Merry Christmas!

Christmas 2010

From my family to yours, may your holiday be merry and bright!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Christmas Eve, 2012

 "Today I caught myself smiling for no reason...then I realized I was thinking about you."

"I get the best feeling in the world when you say 'hi' or even smile at me because I know, even if it's just for a second, that I've crossed your mind."

Found these as I was poking around online over the last couple of days and I can't stop thinking about how true they are.  In fact, I think they've become two of my favorite quotes.  Both are author unknown, but they definitely are bringing the warmth I need to my holiday season.

Time to put the finishing touches on my Christmas Eve dinner....

Ready for Christmas

I think I'm just about ready for Christmas.  I finished wrapping gifts last night around 8:30 after spending the afternoon in full present-mode.
I posted this pic on Facebook last night with the caption:

Finished wrapping presents for my fam and yes, the ratio of presents to my tree is severly disproportionate. Of course, my little ceramic tree is only a foot tall!

Who knew my pic would cause such a stir with the work fam.  Not in a bad way but we had quite the comment thread going on about presents, my tree and all the jokes that come from our group.  Since yesterday was the last day of work before our holiday break, I brought my work gifts in for the work fam.  The girls got "McGyver kits" (mini manicure sets) and body butter, the boys got chocolate "coal" and lottery tickets and JP got "moose munch" and lottery tickets and I made a tray of chocolate chip cookie bars with chocolate ganache for our group.  It was just a small way of saying thanks for making the last 9 months of this year 10,000% better than the first 2.5 months. 

Today after my Saturday morning workout, I tackled cleaning up my entire place and getting it ready for Mom and Michael's visit on Christmas Eve and finished buying the last of the ingredients I needed for our dinner on Monday night.  Besides actually cooking everything, I think I'm set for Christmas Eve.  I'm just hoping my dinner turns out better than these did....

Cookie Fail!!

Earlier in the week when I was pressed for time, I tried cutting corners and saving myself some time by using refrigerated cookie dough the other night rather than making my own and my cookies turned out not quite as planned.  (Note to self: Trust your gut and make your own dough even if it takes a bit longer!)  Those are supposed to be sugar cookie blossoms but they spread way more than I wanted them to.  I'm sure they still taste good but they looked like an HR violation, so instead of taking them to work this week, they're just hanging out at home waiting for my family to mow them down at either one of our Christmas gatherings because to them it doesn't matter what they look like as long as they are delicious!

Rounding up the good stuff

I feel almost like a broken record with each new post.  Life is still super crazy busy and I think I've spent all of 1 day at home in the past few weeks.  Finally today after a short workout and a quick visit with my Dad while he was at work, I've been able to spend the majority of today at home in my comfy sweats and finally got back on track here a bit.
In no particular order, here are some of the great things that happened from the past 11 days:
- Enjoyed a fun-filled Christmas party with the greatest work fam -- socialized, danced and had an all around fantastic night

My Party Dress!

- Celebrated Christmas early with my extended family
- Learned that not only do I have off Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, I have two other days off during the holidays courtesy of my generous and grateful boss
- Planned Christmas Eve at my place with my Mom and Michael (this is a first for me!) and confirmed my Christmas Day plans with my Dad, Ryan, Aunt, Uncle and cousins.
- Finished my Christmas shopping  (YES!!!!)
- Spent time hanging out with friends and making new ones
- Found this lovely drink:

Source

- Passed on my love of Food Network and all things cooking and enlightening others on the fundamentals of "repurposing."  (don't worry, inside joke)  No word on if its gonna stick but considering the text message I got a bit ago, perhaps I'm changing some non-culinary ways.  LOL


In any case, I'm heading into the two busiest weeks for everything.  And mostly, I'm just hoping I stay focused and sane through the holidays and year-end madness...I just need time and the weather to stay on my side.  It was 61 degrees here in the Lou yesterday, let's keep it that way Mother Nature.  And Father Time, don't let me down either.

Opening my eyes

How do you like our coveralls & hard hats?

I have spent the last day and a half being immersed in the industry that provides me with a paycheck every other week.  And while I enjoy what I do in our corporate office, I got to see an entirely different side to the company I work for by being out in the field. 
I'm exhausted and I was quite dirty when I got home this afternoon but most of all, I'm far more appreciative of all of the hard work each of the employees puts in and the risk that they take when they head underground every day to produce the commodity that also allows me to earn my living.

Above is a pic D. Rob and I had taken with all of our gear on before we headed underground.  Not only were our coveralls heavy but we had to wear industrial boots and our CSE SR-100 breathing apparatus, which when walking down a panel to observe operations, made for quite the journey.
Overall, I'm grateful that I was able to take this trip out of the office and meet some very important customers who hopefully will expand their business with us.  And I'm also hoping that since this trip was a successful one, our boss will let us visit other locations in the near future.  Our customers also had such a good time with our hospitality that they offered to let D. Rob and I take a tour of their facilities as well....I think we can definitely call this trip a success.

Btw, Tuesday night after dinner I also introduced the guys to the wonderful world of Food Network and more specifically Chopped.  Who would have though 3 guys and me would sit in the company house watching 2 hours of Chopped competitions on the projection tv in recliners? 
Not I, said the Sales Accountant with a love of cooking, baking and everything food related.

