Lunch with the work fam

As my family, loyal readers, close friends and even the girls at work know, I'm obsessed with Food Network and really any food program (think: Top Chef, Hells Kitchen, Masterchef, even Man v. Food, etc) on tv.  You will find my television tuned into these more than anything else on any channel.  I'll even watch repeat episodes of my favorite shows if that is the only appealing thing on tv at the time.  Like I told the cable guy who hooked up my service a few weeks ago, I really don't need an updated channel guide unless they moved Food Network, Bravo, Travel Channel or the locals stations, which being on the basic tier, it's highly unlikely these channels will change.
Today we took B. Dilly out to lunch for her birthday.  I'm not exactly sure how the side conversation with D. Rob turned from JP's weekend bachelor party trip to Memphis to cooking competitions on television, but I then decided to have a 15 minute exchange with him about all of the great food shows on various networks.  And I gave him a rundown of places in St. Louis where hosts such as Guy Fieri, Adam Richman and Alton Brown have visited on their respective shows.  I know I probably freaked him out with the knowledge of food shows on the tip of my tongue and then as if I couldn't get any more geeked out, I told him about all of the times Broccoli and I held Iron Chef and Chopped competitions in my little galley kitchen and even winning the 1st Iron Chef Battle Pineapple competition against Michael.  Ironically, the main dish I made for that competition was the same dish I had for lunch at TGI Friday's today -- dragonfire chicken. 
I'm pretty sure after today's lunch he won't choose to sit next to me at our next work family outing.  Ooops!  Although I did enlighten him on the BBQ Championships at Memphis in May this after he told me about his uncle's Ribfest a few weekends ago so maybe he'll give me a pass for now.

Checklist to 30

With B. Dilly turning 30 tomorrow and nearly all of my friends hitting 30 within the next year or so, and not to mention my 30th birthday being less than 6 months away, I started thinking about this milestone.
Years ago Glamour magazine and contributor and author Pamela Redmond Satran published the article, 30 Things Every Woman Should Have and Should Know by the Time She's 30 and just for giggles I thought I'd review the list and see how many of these things I do already  know and have done and how many more I should actually think about doing before January 29, 2013 rolls around.  I linked the article above if you want to read the entire thing.  But here's my take on Satran's list:

By 30, you should have:

1. One old boyfriend you can imagine going back to and one who reminds you of how far you’ve come. (Up until Broccoli, I can definitely see how far I've come in the dating world, Broccoli would be the exception and the one and only guy I would definitely go back to if it was at all possible.  He brought me confidence and pushed me to realize its ok to be the person I truly wanted to be.)
2. A decent piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in your family.  (I can proudly say I bought my own loveseat and couch when I moved into my first apartment and I still have it to this day and I've spent many nights snoozing on both.)
3. Something perfect to wear if the employer or man of your dreams wants to see you in an hour.  (Of course, not the same outfit but I have multiple outfits ready to go for the right occasion.  This is the one time by super organizational skills and my ability "to always be ready for whatever" comes in handy.)
4. A purse, a suitcase and an umbrella you’re not ashamed to be seen carrying.  (Yep, I'm fairly conservative in this aspect of my life so you won't find any standard accessory too crazy.)
5. A youth you’re content to move beyond.  (I think so and to be completely honest, I feel I've gotten smarter, more confident and more social as I've gotten older.)
6. A past juicy enough that you’re looking forward to retelling it in your old age.  (Hehe.  I might bypass over exact details, but yes.)
7. The realization that you are actually going to have an old age—and some money set aside to help fund it.  (This has really hit in the last few months and I've started looking into my retirement financials a bit closer.  As a result, I've had numerous meetings with financial reps & insurance agents.)
8. An e-mail address, a voice mailbox and a bank account—all of which nobody has access to but you.  (I've always maintained this.  I'm just that kind of independent chick and no, I'm not hiding anything by doing so.)
9. A résumé that is not even the slightest bit padded.  (I've been lucky to have numerous experiences in all of my "Accounting" jobs that none of my resume has to be padded.  I'm also crazy for doing all of the duties in my previous positions, but I like to work and I love to learn so "Accounting" turned into a multi-functional word.)
10. One friend who always makes you laugh and one who lets you cry.  (I'm lucky to have a great best friend and brother that lets me do both and I'm very grateful that they never judge me when I need a pick-me-up or a good cry.)
11. A set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill and a black lace bra.  (Yes, no and no.  Gotta work on this one!)
12. Something ridiculously expensive that you bought for yourself, just because you deserve it.  (I'm extremely conservative with my money as just about anyone close to me will tell you.  This may be something for me to work on but I'm definitely a "saver.")
13. The belief that you deserve it.  (There are a lot of things I think I deserve, but very few that come without hard work.  I continue to bust my rear to get the things I want from life.)
14. A skin-care regimen, an exercise routine and a plan for dealing with those few other facets of life that don’t get better after 30.  (Skin care, somewhat, probably should pay more attention to it though; exercise routine, you know it, the gym is my second home!; a plan, in the past few months, I've been able to come to grips with this better and I think that is also under control too.)
15. A solid start on a satisfying career, a satisfying relationship and all those other facets of life that do get better.  (I'm definitely on the right path with my career, the relationship factor is on hold and nearly all other aspects of my life have seemed to fall into place in the last couple of months - new place, new car, new job, new friends and a life I truly enjoy.)

By 30, you should know:

1. How to fall in love without losing yourself.  (After seeing places where I failed in my relationship with Broccoli early on, I do know it is ok to be me and I can still be loved unconditionally.) 
2. How you feel about having kids.  (Yes, this has been figured out loud and clear and while I adore kids, I will not be having my own.)
3. How to quit a job, break up with a man and confront a friend without ruining the friendship.  (Yes!!  Yes! and something I need to work on.  The trust factor gets in the way for me.  We may still be friends but I"m not sure we will be as good of friends.  I'm extremely loyal, I expect my friends to be the same, you break that, I just may have to reconsider that friendship.)
4. When to try harder and when to walk away.  (This is just something I have figured out after years of trying and trying and working to fix everything and driving myself insane, I now realize its ok to walk away.)
5. How to kiss in a way that communicates perfectly what you would and wouldn’t like to happen next.  (I would like to hope so!  But I'm not going around and just kissing people now days.)
6. The names of: the secretary of state, your great-grandmother and the best tailor in town.  (Hillary Rodham Clinton; Dorothy, Mabel, Mildred & Edna; I've only been to one but my dress was gorgeous, I'd go back!)
7. How to live alone, even if you don’t like to.  (Every day for the last 7+ years.)
8. How to take control of your own birthday.  (Yep, I believe I have this under wraps.)
9. That you can’t change the length of your calves, the width of your hips or the nature of your parents.  (Calves I'm ok with, really wish my hips would shrink (LOL), and my parents have been nearly the same way for the 29.5+ years I have known them.)
10. That your childhood may not have been perfect, but it’s over.  (Yes, and thank goodness I don't have to relive it!)
11. What you would and wouldn’t do for money or love.  (I'm very clear about what I would and wouldn't do for both!)
12. That nobody gets away with smoking, drinking, doing drugs or not flossing for very long.  (No smoking or drugs here, very little drinking since I'm a lightweight anyway and I'm getting better with the flossing.)
13. Who you can trust, who you can’t and why you shouldn’t take it personally.  (I used to trust everyone, then I trusted no one, and finally I've figured out the select few I can trust with my life.)
14. Not to apologize for something that isn’t your fault.  (I'm trying, I'm trying, but so many things have been my fault for so long.  It's automatic to apologize, I'm sorry, I'll get better!)
15. Why they say life begins at 30.  (We shall soon find out!)

