!!

How is it possible that I have been invited to or have been given tickets to 4 Cardinals games this season and I haven't made it to a game yet?  My timing stinks!

This week alone, I won tickets to Monday nights game, which I gave to Coco and then she and I were given tickets for tonight's game and she went home sick.
The one good thing is that every time I go and see a game in person, the Cardinals lose, so maybe I should stay away from Busch Stadium.  We could be headed for the World Series if I don't catch a game all season.

Go Cards!!

Ta da!!!

Well, I finally did it!  Tonight I entered my recipe in the Signature Dessert Recipe contest as well as the Spectacular Strawberry Desserts contest.  Really, it should have been a no brainer after taking the finished product into work today for the office to sample and having it devoured in no time flat, but I still was a bit nervous.

So for your viewing enjoyment (sorry I couldn't save you a piece!), I give you the Strawberry Milkshake Cake:

Feel free to vote for my recipe in either (or both) contests -- you can vote once a day through the end of the contests too.

For the Signature Dessert contest go here: Signature Dessert

For the Spectacular Strawberry Dessert contest go here: Spectacular Strawberry

It's actually kind of funny that I brought this into work today since over the weekend one of our better drivers quit to pursue a culinary career.  My co-workers wanted to know if I'm taking this so seriously that I would give up my Accounting position and some of them even joked that I better not leave without training someone else how to do payroll.  I ensured them that this was just a fun hobby and while I am available for hire (for the right price), I'm not taking off for the Culinary Institute of America anytime soon.

What a week! Hold on!!!

A lot of miscellaneous things happening here, nothing too bad, ugly or too crazy to handle, just enough to keep me on my toes and really busy.

- My boss left for Italy on Tuesday morning for a 2.5 week vacation.  While this is on much better terms than the last time he planned a big "out of the county family vacation" (1 short week after I started my position there nearly 5 years ago), we still had so much to take care before he left.  Didn't help that I had to leave early for my doctor's appointment on Friday and that he's a major procrastinator because Monday turned into one whirlwind of a day.  It's not been quiet since he's left, but I haven't gone completely insane, yet!

- Created a 30th wedding anniversary party invitation for Coco and she was so thoroughly impressed by my mad skills that she thinks I have a knack for party planning.  I did offer to make her cake/cupcakes as well, just to stay creative with my baking.

- Heading out to my Dad's tomorrow after work to celebrate Father's Day with him a bit early.  Rather than taking him out to dinner, I'm going to impress him with my new found love for creating healthy, yet flavorful recipes.  I hope my little experiment works!  I also hope that he likes the Father's Day gifts I picked out!

- Renewing my apartment lease for another year this week.  Hard to believe that I moved in here 5 years ago already.  It's nice to know that after shuffling around growing up and then moving around numerous times in college, I'm somewhat grounded for the time being.  Sure, I know I'm renting a 700 sq. foot apartment, but it's cute and right now, I don't think I could handle much more than this amount of space.

- MO is having the work crowd over for a BBQ on Saturday afternoon and I intend to let loose and have some fun.  It's been awhile since we've all gotten together and it's a great way to spend a hot Saturday in June.  And since I RSVP'ed to this event, the pool table jokes have been in high demand too.  I just may have to take a break and lay down on it again if I deem it necessary.

- Sunday I'm finally working on my signature dessert recipe.  I've got it all planned out and now I just need to execute it.  I'm feeling really confident and I'm already thinking ahead for another dessert contest using strawberries.  I'll post more info and maybe even a picture of my creation once its all finished.

The best news of the week is that tomorrow is Friday and we're heading into summer!  Woo hoo!!

Bruce!!!

BRUCE!!!  

If you were an outsider visiting the Edward Jones Dome for a Rams game from the time they moved to St. Louis until 2008, you probably thought we were all booing our team.  Yet, any die hard Rams fan would disagree with you, we were just cheering on our beloved wide receiver who lead our team through the winning seasons and even the losing ones.

On Wednesday, Issac Bruce retired as a player of the team that drafted him back in 1994 after San Francisco graciously traded him back to his "home" team.  As a franchise leader in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns, Bruce can be considered one of the all time greatest players for the St. Louis Rams.

Congratulations on an outstanding football career Issac Bruce and good luck in all future endeavors!  There are not many athletes of your caliber and with your great character!

Have spatula, will travel

Besides being passionate about keeping fit and staying healthy, I'm also somewhat of a foodie.  I love to cook and create or tweak recipes and often times think about a career as a personal chef if I ever got tired of being an Accountant. 
I found a contest online to create an original signature dessert recipe earlier today and I'm really thinking about taking a shot at it.  My baking skills are fairly strong and I think I could put together something I would be proud of.  This afternoon while trying to finish up my last few projects for the week, I started throwing ideas around and got a few nods from my co-workers.  I'm going to give it serious thought this weekend and see if I can nail down a good recipe and start testing it out.  Thank goodness I also have co-workers and friends that will try my masterpieces and give me their honest yet supportive opinions.

I've got one month to perfect my signature dessert...wish me luck!

Ready for a challenge

With the season finale of The Biggest Loser last week and now NBC premiering Losing It With Jillian last night, I know there are a lot of people that are jumping on the health and fitness bandwagon.  I might be considered one of those individuals since I get even more pumped about being healthy and staying in shape while watching these shows.  Heck, I'd even go so far to say that even while watching the hell that some of these people face while trying to reach there fitness and weight loss goals, I would still love to spend an hour being trained by the one and only Jillian Michaels.

Sure, she's rough and seems unsympathetic at times but it's all about mind over matter.  Determination and hard work are two principles that spread in all aspects of life, not just weight loss.  You push yourself to work harder and success will follow.

Plus, I want the secret to her stellar abs!

The Perfect Pair -- Memorial Day Weekend & Racing

You ask any of my close friends and they will tell you that I have a passion for NASCAR racing.  As I watch the sport, I see more strategy than just speeding around an oval track.  I usually try to catch the stats from the truck races and Nationwide series and then try to tune into the Sprint Cup
With yesterday being a big race day with the Indianapolis 500, I decided I was going to check out that race too.  I know there is not much similarity between stock cars and Indy cars, but I figured why not see what all of the fuss was about.  I know the names of a few Indy car drivers, Danica, of course, (who's not really feeling the love in NASCAR), Dario Franchitti, and Helio Castroneves, but by far, my favorite driver of the Indy car series,

#12, Will Power.  Yes, that's really his name!  I giggled every time they mentioned him.  What's a race without Will Power?  Nothing I tell ya!!
Seriously though, it was a fun race to watch.  Congrats to Ganassi Racing and Dario for the big win!

In other racing news, the Coca-cola 600 was last night and MacMurray finished 2nd!!  There is a good possibility he could be in cup contention this season if he keeps racing this way. 

Hope you're having a great Memorial Day.  A former Marine and friend of mine posted this earlier, 
As you lay poolside with a drink in your hand, remember those who are in the sand. 
As you eat that delicious bar-b-que, remember those who fought for you. 
As you shop for the shoes with the perfect price, remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. 

Thanks to all of you who have served, continue to serve and have paid the price for our freedom.