Reclaiming the title

This cake ended up causing quite a stir this afternoon.  JP's birthday was today and I offered to make a cake to celebrate in the office.  It was a simple funfetti cake with funfetti icing, JP's favorite.  I figured he'd enjoy it but I had no idea that my group would be obsessed with it.
It ended up being an extremely ling, crazy busy day for all of us with it being month-end close and the cake sat mostly untouched until after lunch.  Since then, it's been raved about and now most of the group is calling dibs on having me make their birthday cake.  I guess the funniest part of this is that I had no idea it was so well liked until the email chain started.  Everyone told me it was delicious but I thought they were just being nice.  I ended up getting home a bit earlier than expected from month-end but wanted to check my email through the web access link to make sure it worked before the work field trip tomorrow.  I was shocked to find my inbox filled with so many messages after only being gone 1 hour.
I had to giggle when I saw emails flying back and forth with the subject, "I love you and your cake."
I've already got cake dates of December 11th, January 19th, August 13th, August 25th and again next December 3rd.

I was the cake queen when I worked in trucking and I guess I'm reclaiming that title in my new position....just call me Sales Accountant and Cake Baker Extraordinaire.

This girl can never have too many shoes

Even though today is Sunday, I spent nearly my entire day at work prepping for month-end close tomorrow.  Both of my facilities have to be closed by the end of business tomorrow and since nearly my entire Friday was spent working on a 6 month cash projection for our treasury team, I didn't have time to prepare the way I normally would on the last day of the month.  To top it off, some of the strangest bottlenecks popped up and had to be dealt with before we rolled into the new month.  I do feel like I got a lot accomplished today but I know tomorrow will still be extremely busy and long.
It's crazy to think there is less than 30 days left in 2012.  The year passed in a complete blur....well the last 8 months have at least.  While 2012 started off rocky, I'm going to try to enjoy this last month as much as possible.  Speaking of which, once month-end is complete, this week is jam-packed.  Tuesday afternoon me and D. Rob are headed on an overnight business trip with one of our customers.  This is exciting on many levels for me.  First being that I actually get to go to the field and take a tour of 2 of our locations and one of these is actually a facility I handle all of the sales accounting for; secondly, we're having dinner with these customers and its my first chance of actually getting to experience this and finally, we're staying at the company house, which I've heard is spectacular.
Later in the week is our company holiday party and because I work with the greatest group, we're planning our own celebration on top of the party.  Thank goodness one of the work fam lives just blocks away from the venue, giving us the opportunity to pre- and post-party downtown.

We have a family Christmas party with my extended family over the weekend and then it's getting down to the nitty gritty for shopping, wrapping and getting in the Christmas spirit.  I have to find the time to go out shopping with my Mom and Michael again before it gets too late.  I did give Mom an idea today of what to get me for Christmas and believe it or not, it's not something I ever thought I'd be asking for and she really couldn't believe it either.
One of my wish list items this year....steel-toed boots.

For a girl who wears heels, nearly 365 days a year, these actually are becoming a necessity.  Twice now I've had to borrow MW's wife's shoes.  If I keep it up, I'm fairly certain she's gonna start charging me rent on them.  :)

My Thanksgiving break

Oh Sunday....the last day of my 4.5 days of Thanksgiving break....the day where I'm supposed to be getting everything organized and prepped for the week ahead.  I'm not sure where my time off went.  When I left work Wednesday afternoon I was super pumped and glad to have the time off wondering how I would spend all of this free time.  Today I'm questioning where all that free time went and I'm officially declaring today my day to chill.

Here's how my Thanksgiving break panned out:
Wednesday afternoon -- made my World Famous (ok, not really, but it is quite tasty!) Pumpkin Mousse Cheesecake for Thanksgiving at Mom's and spent the evening catching up on episodes of Restaurant: Impossible.

Thursday -- a major morning workout followed by two fantastic Thanksgiving dinners, time with my closest family and a lot of fun.  I started Thanksgiving out at my Dad's with him, my Bro, my Aunt and Uncle and 4 cousins and spent nearly every second there laughing at all of my family's antics.  After our Thanksgiving lunch, I made my way across the river to my Mom and Michael's for a abbreviated dinner and dessert.  Mom's definitely got my sweet tooth pegged with her sweet potatoes and lemon meringue pie. (Yum!!)  We played games for the rest of the evening until my brain completely shut down and I decided it was time to get home.

Friday -- I hit the gym extra early to work off all of the fantastically delicious foods I ate the day before.  While there I debated whether or not I would try to pick up a few deals on Black Friday.  Well, we all know I did make my way out to battle the crowds....twice in fact!  But, my Christmas shopping is now underway and I was even able to put my tree up!  My ceramic tree has made its appearance again this year (Don't laugh!).  However, rather than sitting on my end table, it's place nicely on my breakfast bar between my kitchen and living room.  I even have presents under it...albeit not wrapped but hey, you gotta start somewhere!

Saturday -- Yesterday morning I woke up and continued on my staying in shape for the holidays quest and completed day 1 of my weekend warrior workout and decided to hit the mall before getting my oil change in the afternoon.  I'm not sure why I thought the mall would be a good idea because besides picking up my supplements from the vitamin store, I found nothing I needed in regards to Christmas shopping plus people were out and about by the boatloads and none of them appeared to have much common sense about them.  (I'm starting to believe online shopping is the way to go.)
While getting my oil changed, I finished my book (more on that in a second) and planned on settling in for the evening, using up some of the leftovers from Thanksgiving in some recipes I found.  Halfway through a baking experiment, my Aunt called and said she and my Uncle were in the neighborhood and wanted to know if I would like to go out for margaritas with them.  I haven't been able to spend a whole lot of time with my Aunt and Uncle lately and with my Uncle temporarily relocating for another construction management job in the next couple of weeks, I thought going out for drinks would be a great idea.  If there is only one thing that sticks with you from this post, let it be this....someone please remind me the next time I go out, tequila is not my friend.  I had a terrific night out, however 1 frozen margarita did me in.  As a result, I feel like I've been hit by a truck today and day 2 of the weekend warrior workout ended up being suspended.