So, there is my benchmark for heading to 30.  I better get cracking on the pending items.  The last 5 months have flown by at an unbelievable pace and the next 5 will be here before I know it!

Official resident

Earlier this afternoon, I tweeted this:
I think I'm 1 of the only girls I know that would put my own license plates on my car. I know I'm the only 1 to do it in a skirt & wedges!

And with that, the last piece of my move is complete!  I surrendered my new(er) Missouri license, aced my driving test (written and vision only), and retitled & registered my car.  Feels good to have everything complete and nothing more lingering overhead to handle by one of the many deadlines put forth.  And it was relatively painless, less the $224 it cost to transfer everything.  (On a positive note, at least I'm not paying Missouri's Personal Property tax on my new car this year.  That would have cost me a boatload more!)

After handling all that first thing this morning, I went to visit Dad at work and proudly show off my new license.  He knew there was a good possibility I would be stopping by this morning since he works just a few blocks away and when I hit the door and he spotted me, he was already waving and smiling from ear to ear.  Besides me being happier being in my new place, Dad has been ecstatic.  I don't see him much during the week since our schedules collide but on the weekends I've had more of an opportunity to pop in and catch up with him.  Today he took me around and introduced me to more of his co-workers (I meet new people every time I stop by) and they all tell me how much my Dad talks about me and how nice it is to finally meet me and how happy he is to have me closer.  It's kinda funny to me since I really didn't think Dad would really care that much when I made the decision to move.  (Not in a bad way, Dad always wants Bro and I to do things that make us successful and happy and has sacrificed a lot to see that through.)
In any case,  it was nice to get to stop in before I had to make my way over to get my oil change and take care of some other weekend shopping errands.

Tomorrow, Mom and Michael will be coming over for Sunday afternoon dinner and birthday cake as we celebrate Mom's birthday.  The cake is baked, the dinner menu is planned, food is prepped and my condo is cleaned, all that's left is actual cooking their visit.  Looking forward to showing off the new digs now that I'm settled in.

Finally the last of the day's events include getting my refund from my insurance company since my rates decreased dramatically.  It was super nice to see a check for $118 in my mailbox this afternoon.  That's definitely going to be put to good use!  And all in all, this has been another great Saturday!

One blink and its August 7th

It's been super crazy here again and even though I'm settled at the new place, it still feels like there is so much to do to paperwork-wise to officially make this my new home.  To top it off, last week was month-end and we all know that for at least 2 days I'm in full work mode from the time I wake up until the time I finally make it home and lay my head on my pillow.  July month-end was no different from any other month but at least we didn't have computer or network issues for this close.
As for paperwork with the move, nearly everything is changed to my new address.  I did swing by my old place to check the mailbox one more time and found that not everything has been forwarded as requested.  Of all things, one of my credit cards sent a letter notifying me that an address change had been requested.  Hmm, might be a bit smarter to send this to the new address rather than the old if you're not going to put Address Service Requested on your mailing.  I still need to visit the DMV and take care of my car and my driver's license and then everything has been switched over.  I'm hoping to find the time to do that this weekend, among other things like an oil change, finding my Mom a birthday present and normal weekend errands.
Speaking of birthdays, Mom and B. Dilly share the same birthday (August 13th).  While I'm going to be nice to Mom by making her a cake and hopefully visiting with her this weekend, we're having a little fun at work on Monday for B. Dilly.  She's one of the first in our group to turn 30 and KP and I went all out a few weeks ago and bought a lot of crazy decorations for her desk and our area (bring on pin the crown on the princess!)  and we're having a really fun cake made for her big day.  Our entire group is excited for Monday and that's saying a lot since it is still a Monday!

No swimming necessary

The move has become a huge part of conversation lately.  Yesterday afternoon while at work, I was talking to one of my work group friends, D.Rob, about my move and he was asking the whereabouts of my condo in town.  Originally he's from Michigan but he has friends in the area and has spent time hanging out over here since he started working for our company.  And actually, he was extremely helpful in telling me fun places around town.
 
In any case, our conversation went a little something like this,
D. Rob:  Do you know where the water tower is in town?
Me: Yep, I'm about two blocks down the street from it.
D. Rob:  Oh then you're not that far away at all.
Me:  Nope, not really.  My commute actually got much easier by moving where I am even being the same distance away from work as before.

Fast forward to last night and the conversation that I had with my mom...
Mom:  Yeah, we would have asked you to watch Oreo and the cats while we're out of town but you're so far away over that river.

I'm the same distance away from her house as I am from work as I was in my previous apartment and yet, now because there is a river separating our houses, I'm sooooo far away.  I could understand me not watching them because of my crazy work schedule with month-end next week, but really her explanation is the river?  It's not like I have to swim to get to her house.  Believe it or not, I'm finishing up my first week in my new place and I've not had to swim to work once!

In other great news because I moved, my car insurance is being cut in half.  I would have written a post about this last night but I was too busy dancing around my condo.  It's looking to be a $600 savings this year.  Woooooo weeeee!!

A normal Sunday

My 2nd day in my new digs and I actually got to enjoy it!  I made a trip to Kohls to spend the Kohls cash I earned earlier in the week and bought a toothbrush holder for my bathroom and then made a stop for groceries since I had depleted my cabinets and fridge as much as I could before the move so I didn't have so much food to transport.  I whipped up my lunches for the week and even cooked a dinner for the next couple of nights.
I updated my address on nearly every account I have open and even did another load of laundry (not missing the laundromat for sure!) and finally, decided to work on a plan for the week ahead.  Overall, I'm getting into my new groove and learning more about my new surroundings.

The only hiccup in my day?  The 30 minutes it took me to get to the gym early this morning.  It should have been a 10 minute drive but I got lost.  Yes, I did visit my new location a few weeks ago and had no problems.  However this morning, I had a complete brain freeze as I drove down the highway that connects my condo complex to the main artery the gym is on and turned around twice as I couldn't find the road I needed to turn onto.  (Duh, you didn't go far enough dummy!)  I didn't freak out but I was getting a bit irritated that I couldn't remember any of the common businesses on the corners.  (Who can't remember Walgreens?  Really?!?)  I drove a bit further and then passed up the road I needed.  When I finally got there, I felt like I accomplished a huge feat and my workout hadn't even started.  And everything was 100% better when I walked in and heard one of my favorite songs ever being piped through the gym.

