2009: A Year in Review

I had planned on breaking this into two separate posts, but time got away from me.  Here’s what I’ve been up to the last 12 months:

January

• 30 days of 30
• First ski/snowboard trip
• Neil Clennon Reffett was born

February

• My 30th birthday
• Birthday celebration in Chicago
• Bunco at my house

FAIL

March

• Work trip to San Francisco (two posts… here and here)

yep, that's a CRUISE ship on the right

April

• NKOTB– for the second  time!
• Ran my first 5K
• Rush Little was born

Clennon and I post-race

May

• Minneapolis for work
• Planted a garden (or at least supervised)
• 2nd 5K
• Chicago to see Jess!

The girls of Hewett 6 (minus Jo)

June

• Ohio for Reds/Cubs game
• Ryan Joseph Lingas was born
• Started the Great Paint Project

Self-portrait attempt #2. This pic is horrible, but I LOVE it 'cuz it's so real!

July

• Infamous Rural King incident
• Cubs/Cardinals game
• Stephanie’s bachelorette party
• Hayden Michael Bates was born

August

• Finished the Great Paint Project
• Run4Raley (3rd 5K)
• Minnesota Vacation(and my first time up on water skis!)
• Stephanie and Drew get hitched

After

Highlight of the trip: Getting up on waterskiis for the first time!

the entire bridal party!

September

• 4th 5K
• Surprise birthday tailgate

October

• Chachi shower/bachelorette party
• Halloween

The bigger the hair, the closer to God

November

• Chachi wedding
• Philadelphia for work

December

• Kim’s surprise birthday party
• Christmas with my dad’s side
• Oak Ridge Boys concert
• First Christmas with my new niece
• CHRISTMAS BREAK!!!

Birthday girl doing shots

My 92 year old Grannie and my newborn GREAT niece

In addition, there were countless nights out, NUMEROUS trips to Chicago and plenty of downtime.  All in all it was a pretty good year.  I can’t wait to see what 2010 has in store for me.

Philadelphia Fun

I was in Philly last week/weekend for work.   As always, it was a lot of WORK… but I managed to squeeze in some fun.  

Some things on my to-do list:

1. Run the “Rocky” steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art–check!

I ran the mile and a half from my hotel to the steps… and then ALL the way to the top… it was quite a feat.   I even had the Rocky theme song playing as I ran up the steps.   A nice man who was in town for the English teacher convention (i.e. OUR convention) took this picture.   It’s a little embarrassing, but I was sooooo happy to have “proof.”

Afterwards, I tried running back to my hotel… and got lost (shocker!).   I probably got an extra 2 miles of running in + an extra 3 or 4 walking.   Navigational FAIL!

2.  See the Liberty Bell–check!

Through glass.  At night.  It wasn’t that impressive.   But I got one viable photo:

3.  Sample an authentic Philly cheesesteak– check!

You’ve probably heard of the famous rivalry between Genos and Pat’s– two steak stands in South Philly who vie for the title of “best” cheesesteak.    After our work was done, a colleague and I took a cab to sample the goods.  She got a *very* plain sandwich–steak and provolone only–from Genos and I got a pepper steak “with” + Whiz from Pat’s (that’s cheesesteak lingo for a cheesesteak with peppers and onions and, yes, Cheese Whiz).     Mine was better.  Not only did mine have the delicious goodness of the peppers, onions, and cheese whiz, the meat and bread of mine was tastier.  Pat’s wins… hands down.

Geno's on the left, Pat's on the right

 4.  Participate in the Philadelphia Marathon– FAIL (sorta!)

I had originally planned on running the 8K as part of the Philly marathon, but it sold out too quickly.  Then I thought about going down and spectating the beginning of the race.  But it was entirely too crazy down there.    I did, however, “crash” the marathon expo… and bought a couple of  shirts (one of which I’m wearing in my Rocky picture… it says “Will Run for Beer,” but you really can’t read it). Spending money counts as supporting the running community, right?  :)

entrance to the Philly Marathon expo--literally steps from our own exhibit hall entrance!

I also shared many dinners, laughs, drinks, and good times with my work buddies.   Putting on these shows is kinda like camp– you bond instantly with your co-workers.  Except it’s really hard work and we’re all tired and cranky.  But at the end of the day, it’s nice to have a good group of people to commiserate with!

 

Foto Friday: New York, New York

These pictures were taken on my first trip to NYC in March 2002, almost 6 months to the day after 9/11/01.   (and, yes, were taken with a film camera!)

We landed in New York the day that President Bush declared war and the mood in the City was understandably somber.   Although it was a work trip, we managed to hop a subway and go down to Ground Zero one afternoon.