Sunday -- With no workout and trying to get myself back to a somewhat human state, I've spent most of my morning finishing up my baking and cooking from yesterday, working on laundry and I'm headed to the store for white soda and a few other miscellaneous items for the week ahead.
Once that is complete, I'm headed to the couch for the afternoon to catch some football and continue on my reading extravaganza.  I've jumped on the Fifty Shades bandwagon after being loaned book one from work.  I decided I couldn't just read the first installment and who knows when the girls would finish book two and I had to continue the series ASAP.  I ended up buying the trilogy as my Christmas gift to myself while I was shopping on Friday.  I'm hoping a relaxing afternoon will repair this hangover and get me recharged for the week ahead.

Enjoy your Sunday!

Black Friday

After having 2.5 super busy days at work, a Thanksgiving filled with family, food and fun, I decided after my extended morning workout, why not throw a bit of Black Friday shopping into the mix.....go ahead, confirm my suspicions, I am indeed crazy.  I'm not patient enough to deal with people on a normal shopping day, I'm not sure why I had this great idea this morning to head out and battle the crowds.  Fortunately, I did start my Christmas shopping and actually am making some headway and I did get some awesome deals today.  With that being said, I'm now home, watching Food Network and drinking a glass of wine.  For those of you keeping track, I hardly ever drink anymore but I think today's festivities made me a bit unnerved....just trying to chill now.
Tomorrow I scheduled an oil change for my car and while I'm out by the dealership I've been debating whether or not I should stop at a few more places to continue this Christmas shopping madness.  Not sure I've yet convinced myself that this truly is a good idea.  Guess we'll just have to see where my patience level is tomorrow afternoon before making any half-brained decisions.

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

RI: STL style recap

I'm sure you're on pins and needles waiting for my recap of the Restaurant Impossible dinner from Wednesday night, so here it is!

That's Joe waving, I'm on the right taking a pic of the Lexus.

Homemade Dessert?!?  Yes please!!!

The awesome sibling duo

Warning about walking onto a public set!  So exciting!!

The new signage behind the bar.

Robert's Signature Lexus SUV.

Chef Robert Irvine Taping the RI close for the episode

Overall the night was A-MAZING!  I wasn't sure what to expect besides dinner but by having an early reservation we actually got to be a part of the taping that they show when the restaurant re-opens.  The cafe only has about 20-25 tables so this was extremely exciting.  The camera crews were interviewing all of us and getting shots of our meals and pretty much putting the finishing touches on the normal clips that are aired with each episode.
I was star-struck seeing the chef in action along with Lynn the designer and Tom the re-modeler.  I spent most of my night with my head on a swivel trying to catch all of the action.  Sure, I watch them on tv nearly every week but seeing them live and in a local establishment was unbelievable. 
The actual meal  was absolutely fantastic.  We all ordered something different so we could try as much of the new menu as possible and then topped off the evening with dessert.  You only live once, right?!? 
This cafe is definitely a place I'm planning on revisiting because the food alone is magnificent and I truly hope they stick with Chef Robert's new menu.
Most of all, the night was an opportunity to enjoy time with Dad, Ryan and Joe and experience the live version of a show we all love.  As Dad put it the other night, "Who would have thought in 2012 we'd all be watching Food Network and found a show that we all enjoyed and then got to live it?"
Personally, I'm still pinching myself.....I could only imagine being a part of an experience like this!  And of course, wow we're all super pumped to watch the episode when it airs in late January, early February.

Another bucket list experience

Tonight I get a once in a lifetime opportunity.  It all started on Friday night when I got home from work and checked my Facebook news feed.  Usually I just scroll thru to see if anything exciting happened throughout the day.  Friday night I was checking in and saw a post that looked extremely intriguing.
One of my favorite chefs from Food Network is bringing his show to the area to revitalize a struggling restaurant.  You may have heard of the show...

Source

The post said Chef Irvine was coming to town for the Grand Reopening and that there were limited reservations available by calling the cafe.  I played the scenario in my head multiple times, sent a quick message to my Bro and then decided to give the cafe a call.  My name was put on a list and within a few hours, the new chef called me back and confirmed my reservation for a 4 top!  I'm so super excited and I can't believe that after watching every episode I finally can be a part of the RI experience!!
What's even cooler is that last Wednesday night, my Bro came to visit me and have dinner after work and we spent the rest of the evening watching a mini-marathon of RI on Food Network, while talking about how cool it would be to meet Chef Robert in person.
I'm definitely on cloud 9 right now!  I'll recap our dinner when I have a chance!

Sixteen years ago...

Sixteen years ago the most precious little girl came into the world and since that first day she's been the apple not only of my eye but our entire family.  She was the first and only cousin I had on my Dad's side (until my Aunt remarried a few years ago) and while we're nearly 14 years apart in age, she has always been like my little sister.
For the first 6 years of her life, I took non-stop pictures with my 35 mm camera, capturing as many of her milestones as I could.  Unfortunately, I haven't gotten those pics converted to digital yet, but I still decided to do a photo dump of some of the pictures I've taken since then.