Yes, I'm seriously that organized

With the upcoming holiday weekend we got to talking about schedules and things going on and just run of the mill items to take care of over the next few days and how it compared to years past.  No doubt, when asked a simple question like, "well, what did we do last year?" I whipped out my trusty 2 year planner from my purse and had that weekend, along with every other, noted in complete detail.  I don't know if that's something truly to be proud of or something to have myself committed for.

But, we got the answers we needed and overall I think my obsessive organization came in handy  Hmm, maybe I could make it as a personal assistant....

Completely random

Holding true to the title of the blog and since I still have a lot running through my head, I've decided why not just put some of what's happening right now out there...bad, good, or otherwise.

-- Today I got some unsettling health news from my doctor.  I was a bit shaken and concerned and still had to try to hold myself together.  I couldn't ask for 2 better people to help me through this and while I'm hopeful that everything will turn out ok in the end, I am extremely grateful for Broccoli and Coco's concern and willingness to do whatever possible to help me.  Broccoli had to deal with the tears at lunchtime, something I wouldn't wish on anyone cause I'm a pain when I start crying.  Yet, he was awesome as always.  Coco continued to stay positive and reminded me that I've gone through something like this before and everything worked out for the best.

-- My vitamin supplements and protein shakes were delivered today which made me extremely happy and I was even happier to see the extra bottle of supplements at no extra charge.  He did leave me a note to let me know that it wasn't a mistake too.  It's nice to know that someone appreciates my business.  Guess he's glad to see my order every 3 months for the past few years.  I'm gonna take this as an opportunity to pay it forward as well.

-- I'm planning 2 birthday celebrations at work this week.  SS turns 40 on Wednesday and of course the Party Planning Committee has to do something spectacular!!  I hope he likes what I've thrown together...strawberry jello cake (his favorite) and all!  Thursday is the President of the Company's birthday.  Usually, we throw an office-wide party but we always have someone try to rain on our parade.  This year, a select few of us decided to take him out for his birthday.  While we may be considered brown-nosers, we are also still very grateful for our jobs and we would like to show our appreciation to him.

-- I've had some kick ass workouts the last week or so.  I don't know if I'm just that full of energy right now or if I'm just determined to see my abs pop out before I put a swimsuit on.  I'm soooo close and I'd probably look like I'm even closer if I wasn't this pasty white.  (Note to self: On your extra day off for Memorial Day, try to get some sun.) 

-- I've already thought ahead about Father's Day and got the perfect gifts picked out for my Dad and even ordered one of them last weekend.  He's so hard to buy for because he always claims he doesn't need much.  This year, I thought outside of the box and BINGO!

Ok, enough randomness for now.  Have a good night!

Couldn't have said it better myself...

"If you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best."
 -- Marilyn Monroe

No good reason that I'm up at 12:48 in the morning when I have to get up for work at 5 am, except for the fact that I've got way too much on my mind and can't make it quit.  The one good thing is that tomorrow is Friday and a fairly quiet day on the work front.  The bad thing is that if I don't get myself sorted out by lunchtime tomorrow, my weekend will be a complete mess and I will have wished that I had to work the next two days.

Ah, the joys of being Type A Lindsay.

Sometimes all it takes is a hug

Working in an office and an industry that is male dominated sometimes has its disadvantages.  Many days are stressful and some days pass with no more acknowledgment than a mean spirited joke or a sarcastic remark.  Most guys there don't understand why I get upset and get emotional over something that is a big deal when it seems so trivial to them.  I can usually get by though and I understand that men and women are most times on opposite ends of the spectrum.
Today is one of those days when I saw a different side of one of my male co-workers.  I left for lunch early because I had something to take care of and when I came back I went into the kitchen to grab my actual lunch.  While I was in there one of the guys that I see as a a "tough manly man" came in and we were making small talk as we were warming up our lunches.  He asked if I was alright and said that he noticed that I didn't seem like I had been myself all week and more so this morning.  I told him that it was an overly stressful week once again but that I would get through it and try to be that spunky chick again next week.  He laughed and I walked back to my desk to get back to work. 
A few minutes later, he walked back and asked if he could give me a hug because hugs from "CH" made everything better.  Yes, I know he was trying to be funny and it did make me laugh but the thought was nice.  Often times I think that these guys fail to realize that their female counterparts are human and have feelings, I was proven wrong today.

And yes, the hug did help....my afternoon was better.

Girl interrupted

The gym is like my sanctuary.  I know that sounds crazy, but while other people go to church to think or clear their minds, I go to the gym.  When I'm there, I usually have an idea of the workout I'm planning (minus the fact that sometimes the machines are tied up) and I focus intensely on calories burned, muscles worked and not getting too carried away so that I don't bulk up.  I've had personal trainers over time and from the lessons they've taught me, I think I've found a good balance to keep the weight off and work on my toning mission.  My time at the gym is not a time where I want to have a new trainer who is looking for new clients to come up to me and tell me that I need to add more weight to the already 45 lb bar I've got propped on my shoulders as I'm trying to do squats.  Yes, I understand you think you are helping me and yes, I know you're looking for clients, but please, do not interrupt my workout! 
I don't see you in there every time I'm in the gym, so by observing me for 5 minutes tonight, you can not tell me you have me figured out.  If I want advice or help, I will come find you.  I try to look intense in the gym for a reason and while you think I need to add more weight to my workouts, I know better.  Been there, done that.  And finally, yes, I realize that muscle mass weighs more than fat, but there is a range I like my weight to stay in between, even though I may gain muscle by adding weight, I don't want to gain any weight...I feel awesome right where I'm at!  Thanks so much for your input, but I'm ok with keeping the gym as my thinking playground.

Class of 2010

Tonight my brother graduates from college with his Bachelor's Degree in Business.  Hard to believe that he's already at that age.  Sometimes I still think of him as the little boy that won the cutest toddler contest at our local Walmart when he was 2 or on our first day of school when he started kindergarten and I made sure he got to his classroom without getting lost or as the teenager who took my high school challenge to heart and had perfect attendance for all four years (I missed one day junior year, dangit!).
Soon he will officially enter the real world, a world where he will be fully responsible for himself, a world where you worry more about salary negotiations, medical benefits, and 401k plans rather than who's bringing the beer and snacks over for a random weeknight night party.

I am extremely proud of him and all of his accomplishments so far and I know he will continue to do many great things and go many places!  Being the big sister that I am I do have to offer him one last piece of advice before he takes the plunge -- it's a quote by Henry David Thoreau,
Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.

Congratulations Ryan!

Yes, that's really me

Today I had to go to the bank to cash a few checks.  I purposely did not include my driver's license, but gave them my bank ID with my name and account number.  The teller asked that I also submit my driver's license for further identification.  So I sent that in the little tube and from that point, I could have recited the chain of events verbatim before it took place....she asked it if was really me on my driver's license and then commented that I've really changed over the last few years.


