Fun Thursday, Weekend So So

Thursday morning I did make it to my meeting and thanks to my mom saving the day, I did not have to wear my pajamas to the meeting. It was a fairly typical meeting for work... but it was one of those non-confrontational yet productive meetings... my favorite kind. I met with a group of law enforcement officers who are typically a lot of fun. They like what they do and they are making a difference in the state... so I enjoy meeting with them.

After the meeting I headed to lunch with one of the folks that we work with. By the time we were done with lunch it was still too early to head to Amberly's house. I'm sure they wouldn't have minded but I felt like I should get some work done before I played for the rest of the day. So I camped out in a conference room and worked for a few hours.

Then it was off to see Amberly and her crew. I always have so much with them! They fed me dinner and kept me entertained all afternoon and evening. No matter how tired or stressed I am, they always brighten my day. This is the second time I have gone to see them since they moved. Hopefully I haven't worn out my welcome quite yet and they won't get tired of me any time soon.

When I finally left them alone to let them try to return to a normal nighttime routine it was fairly late. I got back to my house after 10... and then the non-fun part of my day started. I had to finish cleaning the house for the lingerie shower some of the girls are throwing for my roommate tomorrow night. I am not looking forward to this shower but apparently I don't have much choice but to show up since she is my roommate and I am in the wedding. I have considered not showing up... but that would probably hurt my roommate's feelings. I'm still considering my options. :-) Call me prudish, but I am not a fan of that type of shower. At least it will all be over soon enough.

This week's somewhat crazy travel continues. Tonight I head back to my hometown to go to an annual arts and crafts fair in the morning. Last year Amberly and I had a booth but this year my mom and I are just going to browse and shop. The weather should be great and that should be lots of fun! After that it will be back to the town where I live for the lingerie shower. Sunday there is a bridal tea for my roommate... but somewhere in there I'm going to need a nap!

Packing Woes

I travel a lot... I would say on average about once a week (sometimes more, sometimes less). Some of that is for work and some of that is personal... and most of it is for one night or less. This has been the case for the past couple of years and it has never been a real problem. Well within the past few weeks I have apparently lost the ability to pack!!

This afternoon I headed from the town where I live to my hometown. I have a meeting for work in the morning about 25% of the way here, I realized I had my shoes, I had my bag... but this time, I had forgotten my dress clothes. Not again!!! Remember... this just happened a few weeks ago.

I called my mom, frustrated with myself and ill about the fact that I was going to have to turn around and go get my clothes. Well my wonderful mother offered to go buy me a new outfit. I haven't seen it yet but she says she found a great deal at Kohl's. We usually agree on clothing taste, so I'm sure it will be fine.

Who knows what I will forget on my next trip! One day I will remember ALL of my stuff. You wouldn't think it would be that difficult...

When you go on a trip...

When you go on a trip there are a few things you should always take. 1. Your suitcase. (Who would forget a suitcase?) 2. A pillow... also important (at least to some... including me) 3. Toiletries (very important for overnight trips) Here is a picture of these three things sitting in the entrance to my bedroom... not in my car... but in the floor of my bedroom:

So on Monday night when I got to my hometown (where I had a big meeting for work on Tuesday) I had none of these three things. That's right... I left them sitting right there in the entrance to my bedroom. I literally had to step OVER them when I left my room.

How dumb can you be? Apparently just about that dumb. Fortunately I have some things at my parents house... but I was missing vital things like dress shoes to match my suit, the proper undergarments and my shampoo... but it all worked out. Fortunately after my initial panic I realized my mom had just bought me a new outfit that would work perfectly for my meeting and that matched the shoes I had on my feet... and I could borrow or make do without everything else.

When I got back to my house this afternoon... I found my three trip essentials were sitting in the floor of my room... disappointed that they got all packed up for no reason at all. Just wanted to share my dumb blond moment for the week.