At home

After hours of packing, loading, unloading and unpacking, I survived the "Big Move of 2012."  I'm sitting in my new put together living room entertained by my ability to watch Food Network and blog and relax after a crazy day.  I'm so grateful and appreciative of all of the help from my family today and all of the support from my friends who called, texted and kept me sane when I wanted to fold from the anxiety of creating my new home.  With about 98% of everything unpacked and put away, I'm planning on enjoying my Sunday and trying to have a "normal" day in my new surroundings.
I can tell you, even after only 10 hours I'm in love with this place and feel at home already.  I even have my first load of laundry in my washer!

Just your typical city slicker

This morning as I was walking into work I realized I've become one of those downtown employees: 
- I wear heels and business clothes nearly every single day and on casual day I still usually wear some sort of heel. 
- I park in a public garage a block or so away from the office and then walk to our building and through the huge lobby to my set of elevators. 
- Many days we leave at lunch whether its walk to one of the many restaurants or Culinaria (the downtown grocery store) or just to walk to the Arch for exercise. 
- And while it's not been 4 full months yet, I carry a bag with me every single day into the office.  In that bag, I always carry an umbrella, a pair of flip flops with me and most days I have my tennis shoes and socks. 

Today it became obvious to me -- I've morphed into the typical downtown worker, always on foot and armed with the necessities. 
(Go ahead...make fun of me rocking my Reeboks and a classic pencil skirt!)

Boxes, boxes & more boxes

I'm living in a sea of boxes but luckily on Saturday, the moving festivities begin!
Right now it just looks like I really love apples....Jazz, Empire, Washington Red & Golden Delicious, New Zealand Galas, Jonagolds & even Granny Smiths.  (Really though, thanks Dad for all the boxes!)

My bedroom looks the same but I didn't get pics in there.  I spent much of this weekend packing up the last little bit and now I'm pretty much living out of a suitcase until the big move happens.  Tuesday afternoon I'm headed to pay my water deposit and pick up my keys and then the fun begins next weekend.  Overall, I think I'm ready.  I'm excited and a bit nervous but mostly I'm hoping everything works out with little to no problems.  Let's get this new adventure underway...

Checked off the list

I called Charter tonight to transfer my services to the new place starting next weekend.  The rep was super helpful and did not push me to accept anything more than what services I already have through them unlike numerous times in the past when I've received calls for phone service and finally I got pretty ticked off and finally told them to put me on a do not call list. 
Luckily with the move, I'm doubling my internet speed (30 Mbps!) and getting a few more channels with my current cable service for less than what I'm paying now.  (Woo hoo!  Saving money at its finest!!)  He did explain the next tier just so I knew what my options were and then explained some of the shows on the additional premium channels (popular shows I'm guessing).  I have two reasons for not upgrading my cable but I only gave him one -- I work a lot right now and haven't found extra time to watch much tv.  He understood and we went forward with the service transfer. 
My other reason, which I will divulge to you, when I do have my tv on, its pretty much stuck on 2 channels (Food Network or Bravo).  Yes, I'm that lame....cooking shows and crazy reality tv.

In related news, SiriusXM Radio keeps calling me about renewing my subscription and finally after receiving multiple calls today and probably 8 calls since my free trial ended about a month ago, I told the last telemarketer she could shove that service where the sun don't shine.  I'm not sure how hard it is to put a note in their system when I give them the same reason every single time they call me....no, I'm fine with regular broadcast radio or my IPod, I don't use the satellite radio in my car.  I used it once during the 3 month trial period and wasn't that impressed.  When I told the first girl earlier today I was not interested she blatantly hung up on me.  When the second call came through when I left work just a few hours later, I was irritated and I let the second telemarketer get the same sort of courtesy the first rep gave me today.  The added aggravation did fuel my evening cardio workout though!

Ready for the holiday

After a crazy 15 hour day yesterday and a rocky start to the work week with our systems being down all weekend, I'm happy to report that I made it through month-end and got both of my companies closed late last night.  And, I was so elated by the time it was all finished that I couldn't wind down for quite awhile once I did get home...not good on a Monday night when I have to get up early for work the next morning.
But, the great thing about working as hard as we did to close in 1 day and also handling as much as we did while our boss was on vacation last week was that we were rewarded today by getting a few extra hours off and we have a few other perks coming later this week.  It's definitely nice to know that everything was appreciated and I'm even more appreciative to have tomorrow off for the 4th of July.  My plan is to catch up on some much needed sleep and get some much needed workout time in at the gym.

As for the rest of the happenings from today, JP labeled me the "Voice of Reason" at work.  I'm assuming that's a good thing as I seem to be the one always holding some middle ground in our Sales and Logistics group. I'm also assuming that most of my close friends that have known me for any length of time would deny that fact.  Somehow I'm feeling the words "worry wort," "demanding," "high maintenance," and "majorly Type A" would be their replacement labels for me.

And because I'm still so super excited, the countdown rolls on -- 14 days from today, I get the keys to my new place!  Woo woo!!

Enjoy your middle of the week holiday!!

Well that didn't go as expected

Normally if you'd ask me what's going on in Beckley, WV, I wouldn't have a clue nor would I be really concerned about it.  Today I'm online reading the news from WVNSTV and checking the AEP website for outage updates.  Apparently there were bad storms in Beckley and the much of the rest of the state on Friday night.  So bad we have no connections to our servers, including our ever important email in our office in St. Louis and throughout the rest of our company sites.  It made for a rough morning trying to get things updated so that we can complete month-end by the close of business tomorrow and rather than working all day so that tomorrow is calm for month-end, we were only able to work a few hours doing non-system related tasks.  The good news is that I've been told our group is working to buy and install a generator so that we can at least be up and running tomorrow, but I'm not as positive as I was at the end of last week that this month-end and quarter-end is going to go as planned.
Most importantly, tonight I'm left with trying to figure out my schedule for Monday...get up extra early and head in or go in normal time and work extra late?  The one thing I know for sure right now is that I'm a ball of nerves hoping I get everything done. 
And because I'm way too worrisome for my own good most of the time, I did write out my plan for everything that needs to get done system-wise tomorrow so at least I won't forget everything still pending.

Braving the Heat

 
"We're having a heat wave....a tropical heat wave."  -- Grumpy Old Men version

Over and over I'm singing that to myself and while STL may not be anywhere close to the tropics nor is this  heat tropical.  Those two pics above sum up summer in St. Louis so far.  We've had 2 days of over 100 degree weather so far and at least another week of this craziness is on tap!  I was shocked to see the 111*F on my car dash yesterday on the ride home and tonight the gage read 106*F.  And while I've never really been one to complain about how warm it is and usually I'm one that enjoys the heat but after walking to grab lunch with my work fam the last few days, I can say I definitely agree, it's oppressively hot out there!!