Happy Birthday to my favorite girlie Nicole!!

Sixteen years ago we were on pins and needles waiting for your entrance into the world and now we're watching you grow into a mature, confident, smart young lady.

An election season promise

Seems like I've talked more about politics this election season that any other time in the past.  Hopefully this will be the last post about anything political.  Mostly, this is a post about common sense more than anything but I am making a promise to the Missouri Republican State Committee right now that I will not vote for Bill Otto in this election.
I got this in my mail today:

The blacked out part of this flyer is my full name and entire address.  In fact, it is my new address pre-printed on this piece of propaganda.  My new address in a different state!  I may not always be the brightest and most intelligent individual but shouldn't someone fact check addresses before mailing certain campaign pamphlets?  Wouldn't it be more appropriate to send this sort of mailing to someone who actually lives in the State of Missouri?
I think this is hilarious considering I forfeited my right to vote in Missouri the minute I moved and updated all of my records and registered to vote in the State of Illinois.

Sure looks like the Missouri Republican State Committee spent their advertising funds wisely for this election.  And don't worry Missouri, I'm helping protect and create jobs in your communities this election.  :)

In other news, this morning I had an appointment to get my haircut and colored.  After growing and growing and growing some more for the last year or two, I decided to get 5 inches cut off and darkened my hair a smidge for fall.
The result:

Feelin' super sexy!  (Ok, that's probably a little extreme, but I do love the new cut and color!)

I just might qualify

I know the countdown is on and in less than 3 months I turn 30 but I thought I was still in the prime of my life at this age.
I guess the canvasser than brought this by and hooked it to my front door knob thought differently.

Does 30 start to qualify you for senior discounts?  I wonder if I should call and get signed up for this Senior Final Expense Program asap?? 
They'll pay up to $25,000 for my funeral expenses even if I have a health condition!!!  Can't pass up a deal like that!


Yeah, this door notice ended up exactly where it belonged in the first place....after taking a pic for the blog, it's in the kitchen garbage can. 

I'm gonna try to retain my "youth" for a little bit longer.

Peter Piper picked...

Since moving into my new place, Sundays have pretty much been reserved for laundry, getting my work outfits planned, making meals and trying to catch up on anything I may have missed doing during the week.  My most favorite part about the day is spending time in my bigger kitchen creating my homemade breakfasts, lunches and/or dinners for the week ahead.  Besides being a big time planner, doing this saves me a lot of time during the week since I am working more hours and saves me from spending too much money going out every day, plus let's just face it, I love experimenting and creating culinary masterpieces (ok, probably not, but I have made some noteworthy meals) now that I have room to move in this kitchen.

While we were working out today, KP and I were talking about this past weekend and since we both have a love of cooking we both mentioned our adventures in the kitchen.  I told her about the pizza stuff green peppers I made for dinner this week and she told me about the steak fajita dinner she made for her mom's birthday.  Besides being an awesome friend, KP also tries to make mostly healthy meals and we compare notes on different techniques or recipes.  I ooohhed and aaahhed over her dinner and she was eager to try my take on stuffed green peppers. 

What's a girl to do when someone wants to try your culinary creation?  Why of course you pack a pepper for her to enjoy!  I'm excited that she asked me to bring in a sample and even more antsy to hear about what she thinks.  It's nothing extraordinary, but they are hearty and quite delicious and packed with lots of veggies.  This may be just what I needed when I said I should start cooking for the work group.  It may be even more apparent now that we started our "Gettin' Fit Challenge." 

Hmm, I may need to keep working on that!

I'm no food stylist or photographer and they don't look as pretty from my phone's camera, but I can attest these peppers are yummy!

Early bird catches the....

Election day is right around the corner and while I'm not the most political person, I do still try to vote in all the major elections.  Up until a few days ago I was wondering how I was going to be able to vote this year considering I leave for the gym and then work at 4:30 am and the polls don't open until 6 am here and usually I never make it home in enough time in order to hit the polling place after work.  However, with living on the other side of the river for this election, this great state gives its residents the ability to participate in Early Bird Voting starting earlier this week.  I had to make a trip to Village Hall this morning to drop off my utility payment and decided why not get my civic duty out of the way so I don't have to worry about switching around my schedule on Election Day.  Let me tell you, it worked perfectly, no hiccups and I was in and out of there within minutes.  (Of course, since I try to be the model of efficiency and time effectiveness, I studied and researched my specimen ballot last week...remember?)

Now, I just wish I could stop all of the political bulk mailings that are clogging my tiny mailbox and the slanderous tv ads.....ugh, annoying!

This week's randomness

Ok so let's not talk about how my Cardinals completely flubbed up the last 3 games of the NLCS series and looked like they started their winter vacation early after Thursday's game.  Or the fact that during last night's game I was so uninterested in baseball that I actually researched all of my officials for the upcoming election and tried to decipher the specimen ballot sent to me by the county.  (True story!)