You see, my driver's license was last renewed in January 2006 and is valid for 6 years, and on May 7, 2005, I decided to make a life altering decision to get healthy and get into shape.  I remember the day clearly, I went to put on summer clothes from the previous year and none of my capris or shorts fit.  I was sad, frustrated and feeling like the biggest blob in the world.  I decided from that day forward I would do what I could to get the body I wanted. 
I visited Attilio's (a former supplement and health store here in St. Louis) to see what I could do to lose the weight.  The good thing about Attilio's is that they were also getting into personal training and I decided to take them up on their new services.  My first appointment was the following week and come to find out my trainer was a former friend of mine from high school.  I weighed in that first night at 205 lbs and wearing a size 18.  My goal was to lose 20-25 lbs and be what I thought of as average size.
I busted butt all that summer with my trainer and then was forced to take on the weight loss challenge myself after he left to go back to active duty in the military.  By January 2006, I weighed 175 lbs...quite a difference from my high weight but still not exactly where I wanted to be.  I told the DMV that I weighed 165 lbs and that's what went on my driver's license.
Over the past 5 years, I've continued my fitness and weight loss and at this exact point in time, I weigh 122 lbs and wear a size 2-4.  That's right, I've lost 83 lbs in 5 years.  My BMI is excellent and I'm actually starting to see muscles pop out.  I love the gym and continue to eat very healthy (ie, mostly home-cooked lean meals, a lot of water and no fast food).  My friends and co-workers all make fun of me for my food and diet discipline and for the countless hours I spend at the gym or trying to get exercise other ways.  Most of them did not know me when I weighed my heaviest and some of them probably barely knew me when I started losing the weight and while it does bother me that they give me so much trouble for being a health nut, I know most of them will never know how much work at becoming a better me, physically.  Every day is a challenge of keeping the weight off and staying on track and remembering how far I've come.

The funny part of course is when I have to show ID, which happens more now that I'm 27 rather than when I was 21 or 22.  Most people look at it numerous times and then still question it.  A few weeks ago I tried going to the casino and they actually were not going to let me in because they said I couldn't prove that the person in the license was really me.  After producing credit cards, insurance cards, my check book and frequent purchase cards, I finally was let in with some hesitation.  In 2012, yes, I will get my new license but in the meantime I'm going to look at my current one as a measure of my hard work.

Call me crazy

My regular 50 hour a week Accounting/Admin job is enough to send me over the edge just about every single day due to my Type A personality but then I decided last week to take back on my consulting gig in my *ahem* spare time.
I went Saturday to check things out, talk to the owner (a friend) and see where we sat since it's been just over a year since I gave up that position.  Umm, yeah, its gonna take some time to get back into that groove but rather than waiting too long, I decided to head back to his office again tonight and decided to jump right in full force. 
After nearly 4 hours of work tonight, I'm only through May of 2009 in regards to reconciling bank accounts....I haven't even touched the rest of the general ledger accounts yet!  At least with this project, I can work at my own pace (well, somewhat) and maybe it will teach me some patience.  And hopefully that patience will spill over into my normal job because I could definitely use it there!  We'll see how I hold up in the month of May because I've decided the rest of my life is not going to suffer from this extra work load...instead, I'm working out at lunchtime and running errands in the few minutes between offices and still trying to plan ahead enough to make sure I don't miss other important events.  If I succeed, I just might nickname myself Super Woman.  If not, yeah, I'm definitely crazy.

Another day, another dollar still in my pocket

Last year some of the guys went to Louisville for the Kentucky Derby, this year the trip was postponed because a wedding fell on the same weekend as the derby trip.
Since girls weren't invited, last year I gave the guys some money to make a few bets for me just for fun.  Mr. Hot Stuff was my favorite (resulting from an inside joke) but it didn't really matter since long shot, Mind That Bird shocked everyone and got the win.  I remember watching the TV coverage and catching jockey Calvin Borel so emotional when they interviewed him after the race, saying he had faith in the horse he was jockeying and even though Mind That Bird had 50-1 odds, he thought Mind That Bird could pull through and beat the field. 
This year, had the trip been a go, I'm not sure who I would have bet on...ok, I take that back, I probably would have had them put money on the horse with the funniest name.  It may have been Super Saver or one of the other 19 entered, depends on what I was feeling when I handed over my money.

But, I can say for sure, that if the trip is on next year and I have the chance to place a bet, I don't care what horse Calvin Borel is jockeying, I am picking that one!  Borel won his 3 derby in 4 years this year.  Incredible!  Whatever it takes to be a successful jockey, he definitely possesses it.

A little late

Dear Sallie Mae,
While I appreciate the concern you have for my parents in regards to financing my college education and giving me a brighter future, I would just like to remind you that you are about 9 years too late.  In fact, you might be a bit surprised but my parents have never lived at this address either, nor were they willing to pay my way through school.  If I didn't receive scholarships, I had to find my own way of making sure tuition each semester was covered, giving me even more reason to buckle down and try to graduate early.
Thanks for checking in, but we do not need your priority code and I surely don't have 20 minutes to see whether or not we qualify for an unnecessary student loan.

Sincerely,
Lindsay

Cause we all just wanna be big rockstars....

The concert was AMAZING!!!  I didn't think it was possible for me to like Shinedown anymore than I already did, but they did a great job and after seeing them live, just confirmed all that for me.

Actually the entire night ended up being a success, which is definitely what we needed.  I had been looking forward to the concert since I bought the tickets back in January, but in the back of my mind, I had this hampering fear as the show got closer that something was going to go wrong and we weren't going to be able to go.  Besides dealing with a few other issues of my own on Friday, I waited all day for a phone call telling me that it wasn't going to work and that we'd have to pass on the night.  Because that's just how my life works when I've built something up so much somehow it just doesn't work out as planned and trust me, I built this up tremendously over the past 4 months.  But, hadn't heard anything by the time I left work, so I promptly rushed home and got ready and waited for Broccoli (I know, weird nickname, but it's more about the way I pronouce it and less about the actual vegetable).
We picked up a quick bite to eat and hit the road, making our way to our seats just as Shinedown was taking the stage. (perfect timing!)  I stood there in awe, singing, playing air drums at times and just taking it all in.
After Shinedown, came Breaking Benjamin.  I don't know a whole lot about them and they only played two of the few songs that I usually listen to on my Ipod, but they were fun to see too.  I might actually check out more of their stuff online now.

Finally, Nickelback took the stage and the place erupted.  I know there are a lot of people that say Nickelback is the most hated band nowadays but I have to disagree.  The show was energized, jam-packed with all of their hits and most of all, the band seemed grateful for all of their fans.  When it was all said and done and we were walking back to the car, we both were extremely thrilled that we were able to see such an awesome show.  We agreed living the rockstar lifestyle is one we probably could never pull off but it sure seemed cool.  Broccoli asked me if Shinedown lived up to my expectations and with a quick smile, I responded, "oh yeah, they definitely rock my world.  I'm sure they're your favorite now too!"  While they may not be his favorite, he was thoroughly impressed too.  What made the night that much cooler was the fact that Nickelback is one of his favorites and we were able to have a fantastic night out -- one that definitely will be remembered.  :)

So now I'm back to reality, back to a normal Saturday filled with laundry, grocery shopping and other random errands. 

Hmm, maybe it would be fun to be a rockstar....