Tomorrow I'm braving that afternoon sauna and attending the Cards-Pirates game with my Bro.  Really though, the only way you could find me catching the game in this heat is with these seats...in the air-conditioned and fully catered area of the ballpark known as The Champions Club.  I was super lucky to get the tickets from work and I decided why not turn it into another installment of Sibling Saturday, so off to Busch Stadium we go!  I'm excited for the game and spending time with my Bro while Ryan is ready for the unlimited nachos, hotdogs and beverages.  (Baseball has never really been his game, but he's a trooper for his Sis!  Thanks Bro!!)  Definitely looking forward to a great summer afternoon and I'm just hoping I don't melt on the 2 block walk from the parking garage to the stadium gates!

Hope you're staying cool out there!

Moving update

One month and counting until moving day, but it's becoming quite apparent why I've lived here for 7 years....I'm not a fan of packing.  I've started with the parts of my apartment I know I can live without for the next 30 days and I've also started a pile for things I'm planning on donating to Goodwill.  The boxes are starting to pile up and I'm getting close to the point where I can build a fort in my living room.  It may seem odd to be focusing on so much so early but with having to work next weekend to complete month-end by the following Monday morning and then not really knowing what is on tap for the 3 weeks, I figured I'd better get a move on it.
My goal is to be completely moved out on the Saturday of moving weekend and unpacking at the new place in the afternoon and the next day.  I made a trip to my new gym location last Friday night and found myself at home in the facility.  I think it will fit much better into my routine than my current situation since I'm driving out of the way to the only location that is reasonably close to my apartment right now (it was only a few minutes from my last two jobs, now I'm going in the opposite direction).
I'm nearly ready to get this show on the road....not that I'm wishing my summer away but the anticipation of the new place is killing me!

As for the rest of this week, Dad, Bro and I are hitting the concert scene Friday night.  REO Speedwagon, Styx and Ted Nugent are coming to town and Bro and I thought it would be fun to treat Dad to a night out.  Then more packing, packing, packing and hopefully a few minutes to chill.  I feel like I've been going a mile a minute for weeks.

To all the dads...

Happy Father's Day to all the awesome dads out there, including my own Dad and Step-Dad who I would be lost without!
I'm taking the weekend off from packing and spending the time celebrating with them and showing each one how much they mean to me.  And for all the times I've not been so sweet, I'm working to redeem myself by baking each one a sweet treat...for Dad I made a homemade carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and for Michael a orange jello poke cake with whipped cream topping. 
I'm thankful that both of them have always been there for support, guidance and to help me with just about any crazy idea I have where I need "Dad assistance."

I hope all of the dads out there, including mine enjoy their day to the fullest!

2012, the year of change

Remember that exciting event in the works?  It's official now and I can finally let you in on my little secret.  After living in the same place for 7 years, I've decided its time to move on.  That's right, come late July/early August, I'll be moving into a condo (still renting because of my fear of a long-term commitment!) out of the 'hood I'm currently in and closer to my family.

My Dad is completely thrilled as are my Bro, Aunt and Uncle and Nicole, but it's taking some time to get my Mom and Michael to come around with this change.  I think Mom is fearing I'll never come to visit even though I'll be living the same distance away from her as I am now (so not true!) and pretty much she has this idea that I'm moving to a foreign land.  My Dad and his side of the family see that I will be only about a third of the distance away from them as I am now and are happy that I'm going to be closer.  Rather than the 50 minutes it usually takes to drive for a visit, I'll be 20 minutes away and on top of it, I'm only a few minutes from Dad's work.

For me, I'm excited to have another change of scenery along with a bigger place in a quiet, park-like setting.  This move is a little bittersweet for me though too.  This apartment is the first place I rented on my own after graduating college.  I have a lot of memories from all of my time here, from moving day back in August 2005 and Bro mowing down one of his friends while they were bringing in my furniture, to showing off my really neat shower curtain to my friends right after moving in (inside joke), to girls' weekends with Nicole, to the cooking competitions in my tiny galley kitchen with Broccoli to the family dinners and fun times I've had with everyone who has visited me.  And while I know I'm able to continue these types of memories in my new place, I just don't want to forget some of the best times in my early adult life.  The other great things the new place offers is more space (100 sq ft more!), a washer and dryer (no more laundromat!  woo hoo!), a bigger kitchen (more culinary experiments!) and a fireplace (ambiance and coziness!) and luckily, my commute time to work and the gym (a new location, but another in the chain) is virtually unchanged.

I'm still working on the logistics for planning my moving day.  Right now, I'm thinking late July just so I have time to get things moved and situated the way I want before turning the keys in for my current place.  Plus, I have to coordinate my moving efforts with all of the fine fellas that are going to help me.  Bro and his roommate are going to round up the boys to get me moved and I have to find a time that will work for them.  I'm definitely grateful for the amount of support and help everyone is offering.

Besides the actual move, I'm just left packing up 7 years worth of my life and changing my address on everything.

Another adult step

My Bro, the master of networking, passed my name on to a financial advisor thinking I could use some help with financial planning.  (You know, because I'm rich, or so that's what Bro says.)  Since I'm nearing 30 and I have a new job, new car and another exciting event in the works (stay tuned!) and overall I'm hitting a different stage in my life, I decided maybe it was a good idea to meet and see what they could offer me.  So at lunch today, I met with the financial reps. 
I actually went through this process a few years ago and wasn't impressed by the guy who hounded me to buy this huge cash value life insurance plan (and then kept calling me over and over again when I declined it), but I decided to check out the other options they offered and wanted to get some sort of idea of what they could do with my old 401k.  I came prepared as my typical type-A self would do and had my monthly/yearly budget calculated out in an spreadsheet and I also brought my last quarterly statement from my 401k with me. And of course, I explained my theories for saving, retirement and the economic future in general.  After nearly an hour of getting to know me, I left the guys to do what they do best, work on a financial plan for me.  I don't know if they will be able to come up with something I will agree with or not, but its nice to be able to open my eyes to other financial and wealth management products.  By the way, they were impressed that I knew about many of the products they mentioned.  I guess my education and years in the financial world actually do help every now and again.

Anniversary of Adulthood

Two pics can sum up my Saturday night:

A balloon-filled couch!

Rainbow of jello shots!

My Bro threw a party on celebrating the 1 year anniversary of moving into his apartment with his roommates.  Really though, any chance these guys have to celebrate, you will find them sending out an clever Facebook invite, buying a half-barrel for the Kegerator and setting up the beer pong table in their kitchen.  For living in an apartment, they sure do have a place that is great for get-togethers.  This Saturday was no exception, with the Kings-Devils hockey game being shown in the background and music blaring on the IPod, we had a blast.
I then spent a good part of Sunday recovering from the fun (soooo tired) and trying to be a responsible adult in my little digs.

2012 concert season begins!