Let's talk about something much more exciting, shall we?
Who am I kidding....there is not much excitement going on right now.  But I can give you a rundown of some of the normal stuff going on.
The girls and I have been formulating a workout plan for our lunch-time gym sessions.  Last Wednesday we were weighed in and our measurements were taken along with getting all of our membership "stuff" taken care of.  I started showing the girls some simple workouts for toning and getting into shape also.  KP and I worked on lunges and squats our second day (Thursday) and then KP couldn't walk without being sore until yesterday (Monday...whoops!).  On the other hand, squats and lunges are great exercises to get your legs in shape (and KP would agree).  Yesterday we worked arms, back and shoulders and had a little bit better luck with me not hurting her.
Our goal through the holidays is to get in 3-4 days of working out at lunch and then 1 day off, typically for Friday work family lunch.  For me, this is perfect paired with my morning sessions.  Well, maybe not this week considering I had a half day today and Friday is fall potluck day.  (Eeeeek!)  But I'm pumped to join the girls for tomorrow's workout....and we're still trying to convince the boys it is ok to workout with us every now and again.

As for today's half day, it really wasn't for anything fun  I had a doctor's appointment this afternoon and was going to ask off a bit early as it was.  My boss, knowing how much I've been working to get everything in order with my two companies over the last few months, insisted I leave at noon today.  It was a "thank you for your dedication" half day.  (I like those kinda days!)  I did get to stop in at Kohl's before my appointment and pick up a few things.  The rest of the afternoon I prepped (for my Food Network friends, mise en place) for my potluck dishes I need to make for Friday.  It was nice to have a few extra hours free and it was really good to get back into the kitchen and go crazy with the amount of food I prepped.  This cooking for just me has proven most difficult lately.  I'm still cooking for a family of 4 and then eating the same thing all week long because I don't want it to go to waste and I'm running out of freezer space (mental note to self: start cooking less of a dish!).  I'm starting to think I should just cook lunch for my group one day a week just to satisfy my need to be in the kitchen.  (hmm....another mental note, that is if I could get them to agree on the weekly meal idea!)

Other than that, it's been pretty much the same here.
Oh and in case you're wondering, I'm rooting for Detroit in the World Series.  Why you may ask?  Well D. Rob is originally from Michigan and an avid fan of all Detroit teams and since I still need his help on a daily basis for nearly all things involving logistics at work, I felt it was best to root for the Tigers.  Good reasoning, right?!?

Intrigued by an infomercial

I have to admit, I was intrigued by the infomercial one morning during my weekend warrior workout.  So much so that I did some research, got a few friends to like the Facebook page and got a 50% off coupon to try out this creative invention.  Last week I finally made my purchase and have anxiously been awaiting its delivery.  Finally last night my package showed up at home!  Don't get me wrong, I'm not expecting this device to work miracles, but after losing 80 lbs and making huge strides in working my core during nearly every single workout, I do need a little bit of assistance to get the last little bit of toning and firming for my mid-section complete.  It just comes with the territory of spending a good portion of my life over-weight, however I'm not accepting the fact that I can't do anything about it.

The newest addition to my fitness and healthiness journey:

Source

It's been charging as instructed for the last 24 hours and tonight for the first time, I'm trying out this bad boy!  Think I can eventually look like one of the spokesmodels?!?  jk!!

Just speaking the truth

Found this in my Facebook feed earlier tonight and I had to giggle.  I probably do have to agree with this card, I'm more in love with the post-season play of my home team than the political circus right now.  This afternoon I was offered a ticket to the game.  The only reason why I politely declined was due to the fact that it was supposed to be less than ideal weather-wise at game time and I didn't want to be sitting in the GREEN seats (the expensive, catered 12 rows behind home plate) when the storms came through.  Yes, I'm dedicated to my team but STL storms scare the bejeesus out of me.  As luck would have it, much of the game has been played before the rain started.  And 3 hours later, I'm waiting for the last few innings to be called or the game to restart.  Yep, I'm glad I came home.  There are two more games here this week...maybe I'll luck into another ticket.

In any case, I'm excitedly rooting on my Cards!!  Let's go Birds!!!

Gettin' fit with the work fam

I've been religiously working out for nearly 4 years now.  When I lived in my apartment, I was only 7 minutes away from the gym and I was only about 3 minutes away when I worked at my two previous employers.  Those facts alone made it much easier to get my butt into the gym nearly every single day.  I learned to love working out and when life (or work) became too stressful, the gym became my haven (seriously there were some weeks I logged 15, 16, 17 hours there).  With the new job and having a 30 minute commute, I've lost out on some time I used to spend working out.  Don't get me wrong, I'm still at my new gym at 5 am every morning but I only get an hour long workout Monday thru Friday and then I try to make up some of the lost time with my 3 hour weekend warrior workouts each Saturday and Sunday.  Right now it works, but some weeks I really wish I was able to pick up a bit more time just for the heck of it but again, there are other priorities besides being a gym rat.

Last week my company offered free gym memberships for all employees if we wanted to workout at the facility located on another floor of our skyscraper building.  My entire group jumped at this opportunity.  For me its a chance to pick up some extra gym time I've been craving.  For KP its about getting into stellar shape for her wedding next year, B. Dilly just wants to start making good (healthy) choices and the boys are realizing they aren't quite a young any more and can't eat and drink like they did when they were in their early 20s, so starting tomorrow this group is beginning on our lunchtime fitness journey.  I've got my gym bag ready and an idea of what my morning and lunchtime workout plans will be and its time for me to show my group how dedicated I am to staying healthy.  I'm super pumped! 

Now if we can just convince the boys to take Zumba with us on Friday....

Defeating the odds

I can not believe what I just watched....

Source: AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais

 Welcome to the NLCS STL Cardinals!!!