T -12 hours

Tonight I finally get to see Shinedown in concert!!  After following the band for nearly 5 years and missing every other show they've played in St. Louis, I'm finally getting to see my favorite band LIVE and in person!  I'm on pins and needles waiting and it should be a lot of fun!! 
Along with Shinedown, Nickelback, Breaking Benjamin and Sick Puppies are on the bill as part of Nickelback's Dark Horse tour.

Bucket list item number two will be checked off in a few short hours!  Woo hoo!!  Happy Friday to me!

Welcome to the team!

The Rams had the number one pick in the NFL Draft tonight and who did they pick?

Considering Mark Bulger was released earlier this off season and we've been in need for a good quarterback since Warner left, I think it was a fairly accurate pick.  We'll see if Bradford can hold up after already facing a few injuries in his collegiate career.  Sure we had the worst team in the league last year but I'm gonna be positive and say that I think we're on the upswing!!

The draft has been an interest of mine since my senior year of college when a few guys I went to high school with entered the draft as they were finishing their college career.  Most of them went in the first 2 rounds of the draft too which made it even sweeter!  I knew how excited I was for them and now, I continue to be pumped for a new batch of amazing athletes.

Congrats Bradford on being the #1 overall pick of the 2010 NFL Draft and welcome aboard!!

Did you see that?

Watched what appeared to be the longest baseball game in the history of the world yesterday -- 6 hours and 53 minutes was the recorded time.  Not the longest game in history, but it sure felt like it.  Cardinals and Mets in St. Louis, scoreless through 18 innings and finally the Cards lost it in the 20th.  All I can think is how the heck do you sit in those seats and not start yelling every time the bases were loaded in extra innings and you send a relief pitcher up to bat because at home I sat on the couch and yelled at the tv.  Granted, I'm no coach nor had I ever played Major League Baseball.  If the game went on any longer and had it been possible, I think McGwire actually might have made it into the game to finish the thing up. 

I do feel bad for center fielder Joe Mather though, the poor guy was forced to pitch in the 19th and then gets the loss for the night.  Of course, had he won the game that would have been the talk of the town this morning.
I'm planning on watching the last game of this series tonight and hoping it doesn't go more than 9 innings because I have to get up at the crack of dawn for work tomorrow morning and Mondays are no day for slacking or napping in the office.

Hope you have a spectacular Sunday!

Who would've thought...

JC Penney is having a sale this weekend and I thought it would be the perfect time to pick up the last few items needed for my spring and summer wardrobe.  After roaming just about the entire misses department for nearly an hour and finding all of this cute stuff but very few things in my size, I started getting irritated.  Yes, I know most of America is not a size 2 or 4, but I am and I need new pants that actually fit this year! 
Late last fall, I found a pair of capris and a pair of business shorts on clearance at Kohls and picked them up, other than that everything I own now is one size too big and in business casual attire, its somewhat noticeable.  This year, I decided to save up my gift cards from Christmas and use them when I actually needed to fill a hole in my closet.  Today was that day and by the time I had tried on what seemed like hundreds of items, I finally settled on 2 skirts, 1 pair of cropped pants and 3 clearance tops and just barely spent every penny on my gift cards.  Normally I would have spent twice as much as I had planned on.
I'm hoping to find a few more things at Kohls or Macy's later in the season when every other size has already been picked over and my size is on clearance.  If I don't, well then I guess I'm just out of luck for now, because I'm not spending a fortune on clothes nor am I gaining any weight.  I've worked too hard to get into shape.
Never did I think I would see the day when I'm actually frustrated by shopping because I can't find much in my size.  Trust me, it is a good feeling, but a tad bit frustrating.

So after my little shopping extravaganza, I went to the library.  I needed the peace and quiet and some new reading material for the next few weeks.  Not much frustration there, I just had to put a limit on myself for the number of books could check out and get read before they are due.  It's supposed to be a nice spring weekend here and I'm planning on taking advantage of the sun on my deck with a good book.

Lunch updates and tax deadlines

My lunch was a success!!  Woo hoo!
I went back to making my classic chicken quesadillas for tomorrow, but its good to know that in a pinch, I can crank out a good Italian dish as well.  I may experiment a bit more if I time permits this weekend.  I've been waiting to make a healthified buffalo chicken and potato casserole and given the right amount of time, I think I can throw together something amazing.

In other news, today was tax day!  This morning a co-worker sent me and my boss this classic...
.

Oh how true it is.  Since I am an extremely high-strung and overly analytical Accountant, I had my taxes done mid-January and e-filed them as soon as our W-2s were released by our payroll processing company.  My boss, on the other hand is one of those laid back, everything-can-be-fixed-with-a-journal-entry type of Controller and he sent off his paper returns this morning.  Yeah, I guess both ways work.
Luckily, today we didn't have any real issues to deal with since tax isn't our specialty, but it still was a busy day and I'm definitely looking forward to the weekend.

Pure genius?

I may have just created the greatest recipe of all time...we'll know for sure tomorrow around lunchtime!
If not, I guess I just better stick to those few meals I make extremely well, like my chicken quesadillas, pizza casserole or roasted potatoes.

I've been trying to expand my cooking skills a bit more and decided that I would try to make something new for lunch tomorrow.  Tonight's experiment was a stuffed Chicken Parmesan.  Sounds like an easy enough concept.  I just hope it is a success. 

I'm holding my breath in the meantime.

How is this possible?

This morning I had to get up to attend a funeral for my coworker, Robin.  It is the second incident of cancer, resulting in losing another amazing, young, vibrant person in 18 months for our office and we only have 35 employees.  We lost Sherri back in 2008 and were devastated.  We were finally starting to get back to normal when we found out Robin was diagnosed with the same cancer that struck Sherri. 
Robin was feisty and persistent and told all of us that she was not going to give up with out a brilliant fight and that she did.  We have so many special memories with Robin from boatfests, golf tournaments, Cardinals games, weddings and more.  She was a great friend and always some one you could count on and we definitely saw that today with the outpouring of support for her family.
Our work family is a close, tight-knit group of people and we will push forward; yet, right now we are all in shock, grief stricken and wondering how what kind of odds we just defied with this happening to our group twice and in such a short amount of time.  We did find some comfort in the thought that Sherri greeted our dear friend with a Bud Light draught and a practical joke at the pearly gates.

Describes me to a tee

I found a website the other day that had fun Accounting apparel among other accessories.  Some of the sayings made me giggle and others of them had me down right laughing and daring myself to buy them and try to get a rise out of the office and there are the others that were just speaking the truth.  Like this one:

Yeah, that totally describes me and definitely drives some people insane, especially my co-workers on month-end days like today.  Of course, it does come in quite handy when you meet with your wealth management advisor about your 401k and other financial opportunities.  They seem to appreciate your detailed budget and spreadsheets and call you the perfect client.

How awesome is this!?! -- Part Duex

My Blues jersey is autographed along with other memorabilia, business cards were handed out and finally he was set up as one of our new vendors.  But before we let him leave the office, a few of us girls had one small request -- a photo op.  

And what did our new business acquaintance do....

