The Post Office Strikes Again

This morning I was handed a letter that should have reached us sometime in August and stamped on the front of the envelope was:
"Found in Supposedly Empty Equipment"
This was not handwritten on the front, it was stamped. The post office has had this happen often enough that they have made a stamp to let people know that they haven't figured out how to make sure equipment is actually empty and mail gets delivered in a somewhat timely fashion. One would think that instead of having a stamp made for this purpose, they would just decide to take an extra minute or two to make sure that everything is out of the machines. But, maybe that is just asking a little too much.

Chinese Water Torture

I am sure that this title is not PC, but I don't really care. Last night I again crawled into bed much later than I had intended. This seems to be a pattern for me this week. There is a direct correlation between this pattern and the one where I arrive at work late each morning. I crawled into bed and managed to fall asleep pretty quickly, only to be woken up at 2am by the sounds of water dripping. I was a bit confused by this sound at first and my confusion quickly turned to irritation when I realized that it was 2am and I was awake again. The noise was water dripping outside onto the air conditioning unit that is still in my window. It could have been from an AC unit upstairs or could have just been from the building seeing as how it was raining yesterday. I eventually fell back asleep and got up about 45 minutes after my alarm went off for the first time. Not a fun way to start my day!
The one bright spot in my morning was a phone call from a friend saying that she had an extra bag of espresso that I could have if I wanted it. If the question is: "Do you want some free coffee?" my answer is always: "Yes!"

Wordle

This is kind of fun! It's a word picture of my blog done on Wordle.


(you can click on it to make it bigger.)

Feeling Blah

I'm having a very 'blah' day today. I would love to just curl up into bed and stay there. It's taking a lot of energy to not snap at people. There are numerous reasons for this feeling and only one of them is that it's Monday. If you want to know the rest, I will share with you but don't feel the need to write them all down. In the grand scheme of life, they are insignificant. But, still making for a not-quite-good day.
So, if you have any funny stories to share with me, that would be awesome! I could use a good laugh (and some chocolate).

Bad move

At the store the other day I decided to go out on a limb and instead of buying my normal French Vanilla creamer, I opted for the Caramel Vanilla (or Vanilla Caramel). Bad idea. I put the new creamer in my coffee this morning and it's just not the same. It has a strange after taste or something. Thankfully, I only bought a small bottle of it so I'll be able to finish it quickly. If only I was a wasteful person and could just throw it out...

Playing Catch Up

I will start this random post by saying that today I am wearing the cute new dress that I saw two weeks ago on sale and finally gave into temptation and purchased on Tuesday. It's surprisingly comfortable and I think it's super cute. It's perfect for fall (and would be perfect for going out for a little happy hour). I just thought you all might like to know this about me today.

Now, on to catching up.

Approximately forever ago, E and I got together to make the Hamburger cupcakes I talked about in an earlier post. She was going to a BBQ with some work friends and wanted to bring something super special. I think I got to help because I already had food coloring and decorating bags.

We had a little help from our friend Betty.

The 'Buns'

Here, you can see E putting the lettuce on the burgers.

We had a little assembly line going. We could totally get jobs at McDonald's.

The finished product! Aren't they cute!?!?!The carnage from having to flatten out the 'patties'. Don't worry, these did NOT go to waste!

E said they were a big hit at her party. We did learn that frosting will melt and start sliding down the sides of the burgers. I'm thinking that by using a different kind of frosting, we might be able to fix that. And, the burgers were a little on the large side and hard to fit in your mouth. And, they don't squish down as well as a Big Mac. So, I'm thinking that the buns should be a little bit smaller next time. Overall though, it was a success!

That same weekend, a few of us got dressed up and headed downtown for a birthday party and to see the San Francisco Ballet at the Harris Theater. I really didn't manage to get any good pictures of the evening so I will just describe things for you.
They party was held in one of the condo buildings right on Lake Shore Drive. There were drinks and snacks and fantastic views of the lake. And, a sun deck that I would kill (not literally, maybe) to be able to use in the summer.
We walked from our party over to the theater and thanks to K's uncle, had the best seats in the house to see the San Francisco ballet perform 3 selections. They were all a little more on the modern side but still beautiful. This was my first ballet and I think I sat completely motionless for the first 15 minutes until I remembered that as a human being, I need to breath on occasion.
After the ballet, we headed over to the Tavern on the Park/Green/Something and enjoyed some late night appetizers (chicken fondue and goat cheese in tomato sauce. Yum!) and drinks to celebrate our evening.
And, I cannot forget the fabulous company for the evening! The 5 of us got all dressed up (all wearing black and white, but that part was not planned) and believe me when I say we turned some heads as we walked down the street! Next time I'll take more pictures.

I think I'm in love...

With Colorado, that is.

I spent most of last week in Arvada, CO for a training event and I think I fell in love. Upon landing (on time!) after a very uneventful flight (Praise the Lord!), I took the shuttle to the rental car place and was handed the keys to this:
Several people said it just didn't fit me. Apparently, I am not 'gansta' enough for it. Whatever. I hoped in, turned on the radio and found a fantastic public radio station and blasted somebody's (I don't remember who's) Symphony #8 as I drove along I-70. The sky was just about the bluest I have ever seen and the people were incredibly friendly.

The event itself went really well. I only got a couple of phone calls with questions about where to pick up rental cars and how to get somewhere. Nothing like my last training event when American Airlines decided it was a good idea to ground about 1,000 planes or something and everyone had to scramble to get to the event. The church that we were at had a fantastic facility and a staff who were very helpful.

For one of the nights, we took everyone to Casa Bonita for dinner. They are not known for their food at all. They are known for the cliff divers and gorillas that provide 'entertainment' while you eat. I guess the bright pink building should have been our first clue that this was going to be an interesting evening.
Let's just say that everyone made me promise to never make them eat there again. Don't worry, I will never make anyone go there!

On the first morning, one group presented me with a little present. They gave me a small box of chocolates and this cute little lollipop from their home state.
It was a small gesture on their behalf but was greatly appreciated by me.

I was sad to leave the beautiful state of Colorado and come back to the crazy city of Chicago, but it's good to be home.