Ground Zero: big open hole

A memorial wall near the site

memorial plaque for those who lost their lives

close up of some of the photos/notes left by visitors

Eight years later, these events are starting to feel like “history” to some of us.  Let’s not forget what it felt like then, in hopes that we never have to go through it again.

I dusted off my old Tribute to Heroes CD this morning.  I still like this Alan Jackson song.  The part about watching I Love Lucy re-runs gets me every time.  I don’t know why, but that’s the saddest part for me.

Foto Friday: Automotive FAIL!

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.

True, but blog posts are supposed to be concise…. So, here’s the story, in 500 words or less:

On the way to Minnesota for vacation last month my “check tire pressure” light turned on.  I got off at the next exit, checked my tire pressure, aired up the tires for good measure and proceeded to drive the ~700 miles to my destination.  We continued to monitor the tire pressure, but everything looked fine, so we didn’t worry about it much.  I had my brakes replaced a few days before and figured the light was just a malfunction and carried on with vacation.

By the time we were ready to head back home I had all but forgotten about my tire issue.  We got on the road and prepared for the 12-hour trek.   About an hour into our journey, we stopped to re-fuel on healthy stuff like powdered donuts and chocolate milk.

I got behind the wheel, Ryan climbed in the back seat with his pillow and blanked and Jo assumed donut duty in the passenger seat.   A couple miles after our first pit stop, I heard a noise.

Ryan:  What was that?

Me:  I dunno

Ryan:  I think it might be your muffler or something.

Me:  Oh, I doubt it. I’m sure there’s just something in the trunk.  Do you think I should pull over?

Ryan:  Uh…yeah.

Me (rolling down the window and sticking my head out):  Maybe there’s a helicopter* flying over or something.

Ryan: No, you need to pull over… NOW!

I pulled over and Ryan got out of the car to check things out. Sure enough, I had a flat tire.  And over 600 miles to drive.   CRAP!

We had to unload ALL of our stuff on the side of the road so that we could get out the jack and the spare tire (ironically called… a donut! )– All of our luggage and vacation supplies for THREE people plus some random stuff,  including my boyfriend’s “artwork” that’s been riding around in my trunk for months.

While Ryan was working on changing the tire, lots of nice Minnesotans stopped to ask us if we needed help.  “No,” we’d say. “We’ve got it.”   

We asked one woman if there was a tire shop in Grand Rapids or if we’d need to go further down the road.  She told us that there were two in town, so we started re-packing our gear back in the trunk.

Just as we were getting ready to leave, the nice woman came back (she had been going the opposite direction).  She said she knew a guy who would help us out.    We followed her to the tire shop where we had to unload all of our stuff yet again, where they quickly changed the tire and sent us on our merry way.

You can't see the "velvet Elvis" artwork because it's hiding behind the muted abstract print

An hour later and only $35 poorer, we were back on the road.  A big shout out to my brother for not only knowing how to change a flat but also for asking them to put on a used tire.

—

* We couldn’t stop laughing about this afterwards. There aren’t any airports, air bases, or anything else in that part of Minnesota to make me think there was a  helicopter flying overhead. So naturally that was the first thing I thought of. Naturally.

Long Time, No Blog: Bonus Features

Lisa was kind enough to post some photos of our Minneapolis trip, so I’ve decided to do like they do with DVDs and offer some “never before seen” bonus features:

Ate some killer Malaysian food in MPLS.  Heard a great (albeit very broken) story about a fire in a Malaysian place in Chicago.

Drinking a pomegranate concoction at the Malaysian place. Lisa got a Woo-Woo

Witnessed and responded to an on-the-job accident. Not real common in my line of work.

Sign warning us that such accidents may occur. Taken well after said accident

Took a photo next to a statue of Mary Tyler Moore.

She turns the world on with her smile--post tipsy shopping and wine-fueled dinner.

Met (and held!) another newborn baby

Me holding Rush

Attended a baby shower and graduation party.

Check out the cute little flip-flops I got for Rush...

Lisa and I at the graduation party

I wish I had taken pix of the teacher freebie pandemonium and the Mexican wrestling.  However, some things are better left to the imagination.  A couple more points:

• The cucumber-flavored candy was unintentional.  It was green, so I assumed it would be sour apple, or (at the worst) lime.  It was only after the candy had been POURED into my mouth that I realized it was cucumber-flavored. I’d love to have a reaction shot of my face when I tasted it.
• The nickname story will have to be shared privately.  Mostly because I really, really, really do not want it to stick!

Long time, no blog

I know the “too busy to blog” excuse is getting lame.  But it’s true.  I was hoping to write some proper blog posts, but since some of you like lists (shout out to Harley Quinn— I loved your last comment!), I figured I’d save myself the trouble of actually having to write anything.