 

....he smiled for pictures of course!  I have met a few athletes in my life and I can say, Tony Twist is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet.  Not only did he sit in our office for well over an hour signing pictures, pucks, jerseys and more, he also offered his company's services to our employees and ended up spending a decent amount of time talking to all of us.  Sure, he was one of my favorite hockey players back then, but he's earned even more brownie points with me now.  It ended up being a really exciting day at work too!

How awesome is this!?!

Yesterday afternoon I was sitting at my desk, working on one of my many Monday to-do's when the President of the Company buzzes my phone.  I answer nonchalantly and wonder what kind of project he needs completed. and have my pen and paper ready to write down the details of his request. 

He asks just one question -- "Remember 'so and so' (I'm protecting his name for now) from the Blues a few years back?"
My response, "Oh yeah, he was one of my favorites."
His next comment, "Well, give it 30 seconds and he'll be walking into my office.  If you want to catch a glimpse, walk out to Operations."

So I hang up and walk out to Operations, taking one of my other female co-workers with me so I don't look like a total goof just standing around in the middle of the office.  Of course, the guys in Ops look at me like I have 10 heads because I never just mosey out there mid-day and definitely not with another co-worker on a busy Monday afternoon.
Sure enough, a few seconds pass and 'so and so' walks into my boss' office.  The guys just look at me and laugh and I assure them that it is who they think it is.

Come to find out....'so and so' owns a company that we're going to start doing business with and he came in to bring his completed vendor paperwork to the President. 
Tomorrow he's coming back in and signing autographs.  You can bet I've got my Blues jersey out and ready!  I know that only my boss would be able to pull off something this spectacular.

One minute of fame

My friend Tom wrote for the Seattle Roller Derby Examiner before he made the move to Tulsa earlier this year.  Earlier this week, he officially ended his stint with that page so that he can start up his Tulsa Sports Examiner page very soon. 
He's a great writer and we've been friends for numerous years but I was officially honored by the kind words he wrote about me in his last article.  You can read it here: Seattle Roller Derby Examiner 
Considering some of the other stuff I've been battling lately, it's a nice to know that there are others that see I'm one of their biggest fans even when we live hours apart.
Also, added to my to-do list is making the trek to Oklahoma to visit and check out the women's roller derby team he's now coaching.

Thank Goodness for Dad

Today was an extremely trying day and despite all of my efforts, I couldn't fix it.

Luckily, I have a wonderful Dad who always looks out after his little girl, no matter how old I am.  It's days like today, that I wish I lived closer to him.  Such a brilliant and insightful man that I'm very grateful to have as my Dad.

Oh what fun!

4 St. Louis bars + 4 drinks + 2 bands + many awesome friends = 8 hours of St. Patrick's Day weekend fun

I got home at 1:47 am and I would say I partied hard.  We'll see how I feel in a few hours when I have to wake up and make my way to my Dad's for my brother's birthday celebration.  At least this year I have my bro's birthday present wrapped so I won't make the same mistake and wrap it in a bag clearly labeled CHRISTMAS once again.

Off to bed!!  Might just take a few Advil, just to be on the safe side.  :)

What a week!

Monday started off extremely rocky, but I somehow pulled myself together and by Wednesday, I was back to a fairly normal me.  After helping plan the impromptu happy hour and the after party and sticking around for the craziness, the direct comment from Coco was, "I'm so glad the old Lindsay is back!  We've missed this fun side of you!"
The happy hour came about all because of the President's visit to town and the blocking of the interstate at rush hour.  So I asked myself a very important question... 
Should you really sit in traffic for an hour because the interstate you take to go the gym and eventually use to go home is shut down? 
My answer to that...
....well no, there are better things we can be doing!

Yes, I've missed this side of me too.

After work last night we all helped SM move into her new apartment.  Who knew moving boxes and furniture and unpacking would be so much fun.  Get our work group together to do anything and it turns into a comedic performance.  I'm not sure the last time I laughed that hard.  Yeah, Tupperware, a salad spinner and picture hanging are indeed hilarious.
To carry on the weekend festivities, tonight we're going out to celebrate St. Patrick's Day St. Louis style.  Should be a good time once again.  I'm sure most of the people we will run into have been drinking and carrying on all day, so it's a bonus to get to mess with their heads a bit tonight too.  Because besides having fun, it's about being a silly sh*t disturber on top of it all.  :)

Hope you have a great weekend!!

Milk-a-what?

Think I can get by with this?

Lindsay Lohan Suing E-Trade for Milkaholic "Parody"

MINEOLA, N.Y. – Lindsay Lohan is feuding with the E-Trade babies.

The actress has filed a $100 million lawsuit claiming a television ad for the Wall Street firm that aired durning the Super Bowl and Olympics was modeled after her.

Talking babies in the ad engage in chatter that refers to "milkaholic Lindsay." The 23-year-old actress has famously sought substance abuse treatment.  Lohan's name was never mentioned. But her New York lawyer contends that "Lindsay" is an equally recognizable moniker for her client — like that of Oprah or Madonna.

Lohan's legal team is seeking an injunction to stop future airings.

An E-Trade spokeswoman is declining to comment.

My only comment -
Lindsay Lohan, get over yourself!  You're nowhere near as popular as Oprah or Madonna and there are plenty more before you that were given this name (like me!) and there will be plenty more after your sorry career is over.
We all laughed when the commercial was played at the Super Bowl party and after seeing this article today, I laughed again.  Milk-a-what?

Yeah, I'm a Lindsay and quite proud.  Plus, I'm cooler than her any day!  Good job E-Trade!  :)

This sums it up

New episode of The Office 

+

 Season Finale of The Real Housewives of Orange County

=

Exciting, Relaxing Thursday Night for Lindsay

Out of Commission

I should be at the gym right now, but because of a dumb mishap on my part on Tuesday night, I forced myself to take the night off.  Ok, it really might not be all my fault, but I can't blame the trainer that showed Coco a few new tricks to help tone the abs now, can I?

I actually was quite pleased with my effort this week.  I was going to work out Monday through Thursday and then quite possibly pick up a weekend day if I felt up to it.  Nothing too crazy, but not completely slacking off either.  This schedule would also allow me one day next week to set up dinner plans with a friend if I so chose to (which in the back of my mind, I thought I would do) and not feel too bad for actually eating out and giving up a workout.
I went Monday night and did my normal hour long cardio and then came home and worked on core; Tuesday, I did a half an hour of cardio and then Coco and I decided to work out together.  She met with a trainer last week who showed her a few new moves to add to her gym routine.  So we thought we'd try those out together along with adding in a few things my trainer showed me when I worked out with him last year.  I was fine while working out, I was actually enjoying the new stuff and having fun mixing in the old stuff.
Well, that darn Bosu ball got me.  I'm not used to crunches on that thing and I guess I got a bit carried away wanting amazing abs by summer and pulled the muscles in my lower back.  Really, I wasn't too bothered by it until yesterday morning and as the day progressed, it got a bit worse.  I still was not about to give up a workout though, so I decided to go again last night and work out with TL.  I got on my stride elliptical and he worked out on the machine next to me, we laughed and joked but I could still feel some pain.  After 30 minutes, I was done.  I came home and took it easy the rest of the night.
Yeah...this morning, I could barely walk without totally grimacing in pain.  Then, me being the complete doofus I am, decided to wear 4 inch heels to work with my cute skirt and sweater...let me tell you, not too smart when you already are having back pain issues.  Probably would not have been so bad if I could have sat at my desk all day, but today, like most days, I was up and about in the office.  I teased the guys in the office to push me around in my rolly chair, but really, that was not an option today or really any day for that matter.  SS saw me almost in tears and was extremely awesome, bringing me an Aleve so that I didn't completely break down.  (Something I've done a bit of lately.) 
As the day went on, it did start loosening up, but I still didn't want to chance it.  Although for one split second, I thought I could make it better by working out.  Finally around 4, I decided that sometimes it's just better to come home and relax and tonight was going to be that kind of night.  I just hope that it's feeling 100% better tomorrow.

