Weekend with the Girls!

Well what a fun weekend to end my first full week as a working girl! Right after work on Friday I went over to Emily's house to see her and Sheryl who was visiting for the weekend. A nice dinner on the patio at Flat Branch that night followed by "Mare's" delicious chocolate cake afterward and topped off with a good old-fashioned sleep over was just perfect. Well, nothing's perfect, but it sure was fun!

Saturday morning started before 9:00 and I was unpleasantly surprised to find how that didn't seem early to me anymore. Dang. That was a quick transition for someone who you would have thought to actually be better suited for a night job than anything else. At least I still believe that I'm not someone who couldn't sleep past noon anymore. My DNA hasn't changed.

Anyway, the not-so-early-anymore morning began with breakfast at Panera where the two Kirksville Travelers Kristi and Joelle joined us. From there we moved to good old David's Bridal for the 10 and 11 o'clock appointments to find bridesmaid's dresses for Sheryl's and Emily's wedding. (Not to each other, just so that's clear!)

While some would call the appointments a success in terms of finding pleasing possiblities for the intended goal, I found it a success more in terms of this:





Once I find the lucky man, someone please tell him I will only say "Yes" if he's been to DB to pick up MY ring for $6.99. You can't put a price on the real deal, folks. Just look at that quality setting...okay, I must stop drooling. I just can't stop thinking of how buff my left arm is going to be from lugging that around the mansion we'll be able to afford from all we've saved. It'll just mean so much. Okay, seriously. My slap happy hour is a full 6 hours ahead of time now! I don't know how to handle it!

Get through it.

This is the group at Applebee's after some more mall shopping. A delightful meal with delightful company! I can't remember the last time I sat at a restaurant that long past eating - what fun!



Our waitress even offered to take this photo of us after I got my "booth sides" shots. She wanted to be sure that the table was still clean and there weren't any incriminating liquids so as to prevent any internet posting snafus. What a doll. Her name was Jen. I think that's still my name. Sometimes I'm not sure. How do you put your full name on a resume and let everyone think your preferred name is "Jennifer" because you don't think you care? Then one professional phone call comes along and you refer to yourself as Jen and change your mind about everything! Sigh.

I digress again.

Here is a 'before' shot from today's glorious marathon distance bike ride from Columbia to Rocheport and back. What beautiful biking b...uddies! We made amazing time of 90 minutes for each leg of the journey, 3 hours total, with about an hour for lunch at the Trailside Cafe. We'll probably be sore tomorrow, but I still think it's worth it. As I hobble around the house in pain already.




See? What a great weekend! Full of "I haven't done this in so long!!!" moments - from the excessive and satisfying amount of photos, to the sweating this much and working this hard, and just getting to spend a solid amount of time in great conversation with some of my favorite people in the world! (Gosh, I've been so mushy lately! Does that come as a bonus to the earlier bedtimes or what?!?!)

Here's to a productive and challenging second week of work!


P.S. I love comments!!!

Stealth Photographer, Sassy Designer

Here's my second day's outfit – it was a "Business Formal Black & Gold" dress code day. I rocked it. Mom's not so great at the front porch photos (she must have peaked when I hit junior high and just quit trying after that) so I had my own mini(onephoto)photo shoot after work in before my neighbor drove down the street and I pretended like I was just getting the paper. Like a real adult, you know.





And here is MY OFFICE!!! I hear they're pretty strict about photos taken in the building, but since it's my office, no one else is in it, no gym equipment is in it and no one is paying me for it I think it's okay. Don't tell anyone though, ok? Great.





Let's start with my corner back there...two ginormous screens side by side and the aforementioned awesome keyboard. Lots and lots of cabinet and drawer space and believe me I've been reorganizing like a fiend. Nothing like having a guy predecessor that kept 50+ copies of everything...yikes. Bringing the dust wipes tomorrow.

This shot is taken as you walk in the door and turn 90º to your left. Behind are even more cabinets and drawers...unbelievable! The windows are just to the hallway, kept shut so as not to feel like a zoo animal. It's bad enough that my computer screen faces everyone else – I hate when people can see the 'work in progress'!!!