So superly crazy but that seems to be how this team plays.  Largest comeback win?  Of course, that's what makes these wins so sweet!  Last year I jumped on the Allen Craig fan bandwagon.  This year it just might be Daniel Descalso or Pete Kozma.  (For now at least!)

Way to go Birds!!!!

I'll have an another exciting update when I'm not 100% tired and nerve-wracked from watching a baseball game.

Turn on the light

For Father's Day, I found my Dad one of the greatest gifts ever (his words not mine).

We had a home-made one of these at home and when my parents divorced Dad left it.  He always talked about what a cool gadget it was and how he wished he had either taken it with him or had my Grandpa make him another one.  When Father's Day rolled around, I'd seen these advertised online and thought it would be a perfect surprise for Dad.  Indeed it was and he still talks about my awesome find even months later.

Now I'm left with topping the perfect gift as Dad's birthday is next Wednesday and let me tell you, I'm stumped.  My Dad is non-materialistic and a simple, minimalist kind of guy.  Of course, I'm planning on making him dinner and a pumpkin cheesecake but I also wanted to buy him something he wanted and/or needed.  Dad never asks for much, so this is proving way more difficult that I had hoped.

I sent a text to my Bro this afternoon and asked if he knew of something to get for Dad.
His response....No idea.

Big help Bro, big help.  I've got a couple more days to shop and come up with something but after month-end on Monday and a super busy week in general, my brain is mush.  I'm hoping the lightbulb in my head decides to flip on soon.

Welcome back refs!

It started on Thursday night with a friendly text exchange with my longtime Seattle sports buddy, Tom:

Tom: Ruh Roh!  Its time for the Seahawks whupping the Rams week  :)
Me:  No way!!  My boys got it at home & we have real refs.  No cheating this week!!  :)

Tom and I have been friends for years and he's even visited in the past when the Seahawks play the Rams in St. Louis.  Sure most of the games have been in the 'Hawks favor and overall they lead the series in number of games won but we had that home win in 2010 and I'm expecting them to show the same spunk they did in that game.
You can bet I'll be catching all of the game and most like yelling at the TV during every play.  I'm hoping to prove to my friend that my Rams can put up a fight this week and that they are possible of touchdowns with no question of who is in possession of the ball in the endzone.

Most of all, I'm super excited the regular refs are back for all of this weeks' games.  The past 3 weeks have played havoc with my picks in our football pool!!

Source: Dilip Vishwanat - Getty Images

More Game Info: NFL Capsule: Seahawks at Rams

UPDATE:
See this pic....

Source

It's the picture of my Rams (Eugene Sims to be exact) illustrating to the Seahawks just what they are this afternoon.  LOSERS!
Oh the texts were flying this afternoon, but my team rose to the challenge and took down the Seahawks 19-13!  Such an amazingly exciting game!  I keep telling everyone this team is different than the Rams of the last few years and at home they've played stellar, if they work on their on the road game, they will be unstoppable. 
And mad props to our rookie kicker Greg Zuerlein who broke the Rams record twice today with his field goal kicks -- a 58 yarder and then a 60 yard field goal!  I made the joke earlier this afternoon, Zuerlein must be a rockstar at lunges and squats in the gym.  (Yes, my joke was met with eyerolls too!)

Alright, I'm going back to enjoying this afternoon's win.  :)

Only my parents...

Usually I check in with my parents a few times during the week and over the weekend.  Saturday ended up being a fairly busy day of errands and chores and by the time I realized what time it was, I didn't end up calling or visiting either one of them.
I figured on Sunday, I would call and see how they were doing and update them on all of my happenings.  It was mid-afternoon when my phone rang the first time and not even an hour later it rang again.  Both parents had called to see how I was doing after the last few days of the work week and how my weekend was going.  I gave them the rundown and talked about the week ahead, normal conversation with my parents.

Perhaps the funniest thing is that both parents reminded me that had they remained married and not divorced in 1994, Sunday would have been their 35th wedding anniversary.  This year they have now been divorced longer than they were married, yet each one still remembered the day and made a remark about it.  What really made me laugh was the fact that each parent talked about wanting to call the other and wish them a "Happy Non-Anniversary."  However, both refrained from such silliness.

It's also crazy for me being a child of the 80s to realize the 1970s were over 30 years ago.  Geez, where is the time going?!?

Queue the highlights reel

7 years and 8 days after starting this blog, I've made it to my 400th post and I can proudly say this blog has kept to its name, it truly has been random thoughts from the very first entry.
I decided to go back and read some of the entries and especially making sure I read the other milestone posts.
My very first entry: September 18, 2005 - short and sweet.  (Gosh I was a dork!)
Post #100: July 19, 2008 - celebrating my 3 year anniversary in the trucking world.  (Yep, still a dork!)
Post #200: July 30, 2010 - Chicago girls' weekend & Bon Jovi awesomeness (Losing a small amount of the dorkiness....possibly)
Post #300: August 28, 2011 - Mantras for a happy life (This was the start to the craziness of the next year of my life.  I didn't know how dramatically everything would change after this post...too bad I couldn't remember these mantras thru some of the madness!)

And now post 400!
What can I say, my life has been a roller coaster over the years.

As of today's post, I've officially made it to my 6 month anniversary in my sales accounting position at my new place, which is more than what can be said for my last position.  For the record, I quit 3 days before hitting my 6 month mark because I couldn't take the stupidity and stress.  I'm so glad I took a risk and made this leap.  I'm enjoying the environment, being able to work with great people, and overall my ability to grasp my job and the industry.  Most of all, I feel like I'm able to contribute and make a difference in my department.