As for Coco's trainer, I am going to blame him a bit too because his philosophy is all work and no play and well, I just don't think I can go along with that.  I'm not that intense about the gym and working out.  I work out to be able to have fun.  As soon as I found out that he told her no drinking and no eating anything that is not organic and full of vitamins and minerals, I was not a fan.  Sure, I keep a healthy diet most of the time, but there has to be some wiggle room for fun.  Plus, I could never give up my marshmallow addiction or nights at Bellacino's.  :)

My mental notes for now are be a bit wiser when it comes to working out and definitely be smarter when it comes to my fashion.  Of course, I will say, I was complimented for my outfit today, so maybe being in a little pain is worth it.  Heh...jk!

Have a great night and a fantastic weekend!

Oh Canada!

Congrats Team Canada on your Gold medal in Men's Ice Hockey. Such an exciting game to watch and even though I was rooting for the USA and my St. Louis Blues representing our team, I'm alright with the end result.


Sidney Crosby, you continue to amaze me. I'm not sure how you can get much better, but I know you will come up with something. After today's awesome game, I'm ready for the NHL season to get back into full swing. Too bad we only play the Penguins once in a blue moon.

Lost and Found

Up and at 'em at 6:30 on a Sunday morning. Yeah, I'm crazy like that. Actually, I feel great right now and I'm looking forward to the day. Nothing too wild plan, I'm just trying to take it easy and enjoy the little bit of time I do have off.

In talking to some very wise people earlier in the week, they inspired me to think outside the box a bit to bring back that lovable, sweet, fun person I have been missing in myself the last few months. It seems I've let work and worrying get the best of me and pretty much have lost the drive to pursue all of the other fun stuff I used to do. So, I spent some of my down time this week thinking about all of the interests I used to have before I started working 45+ hours a week.

Cooking, baking, working out, playing poker, reading, scrapbooking and spending quality time with my family and friends...yes, that's the stuff I'm missing. Lately, I've rushed through these sorts of activities just to get them off my list of things to do and I haven't really taken the time to enjoy them. I have to get a grip on my life and find a balance and I think I'm off to a good start.

I've cooked a few times this week to make lunches for my nearest and dearest friends and I also semi-baked to go along with those lunches. (Don't worry, I'll get back to my full baking and wow you all very soon!) Cooking for myself is a no brainer, usually it's something quick and easy but taking the time to put together a meal you can be proud to serve others is something I enjoy doing. I take pride in knowing that I can brighten my friend's day by making something delicious. I also think cooking is a great way to show someone else how much the mean to you and how grateful you are to have them in your life.

I took a very different approach to working out this week. While I have never really given this up, it always seemed like going to the gym was such work for me after my regular job. I'd force myself to go to the gym every night and wouldn't leave the gym until I had my 65 minutes on the elliptical in or I had my cardio and weightlifting goals finished for that day. This week, I switched it up a bit and decided that if I'm going to go to the gym as often as I do, I don't have to be so obsessive about it when I get there. Some nights it's ok to just do a run/walk combo on the treadmill for a half an hour (something I would never do before) or just to weightlift and tone my core or if I feel up to it, do 65 minutes on the elliptical. I have a very strict diet for myself most of the time, so it's not like I need to go and force myself to burn 1,000 calories a night. I'm smaller and weigh less than I've have in 17 years. That's an accomplishment and I need to look at it that way. In the long run, I think I will feel much better for switching it up too.

Yesterday, I think I found a fairly complete balance to my time off. I went to the library to find some fun reading material and started reading for entertainment again, spent a little time catching up on errands, found some time to catch up with my family and then finished my night watching the Olympics at home. For the first time in months (besides my birthday), I went to dinner with my Mom, Michael and my Grandma again. Usually, I will stop in to their house for a few minutes every few weeks and then rush off because I felt like I had so many other things to do or I can't seem to find the time to get over there more often. It was nice just to talk to them. I know they want to make sure that I'm taking care of myself and I know they have my best interest at heart, even when I don't want to hear it. Before I left, I planned a time to cook dinner for them next week too.

Today, I'm taking the same approach. I have to go do my laundry this morning and I think I'm going to scrapbook some of my fun summer pics from last year. I'm so tired of winter and the freezing temps here and I'm hoping that this will help get me even more pumped and thinkin' spring. Tomorrow is already March 1st so spring should be around the corner, right?!? Let's hope so! The rest of the day....who knows. I'm learning I need to just go with the flow and that's what I'm going to try to do. :)

Enjoy your day!

Songs of the week

Happy Monday! Hope your week is starting off on the right foot.

Not sure how I feel about the day or even the week so far, but in getting ready this morning, two songs popped into my head. I think I going to make these my songs for the week and hopefully they will pull me through all of the nonsense. I know very little about both artists, but their songs are catchy and apply to this week in some regard.

- The Remedy by Jason Mraz
- What Do You Want from Me by Adam Lambert

Don't worry, if you happen to catch me singing either one of these, it's just because I'm taking my own advice and looking to music to relieve some stress.

I'm headed into work. Take it easy! :)

Weekend wrap-up

It's been a fairly good weekend here once again. There was time for quite a bit of fun, a bit of rest and relaxation and just a very little work, which is a good thing because after the crazy week I had last week, I needed a stress-free weekend.

Saturday afternoon, while still celebrating Coco's birthday (it's a month-long event), the girls met to see the musical,

Having never seen it before nor ever watching the movie (yes, I must live under a rock), I thoroughly enjoyed it. What made it even better was that it was performed at the Fabulous Fox Theatre.

Probably the biggest downfall of the day, the amount of time it took for all 12 of us to meet and actually make it to our seats. (we were late as per usual)
I don't know if I'm not as high-maintenance as I previously thought or if my friends are just that much more high-maintenance than me but when I'm told that everyone is supposed to meet at a place at 12:30 so that they can make it to their final destination at 1 pm, I would definitely try to stick to my deadline. (This coming from a girl who's biggest pet peeve is lateness and thinks time management is a valuable and essential asset for any person to have.)