There's a nice tall counter to separate the space pretty well. Perfect for barstools if it were a more socially appealing environment :)

And yes, I've revealed where my snack drawer is...no chocolate yet, but sooooon. Oh so soon.

Someday I will tackle the 'printer/storage closet area (the door is at the end of the countertop and to the right of my desk corner). It's a little scary in there and I just haven't had the strength. I was maxing out on bravery today standing on the rolly chair in a skirt trying to move heavy stacks of magazines off the shelf. Dang. That could have been bad.

Okay, I promise this won't always be about work stuff. But still, there are photos so I guess the blog is still somewhat on target subject-wise. My hope is to periodically add some of the best of the best of the best of the 5000+ photos I took on the Mediterranean cruise this summer. In the meantime, photos of me will just have to suffice!

A Three Hour Tour...(a three hour tour...)

Today, I became a 'real person.' I'd have to say it was quite satisfying and enjoyable. As I was under the distinct impression that first days aren't often this way, I was certainly not expecting this. I never once felt awkward, everyone was very welcoming and I even scored some really sweet stuff. Perhaps my only complaint was the shoes...there aren't many 'dressy' shoes that can accommodate a three hour tour of a recreational facility + a short walk to lunch/30 minutes straight standing time in line + a medium walk to some dedication thing + what seemed like a mountainous hike to my car in the parking garage. I have spared you (and myself) of any photos of the resulting blisters. Yep. Not real sure what shoes I will - or can! - wear tomorrow.

Moving on...let's just start with the "First Day of Work" outfit (as pictured below). Now, even though my mother took the photo and the backdrop is nearly identical to my "First Day of Seventh Grade" photo, both the outfit and the sentiment are entirely different. Okay...maybe just the outfit. Still. Documentation through photos is fairly important to me, thus the resulting image below.



Concerning the sweet stuff I scored, I'd just like to say that I wish it 'twer always this easy. While getting oriented on the time sheet process at my new desk in my new office with my new boss (who rocks) she noted that the Dell keyboard and mouse were insufficient tools for a graphic designer. I'd have to say she was right. And what action! It wasn't like it took 2 weeks for me to learn the misguided shortcut keys and scrub off mouse residue (yes, nearly as nasty as it sounds)...a mere 3 hours later I was given (and got to stand by while others 'installed') a brand new mighty mouse and shiny new keyboard! Fantastic, I tell you!


Next up, a new telephone - for which I will have to learn all the fancy message-retrieving tricks. I think I'm up to the challenge.




Now, onto the REALLY great news. In the hustle and bustle of the day, my boss Emily had forgotten to tell me the biggest perk yet of the already wonderful job until around 4 o'clock this afternoon. Umm...come November 19-21 I'll be in HILTON HEAD, SOUTH CAROLINA for a conference!!! Best first business trip ever! First best business trip ever!!! (Kim, if you ever read this, it's only a 5.5 hour drive for you...)


Welp, that's about all of my exciting news for today. Maybe tomorrow I'll actually DO something pertaining to my job. All in good time, all in good time...

12 days at sea, 10 delicious wedding cakes, 3 drives through Colorado, 2 weeks of job searching, 1 amazing summer...

So I think it's time for me to start a blog. Ok, I just did.

As indicated by the title of this entry, I was pretty busy during the last summer of my life (until retirement, that is). Starting immediately after graduation I had six consecutive wedding weekends - with a Clock Auction in between 5 and 6 - followed by a road trip to California, another two weekends of weddings, a shower in Arkansas, a road trip to Colorado, a Mediterranean cruise, two more weddings and a brief search for a job. Suffice it to say, if there was any time to start a blog...I guess it was three months ago. But if there was ever a time to kick start a blog as one begins to enter 'real' life, now is as good a time as any.

Here's a little montage of the summer's craziness (15 photos is not even vapor on the tip of the ginormous iceberg):



Oh yeah. And my 'real life' officially begins this Thursday. Sweet!