Not sure what is on the schedule today at work since it's the day after a holiday (and Mondays are normally really busy) and month-end is Thursday, but I have a few things to look forward to after work tonight (And I am counting on being extremely tired by the time Wednesday rolls around.)  First, I asked my boss on Friday if it would be ok for me to leave an hour early to run to an appointment and then I'm picking up Nicole and we're headed to the St. Louis stop of the Here & Now Tour featuring Nickelback along with Bush, Seether and My Darkest Days.
I bought the tickets way back in January and debated who would go and who could go and finally came up with the perfect plan.  I asked if Nicole would want to hang out with her older, sometimes cool cousin and she jumped at the opportunity. Since then we've been working on the logistics since she's still 6 months from getting her driver's license and usually I'm stuck in a good amount traffic when I leave work at 5.  Luckily, the extra time at work the last few weeks along with tomorrow afternoon's appointment actually worked in my favor and made it much easier for me to be able to ask to leave at 4.  I'm super pumped for the concert and really excited to spend time with my cuz.  I'm also hoping that even though she's going to see Justin Bieber with one of her friends that this concert is at least her 2nd favorite.

3 Day Weekends & 360s

Hope you're enjoying your weekend as much as I am right now.  The past week has passed in a blur but I'm getting by and having some fun in what little spare time I can find.  Me having these 3 days off has mostly meant finishing projects and getting some things that I've put off in order and also working on a few new ideas that have popped up.
 
Yesterday afternoon Dad and I bummed around after he got off of work and I was able to spend a little time visiting with him.  Over the next couple of weeks, I'm looking to make some fairly big decisions and I needed some help deciphering through everything. (Don't worry, I'm not quitting my job and moving to the Bahamas! I love this job and my group too much to leave now.)  But, it was great being able to get his opinions and see his excitement when I told him my thoughts.  And last night I was able to catch the Cards-Phillies game from amazing seats (free food and drinks, why yes I will!) with B. Dill and a few others from our company.  A great way to celebrate my first two months at the new place and ironically the tickets were given to us by the CFO of one of the companies I handle so I thought it was that much cooler that we got to go to the game.  (Yes, I am a bit dorky!)

In the meantime, I'm also trying to get back into my hardcore workout routine and diet.  I haven't slacked off a whole lot considering I still workout every single day but my diet and exercise routine hasn't been nearly controlled as it was a year ago so I'm working hard to stay on top of it so that swimsuit season will be a pretty one again this year. (It's amazing what a difference a job and friends can make on your lifestyle.  No more 15 hours a week in the gym taking out all of my stress and aggression like last year along with actually getting to be more social with my new peeps.)  So this morning, I kicked it into high gear once again as I did yesterday morning and switched up my workout a bit.  I fell in love with this new toy and it kicked my butt harder than I thought it would!

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Obviously, I'm not the most graceful girl as is, but maintaining my balance while doing squats was quite a challenge.  Then I came home and found out there are DVD workouts with this too!  I may invest in one of these in the near future just so when I fall flat on my face testing out more moves, I don't create laughter among the entire gym.  I would be cheap entertainment though!

In any case, have a wonderful Memorial Day.  Thanks to all those who have fought for our freedom!

Can you guess how I'm feeling?!?

This was my tweet a few minutes ago...I think you can tell my exact mood just from these 140 characters:

To the F-ers in my apartment building who stole my internet & cable, I hope u get what u deserve! Thanks Charter 4 responding & fixing this!

In the 7 years I've lived here, I've never once before had this happen and I'm furious that it happened now.  Two days without internet or cable....two days....two whole days!  The first night I didn't get home from work and the gym until 9:30 and I was so beat, I just figured it was a short outage, but when I got home again last night after a 14 hour day and still found I had no service, I was pissed.  Charter couldn't figure out the problem either, from their end, everything looked just fine.  Of course, my neighbors weren't having any issues, they were too busy watching my cable and using my internet!

This isn't the first problem over here.  There were police outside of the building next to mine Saturday night when I got home and there are constantly fights and arguments out front.  But, this is the first problem I've faced first hand.  People make fun of me living in North County, heck I make fun of living in North County and I've lived in this area nearly my entire life and I've seen its changes (and not for the good!) over the years.
I've got some time before I have to make my ultimate decision, but I'm guessing my trend for change will be continuing....

"Who will be....."

Remember this post from the end of July?

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Tonight's the night for the season premiere of the new season of Next Food Network Star.  I can tell you that I didn't make the cut for the show (obviously!), but I will be eagerly watching each week to see who does become the Next Food Network Star.  From reading the bios, I do know of one contestant has the same concept as myself and I will be critiquing him more than the others (just kidding! You know me, I'll probably be critiquing all of them!) 
As the show intro touts each season..."Who Will Be The Next Food Network Star?" 
I guess we'll just have to wait and see!

Actually, I'm really glad I didn't make the show.  Even though it's been a crazy, life-changing 10 months for me, I'm so happy to have landed where I am today.  Yesterday, my work fam and I went on a pub crawl in Soulard (home of the STL Mardi Gras).  It was a day of laughter, singing and dancing and having an all around fantastic time in the great spring-time weather!  I'm not sure there is anything this group could do that wouldn't be fun though!  Another fabulous day, another day I'm pleased with my decision to take this leap.

As for the rest of this Sunday, I'm having my parents over to celebrate Mother's Day in a few hours.  I'm making my Mom dinner and we're going to just enjoy the afternoon...perhaps throwing in a few competitive games of Scrabble (It's been awhile, maybe I can actually win this time).  On the menu are home-made shredded pork tacos, sweet corn, black beans and strawberry blondies for dessert.  Sure, I may not have been able to participate in Next Food Network Star, but I'm hoping to please some of the people that mean the most to me with my cooking skills.

Happy Mother's Day to all of the Moms out there.  I hope you enjoy your day to the fullest!

Taking a chill pill

This was about as close as I could come to having a perfect weekend over the last few months.  With no real plans on the schedule and a few extra hours off from work on Friday, I took full advantage of taking it easy.  Sure, I got my weekend warrior workouts in on both Saturday and Sunday, but other than that, I was able to spend a good part of my time catching up on a few movies, the Kentucky Derby, Talladega, Cards baseball and unfortunately the Western Conference Semi-final elimination of my Blues (ok, that's the weekend's one downfall).

I'm finishing the weekend with a bang...the Chopped All Stars Championship premieres in a little less than an hour.  I'm pumped for the competition between the best of the best and my money is on Chef Marcus Samuelsson.

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Ok, so I really don't have money on Chef Samuelsson's win tonight, but I do have a different sort of bet for this competition and either way, it'll be fine, but still it's all about the big W!  I won't be in tears if Iron Chef Symon pulls off the win though either!  :)

Hope you had a great Spring (nearly summer since its been over 90 degrees) weekend as well!

Fly by update

Crazy, crazy past week and because I'm just about brain dead right now and really looking forward to some downtime this upcoming weekend, I'm doing what I do best on this blog -- random thoughts and highlights.

- Last week ended on a less stressful note than it started.  Friday night, me and the new work crew attended a trivia night for another co-workers cancer stricken cousin.  We had a blast and actually fared pretty well in the trivia competition.  This group is probably the most tight-knit of any I have ever worked in and become friends with and really I think my cheeks still ached on Saturday from all of the laughter.