I drove myself separately and even had an errand to run beforehand and still made it to the parking lot by 1 pm. My friends...umm yeah, they called at 1:15 saying that it would take them 15 more minutes and finally at 1:52 pm, 9 of them met me out in front of the theatre. We waited 5 more minutes for the last 2 girls and then the potty stops started. Needless to say, we didn't make it up to the balcony until 2:15 and then had to inconvenience others to get to our seats for a show that started promptly at 2 pm. Ugh!
Thank goodness I was kept occupied with texting during my hour long wait, otherwise I probably would have been even more irritated by the time we made it into the Fox.

I knew better than to go to dinner after the show as I had somewhere else to be by 6:15 pm and didn't want to go through the same craziness or be late for my other plans. So, I rushed to my car and tried to dodge as much of the traffic out of the city as I could. I made it in plenty of time for event 2 and even had a few minutes to spare. The rest of my evening was great and probably once of the best nights I've had in months. :)

Today, well, what can I say about today? It's been an alright day. I'm not really looking forward to going back to work tomorrow morning and I think that's what has me a bit down.
It will be a busy week once again since we have month-end on Friday and to top it off, after nearly 5 years without backups for any of the Accounting/Billing/Payroll positions, our bosses decided last Friday to start cross-training for our departments this week. Yes, you read that right, the employees in our department have not had backups since our corporate headquarters moved to St. Louis 5 years ago.
My position, not-so-much this week (or probably any other week in the next few months), but everyone else will have one other employee start learning a new job so that people can finally start taking multiple days off or even week-long vacations. Because of the confidentiality and sensitive nature of both my Accounting job and HR role, my duties will be spread amongst numerous employees. I get to find the time to meet with a few people and teach them specifics about what I do. Honestly, I think it will just be easier if I never take off of work when its not a Federal holiday but that doesn't work so well when you have 3 weeks of vacation and 6 PTO days to use in one year. So, we will see what happens...
I did make it known in our meeting that I won't answer work phone calls in Vegas again this summer. Of course that probably has more to do with the fact that we don't have a Vegas trip planned and not the fact that it's work calling and checking in on something random.

Wow...seems like I'm all full of complaints tonight. I'll try to have a more positive and upbeat attitude for the next update.
Hope you have a good week!

My Valentine's Gift

No matter how many times I'm an idiot, there is one person that will always make me realize that I'm a truly special and much loved person.

Tonight was again one of those nights where I was a complete moron and that person fixed me and made sense of the mess I created. I don't know why I deserve someone like this but I'm thanking my lucky stars that I do.

Now if only I could remember how to stop being so stupid...

This just in...

from NASCAR.com news.

CONGRATULATIONS

Jamie McMurray

ON YOUR 2010 DAYTONA 500 WIN!

Jamie McMurray wins the 52nd running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway!

Big WOO HOOs coming from me! I was rooting for him all race long!! Good job Jamie!

You Give Love A Bad Name!

I could have started off this post with Shot Through The Heart or I'm a Cowboy, on a Steel Horse I Ride or She's A Little Runaway or any other Bon Jovi lyric, but that didn't seem as fun and even though this news is unrelated to Valentine's Day, it's extremely exciting!
So here's a little riddle for you. It's the same riddle Rosemary and I presented to Coco on her birthday this past Wednesday.

What could be better than rocking out to Bon Jovi while driving into another day at work?

How about...
Rocking out to Bon Jovi LIVE in Chicago on July 30th?

That's right...7 girlfriends are going to see Bon Jovi in concert in Chicago!!
Coco was extremely excited that we surprised her with the trip to see her absolute favorite band and Rosemary and I are so excited that we were able to pull off one great birthday present for one very special friend! We're definitely looking forward to the concert and the girls trip! Coco and I have been reminiscing about our last trip to Chicago to see Bon Jovi in concert and we have laughed like crazy about the antics of that weekend....I can only imagine that it will be that and more with this group.

In other news, I finally have a day off from work tomorrow! After not taking an actual day off since our little mandatory vacation stint back in July, I'm ready for a real day of enjoying myself and trying to regain some sanity from the year-end grind and new year bedlam I've been put through the last 3 months. It actually should be a good day off too, since it's a Federal holiday and there is not much that needs to be done for my job. Tuesday will be crazy, but at least I should be somewhat rested to deal with that.
I don't have much planned for my day off though. I decided to take care of all of my household responsibilities on Saturday so that I could enjoy the next two days off with little to do. I've got to take my car in for brakes and an oil change and I've got an appointment to complete 2 sets of taxes for my friends tomorrow night, but the rest of the day will hopefully be carefree and very enjoyable.

Finally, I want to say thanks to two of my favorite cousins, Nicole and Emily, who at 7:30 this morning, sent me the cutest text message for Valentine's Day.

Thanks girls for brightening my Valentine's Day. You two are awesome and I hope you have a fun day.
While I think you should show those special people in your life, how much they mean to you every day, it's also nice to show some extra love today. I know I'm truly grateful for those that stick by me through thick and thin. :)

I'm going to go enjoy the rest of the Daytona 500 (go McMurray!) and take it easy. Hope you have a great rest of the weekend! Catch ya later!!

A fun game and a weekend update

If you have a few spare minutes and you're looking for something fun and silly to do, then I have the solution for you:
Go to urbandictionary.com, type your first name in the search box and figure out the definition of you! Here's mine,
Lindsay --
1.) a girl who is hotter than the flames of hell
2.) the marvelous and mysterious temptress from the land of eternal joy
3.) a girl who is smarter than Albert Einstein but as gorgeous as Helen of Troy (you know, the one whose beauty started the epic war)
4.) this girl is in no way affiliated with Lindsay Lohan. Lohan simply stole this girl's name.

Hilarious!!! I'm definitely gonna pass this on!

As for the big birthday weekend, well to put it mildly, it was the best birthday anyone could ever ask for!!! I had so much fun and felt so relieved that everyone seemed to enjoy themselves! My Bro is quite possibly the greatest brother in the world too. He made me laugh and cry and most of all, realize that in spite of history, one night can make a difference and I had a fantastic night singing and dancing and just having fun! I'm extremely thankful that he made my night as special as he did. I will remember the sacrifices he made and will be eternally grateful to him! Thanks again Bro!

Earlier in the day, the girls and I got to experience our "cardio ballet" class as they referred to it and let me tell you, that was harder work than I expected. Even working out the 3 or 4 days a week that I do, I worked muscles that I don't usually think about and was able to learn a fun chair/lap dance routine. (Now, if I could only remember the whole thing! My new age is getting to my memory already! Ha!!) The instructor was great and she really made us feel like sexy, spunky chicks. I would totally love to take those classes on a regular basis!! Oh and if you're wondering, yes, I got to try out the pole too!

After class, Coco and Rosemary took me to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch. Lunch was great; however, if you know me, you also know that one of my pet peeves is having attention called to you when you are out on your birthday, meaning I absolutely hate when they bring the waiters over to sing. It's been a sticking point with me ever since I was little and they used to sing when we went to the Olive Garden or anywhere else for a birthday dinner. Well, Coco decided to tell the waitress that it was my birthday and what happens....they bring out a little ice cream sundae with a candle in it and sing to me. Ugh!! No matter how less shy I am now to when I was when I was younger, I still despise the singing thing....but I sat there and didn't crawl under the table and then ate the deliciousness they brought as my "reward" for not running away. :)

This week, it was back to the grindstone at work. Monday and Tuesday passed in a blur since it was the first two days of the month and their is so much to do to start the month off on the right foot and finally today, things started going a bit smoother. I'm hoping I get through the next 2 days at work with very few problems....we'll see what pops up tomorrow and then I'll figure out what's going on for the weekend.