This and That

I forgot to participate in Weekend Reflections last weekend but last week was a good week. I was sad to find out that Amberly and her family will be moving away from my hometown but happy for them at the same time. But the other big news of last week was that it was my last week on the road. YEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sure I still have some travel for work but my eight weeks in a row (or whatever it was) of being out of town for the majority of the week is over. I like traveling, but I am happy to be home and believe it or not I am even happy to be back in the office.

I have started a new schedule for myself this week as well. Our work schedule is a bit flexible and in the past I have arrived to the office at about 8:30 and worked until 5:30 or 6. But for several reasons, I have decided to go in earlier. The main reason being... Brun is still half asleep when I go to work in the morning but he is ready to play by the time I get home. So the earlier I get home the better.

I am not a morning person but so far I really like it. I am trying to go in between 7:30 and 8 and leave by 5. Almost no one else gets there that early so it is nice to be able to get some work done before people come in and start wanting stuff. And even nicer is getting to leave at 5 and have more of the evening to myself. I have had to go to bed a little earlier but hopefully I can stick with the schedule.

That's about it for me this week. I am spending some more time at my brother's house painting and cleaning this week. It is really starting to look good. My brother moved out last weekend so it is pretty empty but the progress you can see is certainly a good thing. Tonight I cleaned my brother's bathroom. I called him after I finished and told him when he comes to visit he can't use that bathroom any more... he has to go to the service station up the road. :-) It's so clean I might even use it now.

Greetings from St. Louis

I know I promised to post my Weekend Reflections on Sunday, but I was having Internet issues and wasn't able to do that. Last week was a busy week but a good one. I was very thankful to be home all week with no travel and thankful to make as much progress as I did at my brother's house.

Things here in St. Louis are going pretty well. The work part of things is not all that exciting but I have managed to squeeze in a few fun things as well.

I was very brave and went up in the arch on Sunday morning. I didn't get stuck and there was an amazing view. Tonight we are going to a Cardinals game and I am thinking about ditching my group and going to see a play at the outdoor amphitheatre in town on Wednesday night. They are doing "The Pajama Game" and somehow that sounds more fun that eating at the snooty revolving restaurant on the top floor of our hotel.

I am ready to get home but I am here until Thursday. I am currently booked to come back Thursday afternoon but I am currently debating whether I want to take the early morning flight. It's awfully early but I would get home about five hours earlier.

I will post some pictures from the trip once I get home.

Weekend Reflections

It has been another crazy busy week filled with lots of travel. Last weekend I went to my hometown and attended a baby shower on Sunday afternoon. The baby shower was so nice and the couple got lots of cute things for their baby. While I enjoyed the shower I missed getting my Sunday afternoon nap. :-)

After church Sunday night it was back to the town where I live. I was so tired I came home and went almost directly to bed. Monday was a normal day of work and then it was back to my hometown. On Tuesday I had to work in my hometown and then drive back to the town where I live. On Wednesday it was work back in the town where I live and then right back to my hometown again. Thursday morning was a meeting for work in my hometown and then it was back to the town where I live.

So given that each trip is about 2.5 hours each way... I was in the car 12.5 hours. YUCK!!

Thursday night after I got back to the town where I live Brun had a bath. He had been at my parent’s house all week and even though he had a great time he was filthy!! He loves spending time with my parents and his “cousin dogs” but he comes back quite nasty.

On Friday I had a normal day of work in the town where I live. My dad rode with me back to the town where I live on Thursday afternoon and then my mom came into town Friday night. Friday night we ate at my house and did some stuff around the house.

On Saturday Leslie and I hung out and she and Classic Rock Baby came over and we worked on some sewing projects. I am so amazed at how great Brun is with the baby. He can be an absolute looney toon when we are playing but he is so sweet to the baby… he lets him pet him and squeal at him and he just plays along. Saturday night, my parents and I went to dinner with Leslie, ToolMan and CRB.