- Saturday, the parents and I hit the casino to play bingo.  A local radio station hosted a bingo session and even though we had torrential storms most of the afternoon and evening, we braved the weather and actually had a fun time.  The only problem?  Stupid people...here's an idea, before yelling bingo, pay attention to the numbers  and the type of bingo being played.  Overall, I did have fun and it was nice to spend a Saturday night out and about rather than staying in.

- Sunday I finally was able to catch up with Coco after weeks of missing each other at the gym or due to other obligations.  We made the 2 hour trek to catch her son's soccer game only to be stuck in more thunderstorms the whole trip north and during the game.  After 1 half of play, the officials called the game, but we still had fun on the mini-day trip and it got me out of the apartment once again.  (It's spring, I'm starting to get cabin fever here.)

- Monday and Tuesday were quite possibly the longest work days known to man (ok, maybe not, but they were really busy and a bit mind-boggling).  I forgot to mention that the Friday before, our boss informed us that we needed to have our month-ends finished in 1 day, not the usual 2 or 3 that we are accustomed to (listen to me, I sound like I'm a veteran, this really was my first end closing my companies on my own).  I worked 12 hours prepping for month-end on Monday and then 13 hours on Tuesday to get everything closed by our deadline.  By the time I left on Tuesday night I felt like a zombie with mush for brains, but I can happily say all 3 sales accountants met our deadline and got a reward to boot (more about this in the next bullet point!).

- Our reward for working so much and our boss being grateful for our dedication is having the afternoon off tomorrow, this is of course after a bit of celebration.by our team.  Really?!?  Rewards for being dedicated and working hard?!?  Anytime I was dedicated before I got more work and then had rumors spread about me about being a brown-noser or something even worse.  I'm so happy to have the afternoon off and while I haven't made definite plans for my Friday evening, I'm thinking some rest and relaxation is in order.  I could really use some sleep right now.  My brain hasn't seem to turn off in well over a week and sleeping has not been in the cards.  I have my fingers crossed that my body will cooperate.

- Before leaving work tomorrow we are having a Cuatro de Mayo party.  This is the brainchild of my department.  (We start thinking up these sorts of ideas when things get crazy...bear with us!)  Fridays are traditionally known as family lunch day for us, meaning we all make a point of going out to lunch as a team and we thought it would be great to visit our favorite Mexican restaurant for a pre-Cinco de Mayo celebration.  Well then we just got carried away in true Sales Accounting fashion and decided that we're all going to try to speak Spanish as much as we can during the day, possibly find sombreros and Mexican inspired clothing and all around enjoy a holiday that much of Mexico really doesn't even celebrate anymore.  I think if we could convince our boss to let us drink margaritas, one of us would have already made the pitcher of them as well.

- Finally and probably the least important of all of these updates is the fact that it's been unseasonably warm the last two days with temps around 90.  Finally sun and warm temps and no rain!  The downside to all this warmth on May 3rd?  It is a sauna in my apartment and against my better judgement I had to turn on my AC.  For the record, it was 89 in my apartment when I got home at 7 pm tonight.  Have I mentioned how much I need a good night's sleep sometime in the next few days?  Yeah, that's why I turned it on....or so I keep telling myself.  I'm also hoping it keeps my blood from boiling with this hockey game tonight.  I'm not sure if the team realizes this or not, but being down 3 games is not what I want from my St. Louis Blues.

The role of a friend

"A single rose can be my garden....a single friend, my world." -- Leo Buscaglia

This quote sums up my last 36 hours.  While I don't feel like I need to expand, I, at least, needed to post this for myself today.  I have been awake all night long, but pure adrenaline, my role at work and the satisfaction knowing I was able to help someone who needed me the most will get me through the this day.

It's true, a single friend can make someone's world.

Round 2!!!!

I stopped dancing around my living room for a few minutes for this post.

How cool is it to see the Blues knock off the Sharks in game 5 of the first round of the playoffs?!? 

Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images

Simply the coolest!! 
Plus the 2 goals in 45 seconds!  Woo hoo!  This is the team we've been waiting for!!

Antti Niemi wasn't the easiest to beat in net, but the Blues definitely proved they wanted the win tonight!

Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images

Congrats to my St. Louis Blues!!

All In

Where were you on Black Friday?

The day the United States government ended the Poker Boom?

ALL IN — THE POKER MOVIE is the story of the worldwide poker boom that started in the underground clubs of New York City and went on to be played at homes and casinos all around the globe. How did poker become the battleground for personal freedom and the fight for adults to choose how they spend their time and money? The film explains how poker has become the target of politicians who have cut off the ability for millions to play and for many to make a living. 
ALL IN — THE POKER MOVIE tells the exciting story of poker's renaissance in the first decade of the new millennium, from a game once played only by grandparents and teenagers unable to get a date on Friday night to a nationally televised sport played by millions, and watched by millions more. An activity so hip that even Matt Damon, George Clooney, and Leonardo DiCaprio have a regular game. Played in casinos, basements, on line, in college dorms or at charity events, poker is everywhere. The films explains the "tipping story" to the events and people that came together to make poker so popular that you could see it being played on twelve television networks a week.
This documentary weaves the quest for the American Dream, the ability to take risks, and the celebration of entrepreneurship with a game that began with con men on riverboats and ended up being played by presidents. Poker has become a metaphor for making it big quick, and though millions play it, poker seems unable to escape it's cinematic image of something done by people on the outside of society.
ALL IN — THE POKER MOVIE tells the story of how poker has come to be a part of mainstream culture while also exploring how poker satisfies our desire to play, win, and shape our identities as individuals. 
ALL IN — THE POKER MOVIE the definitive story of poker. 


 Source:  All-In: The Poker Movie

Super, super geeked out right now!!  Earlier this month I won tickets on Twitter for the St. Louis screening of All In: The Poker Movie tonight and along with viewing the movie, I also get to attend a Q and A with Radio Talk show host Paul Harris and this fella:

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Recognize that guy?  It's STL poker player Dennis Phillips who finished 3rd in the 2008 World Series of Poker Final Table.
After a jumbled text message filled with my excitement and a reply of "What???" my awesome Bro agreed to accompany me to the screening.  He has never played an ounce of poker in his life and probably doesn't understand my love of the game, but he agreed to be my guest for the evening.  Who knows, maybe he'll become my new poker buddy after tonight's event.

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Work Potluck

We're having our Spring Potluck tomorrow and I have debated with myself for weeks about what I was going to make.  It's the first "company event" I'm participating in and I didn't want to look like a big dork, plus I wanted to make something springy and light also. 
I researched FoodNetwork.com and found a perfect lunch dish from Giada De Laurentiis to use as my inspiration since I can't seem to ever follow recipes to a "T."

Here's what her Penne with Asparagus and Cherry Tomatoes looks like:

Source: Food Network

And here's a picture of my creation, Grape Tomato and Asparagus Rigatoni & Rotini:

Pardon the smartphone camera pic.  It was the easiest way to snap a photo.  And I'm sure if I had a food stylist, my dish would look as great as Giada's.  I am pleased with the flavor and tweaked the original recipe by adding Sunburst tomatoes and a homemade Italian dressing/marinade to the pasta. 