In my personal life, I went from being attached and madly in love with the one person who understood me, cared for me and ultimately made me feel normal to now being single.  Over the past 11 months, I've learned a lot about who I really am and I'm more confident and accepting of myself and I've also learned what I am willing to accept in a date or potential boyfriend and what I am not.  (Yeah, my list for potential suitors is pretty much unachievable, you are being compared to Broccoli after all, but I'm content with that.)

I've also learned who you can count on and remain friends with and who will not fight for your friendship when life doesn't go nearly as perfectly as expected.  Again, I'm ok and accepting of these changes also.  I think some of the fall outs were eventually inevitable and most likely necessary so I could grow and actually figure out who I really am.  I am truly grateful for my friends who have remained loyal and true friends through thick and thin.

Most of all through the 400 entries and 7+ years of posting, I've learned that I can step out of my so-called comfort zone and find what it takes to be happy, healthy and successful in my life.  Hopefully I've been able to portray that through all of my randomness.

Not your average Tuesday

I thought field trips were a thing of the past but today I got a chance to get out of the office and visit one of the terminals we use to get our product to our customers.  Outfitted with steel toed boots borrowed by MW's wife, we got to tour the facility and grounds across the river.  I saw material from one of my companies and I got a better understanding of what it takes so that I can do my job here in the office.  On top of that, we got to have lunch at a great BBQ place close by.  (Love me some good pulled pork and cole slaw!)  Getting out of the office gave me a greater appreciation and much better understanding of my position in the sales department and the company in general.

 

Besides claiming victory in my understanding of my job (ok, maybe just a small part of my job), I also notched a mini win against the property management company of my former apartment.  Seems as though they thought it would be fair to charge me for 1/2 month rent for September even though my lease was up on August 31st.  Somehow the keys I returned were "misplaced" and they thought I was staying for a bit.  Umm, hello....I moved out earlier than my lease stated just to get the heck out of there.  I made it clear in my 60 day notice, I would be out on or before (stressing the before) August 31st.  Also, how is it possible to charge me for 4 months of utilities when I was paid up through June as of the end of July?  Someone's math is way off.  In any case, they are looking into it and will get back to me on the final figures.  All I can say is that I best be getting at least part of my security deposit back.

 

Overall, I'd say today was a success.

 

Now I'm headed for some rest and relaxation because the former apartment drama kept me awake and irritated most of last night.

Why my co-workers are so awesome, reason #512

At month-end JP gave all of the Sales Accountants a ranking as to where they stood on his list of favorite co-workers.  Granted there are only 3 of us, but the ranking went like this:
#1 - me
#2 - KP
#3 - B. Dilly

At first he gave us the rank based on how much extra work we had for him as Contract Admin when he came back from vacation the week of month-end.  Luckily, I had 1 small issue I needed fixed in our system so that I could get my companies closed with no problems.  My list continued to stay that small as each day before the 31st came around.  KP's and B. Dilly's list continued to grow, not because of anyone's fault, it was just due to the nature of their sales, but we've continued to make a joke about it every day since.  Somehow with the comments and things B. Dilly does in the office she's moved to 4th, 5th and sometimes 10th place and if she doesn't finish her DMX song for JP by Christmas, well she can just kiss herself off of the list completely.
Last week I officially cemented my position in the top spot as I told JP about one of my favorite side dishes.  We were all talking about veggies at lunch and the best way to cook them and what certain veggies taste like.  JP loves brussel sprouts as much as I do and we were trying to convince KP to buy them and test them out.  She asked about the best way to cook them and I mentioned roasting them with a bit of sea salt and parmesan cheese.  Matter of factly, JP says, "Lindsay, you are by far my #1 favorite, I've never had them cooked like that but I'm so trying it."
And because our group tends to say inappropriate, yet funny things when its just us, we came to the consensus, you just can't go wrong with cheesy, salty balls.

Source

The Fisher 'Stache

Another great, yet packed weekend and another fantastic Sunday filled with football.  It's even better when your team puts on a show for the home opener and takes down the 'Skins.
Did ya see it? 

Source: AP Photo/Jeff Roberson

Source: AP Photo/Seth Perlman

Rams rally in 2nd half, beat Redskins 31-28

What was even cooler is that I picked them to win today's game!  Makes up for the stupid Chicago loss on Thursday night, I guess and still keeps me in the mix in the football pool.  And you can bet I will be picking my boys in blue and gold in their game against Chicago next Sunday!

Oh and in case you weren't aware, today was a special game.  It was Fisher 'Stache day at the game as each fan got a fake mustache to wear today.  Unfortunately, I was not in attendance, but what better way to make it into the Guinness Book of World Records than by wearing a fake mustache?!?

Heading back in time

I never thought I'd be excited I paid attention in Algebra class all those years ago (let's see, 7th grade Algebra, 8th grade Advanced Algebra, some year in high school, and finally College Algebra) but it's finally paying off.  The few days I've been working on costs analyses for my facilities/companies at work and while I have final numbers on multiple sales and cost reports, the numbers are pulling from different spots in our system.  After an in-depth meeting with my bosses last week (each Sales Accountant got a personalized meeting based on our specific customers and locations, which was super helpful for someone with only 5 months of Sales Accounting under her belt!), ultimately we need to know what report is using what calculation. 
Enter those wonderful handy dandy math skills that I thought would be useless once I hit the real world.  After 2 days, I have most of the reports decoded.  I'm not entirely sure each report is illustrating exactly what we want it to, but at least I have answers for my boss when she asks how we came up with a certain customer cost, sales price or adjustment.  I even went old school when completing my calculations, pulling out the pencil (ok, it was black pen) and paper solving my equations by hand.