The week was filled with lots and lots of travel but it all went well. So I would say my week was pretty tiring and the weekend was definitely the high point. This week I am thankful that I had safe travels in all of my driving. I am also thankful for my family and friends who I spent time with during the week. And I am thankful that I do not have to do any travel next week.

Finally, I am thankful for the fact that this coming Sunday is race day. Being a big racing fan I can start my day with the F1 race, watch the Indy 500 after church Sunday afternoon and then finally finish up the day with the Coca-Cola 600 after church Sunday night. I will be very tired of watching cars drive around in circles (or on road courses in the case of the F1 race) by the end of the day Sunday but I love it. :-)

For more Weekend Reflections, visit Judi.

On the Road Again

I travel A LOT (usually at least one day per week). In my life there are two major types of travel... the type you do for work and the type you do for pleasure. I try to mix the two as much as possible but that is not always very easy to do. Fortunately for me I do have to travel to my hometown for business pretty often so in that case it is much easier to mix the two.

Being the type of person that doesn't like change and that likes a normal, boring routine, the travel can really wear on you. I honestly do like to travel (or at least I used to) but somehow the more travel I do for work the less I want to do for pleasure. If I have been traveling a lot for work I just want to go home and enjoy my house and my stuff. :-)

As a part of all of this travel I have to stay in a number of hotels. I HATE hotels. I don't know why exactly but there is pretty much nothing about them that I like. I don't like the choice of TV channels I might or might not have, I don't like the fact that I don't have my TiVo and I really don't like the fact that I don't have my own bed. I am very much a "Princess in the Pea" who wants her comfortable mattress, relatively high thread count sheets with the right mixture of fabric softener... and most importantly my pillow. If I don't have these I am a grump and I am doomed to even less sleep than usual.

I have learned to combat this in a number of ways. If it is a car trip I take my own pillow with me... if it is a plane trip I take my own pillow case to use on the pillow I am forced to use. For Christmas, my best friend Leslie gave me one of these dream sacks. It is wonderful and I highly recommend it to anyone who has to travel a lot. These things all help but it is not as good as home.

I am of course on the road again this week and will be out of the office three out of five days. This means one night at my parents house and just one night in a hotel. I am actually fairly excited about the hotel I am staying in tonight. I will let you know how it goes after I have determined whether or not the mattress allows me to get a good night's rest.

Good night!

Weekend Reflections

Since this is my first week blogging this is obviously my first chance to do a Weekend Reflection. Thanks to Mommy of Two for the idea.

It has been a busy week! Last weekend my dad and I went to the 12 Hours of Sebring Race in Sebring, Florida. I had a great time but I was so ready to come home that I drove all night and we got back at 6 AM Sunday morning. I had an hour and a half of sleep before it was time for church. But I had a wonderful day on Sunday because I got to spend time in my hometown with my family and friends, including Amberly and her family.

On Monday I took off from work in order to recover from my trip. I am not very good at taking time off but I was fairly successful at relaxing and sleeping in. On Tuesday and Wednesday I worked out of town and then late Wednesday I finally returned to my house in A College Town, Alabama. I have been out of town so much recently that it was really nice to be back in my own bed.

On Thursday I finally got to see my best friend Leslie and my wonderful godson, Classic Rock Baby for the first time in several weeks. We spent the evening together and it was so much fun. I have missed them a lot.

On Friday it was a typical work day and then I came home, took Brun for a walk and gave him a bath. After that it was time for a little rest and relaxation around the house.

Saturday I went to a brunch hosted by one of the wonderful ladies from church. Then Leslie, CRB and I ran an errand and came back to my house to do some sewing projects. The interaction with Brun and CRB went great!!

I love spending time with my family and friends and on vacation but it is nice to finally be back at home and to return to a more "normal" routine. I love my house, my bed, my couch, my tv, my dog, etc... and so it's nice to be back home to enjoy all of those things. It was an eventful and fabulous week but I am looking forward to a more typical routine next week.