Keep your fingers crossed that I have Spring Potluck success!

As Ben Franklin would say,

"The only two things certain in life are death and taxes."

Personally, I'm happy tomorrow is Tax Day.  (Yep, I'm sick like that.  Of course, like the super organized, highly prepared girl I am, my returns were submitted way back in January...seems so long ago!)  But really, I have answered tax questions from a multitude of friends, family and former co-workers for 12 weeks and prepared oodles of returns that this day could not come soon enough for me. 
Everyone hears Accountant and automatically assumes I know the Tax Code by heart.  Contrary to popular belief, while I don't mind doing taxes (another crazy sickness), I'm not an IRS encyclopedia.  I was tested a few times this tax season but I think I would have made my tax professor from college proud of everything I retained (less the fact that many of the limitations and deduction amounts change nearly every year).

With tax season behind me, it's now time to focus on the important stuff again...getting ready for summer!  Definitely hitting the gym hard (harder I should say) over the next few weeks (or so I hope!) so that when swimsuit season rolls around, I'm actually ready.  My diet plan is back in full swing and I've got the determination to lose the 5 or so pounds I've picked up since the first of the year.

Another Sunday, another great Cardinals win!

Great sports weekend here in the STL!  Blues and Cardinals won on Saturday in grand fashion and the Cards finished off the Cubbies series today with a huge win 10-3.  (My man Yadi hit a 3 run homer!  Yeah!!)
Here are a few pics from my seats....nothing special, but it was cool sitting in the luxury suite hanging with JP and his wife, B.Dill and a few others from our company and the industry.

Getting the field ready for action

Westbrook and Molina walking in to the dugout after warm-ups

Yadi up to bat -- right before the HR

Seriously...how can you get tired of looking at this awesome skyline?!?

Such a fun day and a great game and I'm so lucky I was invited!

As you can tell, I've started nicknames for my new group of friends/co-workers.  They've given me a nickname as well....Rick James.  Yep, as in "Super Freak" Rick James.  It's funny how it all came about and I giggle every time I hear it.  I actually may bust out into the song one day too, it's just that funny to me.  And no, I'm not nicknamed that because I look like him.  LOL

Opening Day 2012!

Not the greatest Opening Day in St. Louis for the Cardinals.  They lost horribly to our rivals the Chicago Cubs and the festivities were delayed due to a massive rain around ceremony and game time, but the game was played and St. Louis was abuzz.  These pics are from my view today....the lunchroom at work.  How cool is that?!?

To top it off, I get to go to the game on Sunday with a few of my fantastic co-workers and sit in a luxury box.  Yep, I'm awesome like that!  :)

Btw, see the blue fountain in the bottom of pic 1, yeah, the water in the fountains at Kiener Plaza was turned blue for our St. Louis Blues.  It's been a toss up here Blues/Cards, usually it's red for Opening Day but home games have seemed to overlap a bit.  Ironically both teams have lost the last two days.  They both need to turn it around...we're a Championship city afterall (or hoping to be in hockey anyway!).

Mark your calendars

Things to do in the 'Lou this weekend:

- Blues are playing at home tonight (Game 1 of the playoffs baby!  We're bleeding blue!)
- Cardinals Opening Day is tomorrow!!  (show me your RED!!!!)
- Blues play game 2 of the 1st round of the playoffs on Saturday night  (Let's Go Blues!)
- Big NRA National Convention the next 4 days (we're not known as one of the most dangerous cities for nothing!  At least some of us are taking the constitutional route with our gun collections!)
- Go! St. Louis Marathon on Sunday  (I'll stick to my 10-12 miles on the elliptical for now, thank you very much!)
- WSOP Circuit event at Harrah's St. Louis started Thursday and ends on April 23rd (Still too chicken myself to throw around any real money to play in one of these events, but it's definitely exciting considering how far Dennis Phillips went winning here and taking on the Main Event in 2008.)

And this chick is going back to college with her Bro on Saturday for week 1 of our continuing ed class we registered for.  Bro is worried that he won't be prepared without a notebook.  I've assured him I've got plenty of paper and extra pens.  I think he's more excited than I am for this and I'm pretty stoked.

So much to do....so little time!

Happy Easter!

The Easter Bunny left me a present today!  And can I tell you this is the best Easter present this year.  Super pumped for tonight's Season 2 premiere of....

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'Chopped All-Stars' Is Back

NEW YORK, Feb. 28, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Food Network's top-rated hit Chopped All-Stars returns for a second season filled with fan-favorite chefs, unexpected ingredients, and fierce competition for a $50,000 prize for charity on Sunday, April 8^th at 9pm ET/PT.  In each of the five themed episodes, hosted by Ted Allen, four specially selected chefs are challenged to create three masterful courses from ingredients in the mystery basket, ranging from beef tendon and crawfish, to black beans with queso fresco and chicken feet. Chopped All-Stars kicks off with Iron Chefs battling in the Chopped kitchen, followed by competitions between Food Network/Cooking Channel show hosts, Food Network Star finalists and Chopped judges. A rotating roster of top-notch judges will decide who gets "chopped" each week, leading up to a final showdown between the four episode winners on Sunday, May 6^th at 9pm ET/PT, where the $50,000 grand prize to the winner's charity of choice will be awarded.

"Chopped All-Stars proved to be a huge success in its first season, and season two really takes the challenge to another level, even pitting Iron Chef against Iron Chef and putting Chopped judges to the test," said Bob Tuschman, General Manager and Senior Vice President Programming, Food Network. "Food Network viewers can look forward to some incredible creativity and entertainment in the Chopped kitchen – all for a good cause."

Episodes include:

Part 1, "Iron Chefs Do Battle" Premieres Sunday, April 8th at 9pm ET/PT 
Competitors: Iron Chefs Cat Cora, Marc Forgione, Jose Garces and Michael Symon
Judges: Scott Conant, Aaron Sanchez, Geoffrey Zakarian

Part 2, "Prime Time vs. Day Time" Premieres Sunday, April 15th at 9pm ET/PT 
Competitors: Show hosts Keegan Gerhard (Food Network Challenge), Jeffrey Saad (United Tastes of America, Cooking Channel), Aarti Sequeira (Aarti Party) and Marcela Valladolid (Mexican Made Easy)
Judges: Amanda Freitag, Aaron Sanchez, Geoffrey Zakarian

Part 3, "Food Network Star Contestants" Premieres Sunday, April 22nd at 9pm ET/PT 
Competitors: Food Network Star Season Seven Finalists Justin Balmes, Penny Davidi, Vic "Vegas" Moea and Chris Nirschel
Judges: Scott Conant, Amanda Freitag, Aaron Sanchez