Take it easy and enjoy your night!

And the fun continues....

Besides the little hiccup (ok, really it was a disaster for about an hour causing me to have a mini-meltdown and forcing me to switch my evening plans around a bit because I couldn't leave when I needed to) when I was trying to close the books and finish month-end, my birthday was spectacular!
Coco was amazingly thoughtful as usual and brought me the cutest bouquet of silk flowers and mini marshmallows (because I'm addicted to them) and ice cream in for the office. Most of my co-workers were so sweet with all of the nice birthday wishes and I got to go out to lunch to one of my favorites, Bellacino's, with the most awesome people I know. I felt on top of the world knowing how many great people care about me and wanted to make my day special.

And in spite of my problems when I was trying to leave work last night, making me think that my night was completely ruined, I had ONE AMAZING NIGHT. I got exactly what I asked for....dinner and a night with him and I could not be happier right now. It is truly the highlight of my entire weekend and the weekend has barely started.

In a bit, Coco and Rosemary are coming to pick me up for our pole dancing class and for a girls day of fun. When I'm with those two, you never know what silliness will happen. I'm sure I'll spend my day laughing like crazy, especially since we're "experimenting" with pole dancing and when we're doing normal stuff it's usually a riot. I'm already well aware that my cheeks will hurt by this afternoon from all of the giggling.

Then tonight is dinner and dancing with my family and friends. I made the reservations for dinner yesterday afternoon and I can't believe it, we have 18 people coming to dinner! WOW! It should be fun and I can't wait to see everyone.

Stay warm and have a fabulous weekend!

Twenty-seven

The day is here....
I have to be honest, I never imagined myself at this age. As a girl, teen and young adult, I never thought past my 21st birthday and 27 seemed completely out of reach. Now I'm here and wondering what the heck I did with the last 27 years of my life and if the next 27 will pass like the former have. But enough of the deep thinking...I'm going to enjoy my day and my weekend and celebrate like I'm 21.

Happy Friday! Hope you have a great day as well!

My Wish List....

If anyone is looking for birthday gift ideas for me, I thought I'd help you out and show you a few of my favorites right now. Feel free to pick up any of these and if you want, guess which one I got for myself:
Lovely Victoria's Secret little black dress that I'm completely crazy about.

Thigh high boots, also from Victoria's Secret used to complete my little black dress ensemble.
A set of dumbells so that I can work out at home and not feel guilty when I can't put in the time at the gym.

Concert tickets to see my favorite band Shinedown.



Concert tickets to see my second favorite band and probably my biggest rockstar crush, BonJovi.

And probably the easiest and most special gifts that would mean the world to me right now, even though I've been a complete butthead lately....
Dinner with him....

I know I'm asking for a lot right now, but really the last one is the most important and would make my birthday complete. We'll see if my big wish comes true...

If you couldn't figure it out, I have already purchased the tickets to see Shinedown when they come to town with Nickelback in April. I'm excited to get to see them and I hope that they are as good live as they are when I sing all of their music in my car. It should also be a good night for other reasons, but I'm not getting my hopes up for that just yet....I'll find a way to have fun no matter what though, even if it's not exactly how I imagined it.

4 days until the BIG day and I'm just ready for it to get here already.

27 Here I Come!!

The plans have been made, the invitations have been sent and for the first time in as many years as I can remember, I'm truly looking forward to this week and the birthday extravaganzas that will take place on Friday and Saturday. Even if no one else shows up, I know I will have a blast because I'm spending my birthday doing the things I want to do. (BTW, I know I won't be alone, I'm just happy that I stopped worrying and finally made decisions that please me.)

My actual birthday is Friday and while it's also the last working day of the month, thus making it month-end closing day, I plan on making the most of my day in the office. If it means me doing something silly, then so be it. I'm hoping to get out of the office on time at the latest, but I'm pushing to get out a bit early, if at all possible. Friday night I hope to have GRAND plans, but that's yet to be determined. If I do, I will be a very lucky girl!! If I don't, well it's no big deal really, sometimes it's nice just to have a relaxing night in. :)

Saturday is an entire day full of fun. "Coco" (M's new nickname) and "Rosemary" are meeting me in the morning for our bucket list experience. While I've been a bit hesitant to say what that experience is, I guess I will finally come clean. There is a women's fitness center in town that offers pole dancing lessons as a part of a fun cardio workout. I decided earlier in the month why not give it a try and who better to enlist than two of my closest friends to join me. It's just something fun to say that I've gotten to experience in my lifetime while also getting in a good workout! No need to worry, I'm not taking up a new career. Well, unless I find out I'm really good. jk! ha!

Saturday night, I've got dinner plans with both sides of my family and then a night of listening to a modern rock cover band and dancing in the bar. Probably the most exciting part of this is that just about all of my family is coming to dinner -- my Bro, Dad, Mom, Step-Dad, Grandma, Aunt, Uncle and 4 cousins, and even 2 more cousins, along with numerous friends. Yes, I know everyone has their differences, but I feel extremely special that everyone is willing to put that aside for me. I'm also looking forward to getting to party with my Bro and our friends after dinner. He's an absolute hoot to hang out with and I'm so glad he's coming to have some fun with me and celebrate turning another year older. I can't think of a much better way to spend my Saturday night.

Like everyone continues to tell me, I'm in the prime of my life. This is a time where I should be having fun and enjoying all that life has to offer, not worrying about the little things that I do not have control over. I'm getting there....it's taken awhile, but I'm learning and I think it will pay off and make me a much more delightful person in the meantime.

I'm sure I'll have plenty of funny stories from my adventures later in the week and who knows, maybe even a few pictures to post.

Hope you have a great week as well!!

My 27th year....the best one yet?

In 23 short days I will turn 27. With this, I've been trying to think of activities and fun things to make my 27th year my greatest yet, so I've started a "bucket list" for the year. The first item on my list will be completed on January 30th with two of my best girlfriends. It's something I've thought about in years past but never made the move to make it happen. This year, it's booked and I'm ready for some fun! One item thought of and it's just about completed. I guess I'm gonna have to work on the other items I want to accomplish in the next 365 days.

I'm looking forward to this year....

P.S. I'll explain more later!

Happy New Year!

While I didn't spend the last night of 2009 exactly the way I wanted to, I did have a great time out with my friends. Thanks girls for keeping me company!

I learned a lot in one year's time. It was a rough year that tested my patience, my emotions, my strength and my faith but most of all I learned to be a better person through all of it. I learned that I'm not the only person in this world and while I'm no where close to perfect, I am trying to perfect the image I present to the world. I made changes in my life that may not have always been clear cut but as I move forward in my life, I am content with the direction I'm going. 2010 is another chance for me to define the path I'm taking.

I wish you all the best in 2010.