I'll leave the hard part making sure the figures are reported in the right spot up to management and our system programmer.  For now I'll just be happy that I retained something besides boy band lyrics from my teenage years.

An ideal weekend

I have to say after dealing with month-end on Tuesday and all of the craziness that ensues the few days after, this weekend has been highly enjoyable and mostly low-key.  It started off somewhat rocky with the torrential thunderstorms I encountered on my way home Friday night (it was so bad, I had to pull over for a good 15 minutes because my wipers wouldn't work fast enough and I was super afraid of hydroplaning) but from then on, it's been a picture perfect almost fall weekend here.
Completed the first half of my weekend warrior workout yesterday morning, shopped for new fall work clothes through the afternoon and then came home to do laundry and enjoy my Saturday night watching the last race before the Chase (or what could have been called the race that didn't want to start and then took hours to end). 
Today, I finished the second half of my weekend warrior workout, prepped lunches and dinners and ironed clothes for the week ahead and most importantly I'm spending my afternoon watching football.  While my Rams just lost to Detroit, they actually held their own most of the game.  I'm pretty proud of how they've looked so far and I'm excited to see what successes the team will have with Jeff Fischer leading them.
I am also super pumped for my NFL boyfriend's (in my head, that is) return to football after a year out of the game.  Yep, I'm rooting for the Broncos tonight!

Source

With the return of football season, my Sundays all around are so much better.  Now, if I can just win a week of football picks against the boys!

Unofficial end of summer

Exciting Labor Day weekend....

No, that's not my ring nor is that even my hand, but my good friend KP texted the work fam last night with this pic and informed us she got engaged yesterday.  We are all so happy for her and her fiance and we're so excited to hear the details when we get back to work on Tuesday.

While it has been an eventful weekend for KP, pretty much for me this weekend (and really the last 4 days in general) has been a bust.  After feeling absolutely horrible on Thursday and Friday and plugging through work so that month-end goes smooth on Tuesday, I came home Friday night and vowed I wasn't doing anything until I felt at least halfway normal again.  I tossed and turned all of Friday night and I was getting a bit stir crazy, so I got dressed and headed to the gym thinking I would sweat out whatever was making me feel like crap.  No such luck though since the doors are computerized and the power had gone out during the night.  That was my cue to come home, put my pjs on and spend the day on the couch.
The work fam kept me entertained all day as we group texted back and forth.  Really, I think that is the only reason why I didn't try to get up and tackle my list of many projects I had in my head for the long weekend.

Somehow I managed to sleep decently last night and while not feeling 100%, today I'm at least able to function and get some things done like laundry, apartment cleaning and making lunches and dinners for the week ahead.  I still haven't pushed myself full force because if this sinus/allergy/cold BS comes back and I have to suffer through a 12 hour month-end close on Tuesday feeling like I did on Friday, I will have the worst close ever.  (And right now, that's the last thing I need!)

Hurricane Issac has made this a less than perfect holiday weekend in the STL also as we've had showers and storms pop up pretty much the entire last two and a half days.  We've needed the rain, so I'm not complaining and it is still warm (and humid!) but the sun and rain has come and gone in a weird untimely pattern.  I guess it's nice that I didn't have grand plans for Labor Day weekend...less chance of them getting rearranged because of Mother Nature.

Testing my patience

I'm not sure how I made it through the first 18 years of my life without the internet because after being down for 3 days at home, I was about to go insane and I'm only home and awake for 2 or 3 hours most nights but man oh man, have those hours been less than enjoyable.  Finally last night I decided to call Charter and get a service tech out here to figure out exactly what was wrong.  The service to my place appeared to be working, the modem, which is only a month old, was lit up and connected but the internet would not connect  The tech ran all of the commands he knew to get things back in order, he even called a second tech that popped in to help but still no internet.  After giving me multiple options of what could be wrong, they left about an hour later not being able to fix my MAJOR internet issue.  I was bummed but understood.  In fact, the techs were surprised that I wasn't upset or mad at them for not fixing my internet.  Really, how could I be mad, its not their fault.  So I sat here for about 2 minutes more and decided, why not give the ol system restore a try.  Viola!!  Here I am!  I just don't know why I didn't think of this 3 days ago!  I promise, I'll be smarter the next time.

In other news, last night I had my physical exam for the new life insurance I applied for.  Things went well until the paramedical examiner needed to take a blood sample.  2 small viles of blood is all that was required, easy enough.....well for most.  Of course not for me though!  I made it through 1 vile and passed out while he was taking the second.  Not only did I pass out, he had to catch me before I wiped out on the floor in my living room.  I was out for a good 20 minutes even with him shaking and yelling my name over and over again.  Seriously, who passes out like that?!?  According to both Bro and Mom, both of them have done the same thing.  Guess it runs in the family.  I spent the rest of my evening feeling like I'd been hit by a truck.  Let's hope that the fainting doesn't affect my ability to buy this insurance policy.
It was funny today at work as the girls made it a point to remind me not to pass out when doing certain tasks at my desk or while walking through the office.  What a bunch of jokesters!