Part 4, "Judge Remix" Premieres Sunday, April 29th at 9pm ET/PT 
Competitors: Chopped judges Alex Guarnaschelli, Marc Murphy, Marcus Samuelsson and Chris Santos
Judges: Amanda Freitag, Aaron Sanchez, Geoffrey Zakarian

Part 5, "Grand Finale" Premieres Sunday, May 6th at 9pm ET/PT 
Competitors: Prior episode winners
Judges: Anne Burrell, Amanda Freitag, Aaron Sanchez

Chopped premiered in January 2009 and consistently ranks as one of Food Network's highest-rated primetime series.  Hosted by Ted Allen, the fast-paced competition series challenges four chefs to turn mystery basket ingredients into an impressive three-course meal.  After each course, one contestant gets "chopped" until the last chef standing claims victory. 
Emmy Award winner Ted Allen is the host of Chopped and the author of the upcoming cookbook "In My Kitchen: 100 Recipes and Discoveries for Passionate Cooks" debuting in May, 2012, and an earlier book, "The Food You Want to Eat: 100 Smart, Simple Recipes," both from Clarkson-Potter.  Allen also has been a contributing writer to Esquire magazine since 1996. Previously, he was the food and wine specialist on the groundbreaking Bravo series Queer Eye, a judge on Food Network's Iron Chef America and a judge on Bravo's Top Chef.
Chopped and Chopped All-Stars are produced by Notional Entertainment.

SOURCE: Food Network

I haven't pegged my favorite yet, but I'm super excited to watch the Iron Chefs compete tonight and equally jazzed for the basket ingredients!  And in the words of Ted Allen, "Who's dish will be on the chopping block?"

Couldn't have planned it better

I was off of work yesterday for Good Friday, but didn't realize it until late last Friday.  I already had this Saturday filled with appointments and rather than rescheduling them to spread things out a bit, I decided to run my normal weekend errands on Friday and keep Saturday as it was.
My plan was to get up this morning and hit the gym for my 2 hour weekend warrior workout and clean up and change at the gym before my 9 am appointment but by the time I got moving, I only had about an hour and 15 minutes to spare (this included getting ready and drive time).  I didn't want to cut into my much needed workout so I improvised at home and did my core routine and got ready for my appointment.
The cool thing is that my gym is literally across the street from the office I was visiting, so I had the bright idea to pack my gym clothes so I could workout in between that and my hair appointment at 1 pm. The salon is right down the street from the gym so I actually was going to save time and valuable gas by staying out that direction.  After my appointment, I hustled over to the gym, changed clothes, started my IPod and I was off to the races.  About half-way through while I was weight-lifting, I see a head pop in front of me.  Coco, who is never one for a weekend workout at the gym, stopped in this morning and decided to workout as well.  We've been hit or miss working out together after work the last few months with both of our schedules so it was fun to be able to catch up today.  It also made an hour on the elliptical fly by!
We finished our workouts, I got cleaned up and ready (again!) for my hair appointment and we made preliminary plans for the week ahead.  We also talked about making these Saturday workouts more of a regular thing, that is if I stop going to the gym at my usual 6 am on the weekends. (If I have weekend company at the gym, I just might switch things up.)

As for my hair appointment, I'm loving the updated color for summer.  My highlights were spruced up and my stylist trimmed up my ends to bring back the sleekness.  She also straightened my hair better than I can ever get it (crazy wavy hair and no patience!).  Usually I'm not one for taking self pics in my car, but I had to today.  So here you go:

I felt like a million bucks with the new 'do and taking care of everything else on this afternoon's agenda.

Month-end & Office Shenanigans

I forgot that most companies try to close their month-end within a few days after the last day of the month instead of closing November in mid-February.  (Oh yeah, it's true!)
Today was a 12 hour day and I'm halfway closed in both of my companies, this with the help of my boss who has been very understanding.  We did find some time for some office shenanigans though as we tricked one of the other Sales Accountant into believing that our Logistics Coordinator destroyed our boss' office when in fact the the building crew was just repairing his desk.  (Bear with me, I'm trying to think of nicknames for all of my new peeps. Haven't come up with good ones yet!)

I don't think I've ever laughed so hard working at month-end.  Hopefully we'll have everything finished tomorrow and we'll be able to start the month of April.  Crazy, it's April and the start of (Championship!!) baseball season is right around the corner!  (Woohoo!)

Week 1 in the books

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I've been lucky enough to drive into this skyline for the past 5 days and I'm still in awe at how amazing it is.  Ok, maybe the job has something to do with how amazing it is as well.
From about 8:01 am on Monday as I met my co-workers for the first time, I felt comfortable and at home and happy with my decision to take this leap.  No, the job is not an easy one since there are many intricacies with our contracts, customers and the industry in general but my transportation background is going to help me a bit.  There is A LOT to learn and I'm digging in and doing my best and I'm actually being trained!  By the time 5 pm rolled around on Friday, I did feel accomplished for my first week, a week that included the end of the month nonetheless.

My co-workers made me feel comfortable also.  Who knew that I'd actually step into a job where people talk to one another during the say and want to help each other out?!?  Oh wait, yeah, that's the way it should be!  And most of the time, we actually go to lunch together as well.  Can I tell you how many times I did that at the last place in the 6 months I was there?  ZERO!  NADA!  ZILCH!
Ok, no more comparing the new place to the old because there is no comparison.

Now I can finally breathe and be that employee I was meant to be.  It's so much easier to like your job and like working in general when you feel welcomed and wanted.

P.S. I'm giving brownie points to anyone who can actually pick out the building in the pic that I work in.  And no, it's not the Arch.  :)

Spring Break! Memphis in March style

I officially start my new job tomorrow morning at 8 am.  I'm excited and ready to get this new adventure under way.  Over the past two weeks I've spent a lot of time taking care of things at home (massive spring cleaning!), getting paperwork squared away (former employer, new employer, personal), doing taxes (I'm a 1040 machine), buying a car (loving the Elantra!!), partying with my awesome Bro (dancing & singing commence!) and even enjoying "Spring Break" this past week (I feel like a kid again!). 
Nicole came over Sunday and we spent most of Monday having a girls' day bumming around the STL and just enjoying the great spring/summer weather.  We would have been pursuing the St. Louis Blues players at practice but they decided to cancel that on us.  (Thanks guys!)

Tuesday through Thursday, I found myself down in Memphis/Tunica with my Mom and Michael.  I was in need of some BBQ and Mom wanted out of the STL, so a 5 hour car ride it was.
Here are highlights of the trip in picture form:

Mom & Michael -- Civil Rights Museum

Mom & Me -- Neely's BBQ

Me at the Horseshoe, Tunica

Me and Paula Deen -- it's a cutout, but I was still excited!

The Best Buffet Ever -- love me some hoecakes!

Needed some fried chicken too!

Sweet, Spicy Love Sauce -- delish on fried chicken!

As for today, I'm finishing up my last sets of taxes (for now!) and prepping for tomorrow.  I've got my clothes picked out, my lunch made and all of my "first day" stuff organized.  On top of that, I've got a clear mind and I'm pumped for the challenges ahead.