In the last week and a half or so I:

• Witnessed masked Mexican wrestling in Chicago.  It was awesome.
• Tasted cucumber-flavored candy.  It was awful.
• Learned that you really can’t just miss your connecting flight or your entire ticket is invalidated.
• Re-booked my ticket.  Twice.
• Got hit on by a Greek waiter in Chicago and a Mexican bar patron in Minneapolis.
• Spent entirely too much time on Sporcle.  Finally learned the correct spelling of Kazakhstan.  It comes in handy.
• Ate some killer Malaysian food in MPLS.  Heard a great (albeit very broken) story about a fire in a Malaysian place in Chicago.
• Witnessed and responded to an on-the-job accident. Not real common in my line of work.
• Learned I like tamales.
• Congratulated a friend on her recent engagement. Yay Keem!
• Almost forgot, and then lost, and then found my journal/notebook.
• Saw Star Trek. Loved it, despite zero familiarity with the original.  Reminded me a lot of Star Wars, actually.  And Lost.
• Met (and held!) another newborn baby.
• Picked up a new nickname (which I’m trying HARD to not let stick).
• Ran my second 5K, less than a month after my first, with no iPod. After being gone for a week and out drinking the night before.
• Mowed my lawn immediately after the 5K.  Bad idea.
• Learned that I was selected to be a Nielsen “family.”  I can’t wait to report my 2.5 hours of TV watching a week.
• Improved my ability to ride public transportation.
• Received a comped dessert because dinner took so long.  Waited about 20 mins for said dessert.
• Had multiple weird conversations about weight loss.  Including one that started with “I hope you’re not offended, but…”  Um, no, not offended!
• Took a photo next to a statue of Mary Tyler Moore.
• Met a friend’s new boyf.
• Spent Mother’s Day with my mom, brother, and sister-in-law. Against our advice, my mom insisted on having it at her house and making all the food.
• Ran in Chicago.  Gave unsuspecting motorist directional advice.  Felt really bad afterward.
• Attended a baby shower and graduation party.
• Received invitations to two other baby showers.
• Witnessed teachers literally FIGHTING over free books.
• Engaged in some tipsy shopping.  Bought books and a belt between happy hour and an awesome wine-fueled dinner.

Things I haven’t done

• unpacked
• watched last week’s Lost
• slept, at least not much

A peek inside my journal

It’s probably not a surprise to most of you that I’m a journaler…  I’ve been keeping a journal, in some form or other, since I was a kid.

It also probably won’t come as a surprise that my journaling isn’t exactly structured or organized. In fact, I don’t even keep it in a consistent place. I have several notebooks, which are used not only as notebooks, but as receptacles for EVERYTHING– grocery lists, notes to myself, doodles, etc.  I even have a HORRIBLE habit of mixing my personal and work notebooks.  In fact, I found my bets from last year’s Vegas trip during a meeting at work today.  Ugh.

I thought it might be interesting to let y’all take a little peek into one of my journals…   I wrote this on the way back from San Fransisco.  I’m keeping the original post pretty much intact, but I couldn’t resist fixing a few style/grammar issues.  But I kept most of them in.  You’ll also see some “notes” in brackets.  These are after-the-fact explanations and were not part of the original ramblings.

——-

3.14.09

There’s something about travelling that brings out the reflective/introspective side of me.  Maybe it’s being in another place.  Surrounded by other people and places.

Maybe it’s the lack of the clutter of everyday life– bills to pay, chores to do, people to  to connect with.  A hotel room with just a bed and a clock.  No to-do list except the one you bring with you.

I got up early an ran 2x this trip.  Not because I was dedicated, but because I had nothing else to do.  My brain woke my body up and there was simply nothing else to do in the 2+ hour before work than hit the hotel gym.

Granted, the lack of clutter and schedule can also work against progress.  Sat. was my last day in SF.  We got done with work early so it was my only free afternoon to do daytime “stuff”.  Unfortunately, the stuff I really wanted to do didn’t work into my time schedule so I ended up taking a much needed nap in the hotel instead.

Although this worked well for me physically, my to-do list suffered.  I didn’t get to the museum store (which I love) and didn’t buy gifts for family and friends, which I needed to do.

Travelling also allows for lots of profound thoughts.  Maybe its being “stuck” on a plane or a train but I often find myself thinking profound thoughts on planes and trains.

[Editor’s Note: the previous sentence was clearly not edited for style… just to prove this is really a journal entry.]

I think about people.  How they got here.  Where they’re going.  And about myself.  How I got here and where I’m going.  Where am I going, anyway?

I find myself making plans to make plans when I travel– changes I need to make.  Meditations I need to do [Editor’s note: I’ve never meditated a day in my life. I must’ve read this in a book or something.]

I get back to the hustle-bustle [Editor’s Note: originally spelled “hussle-bussle”] of my “real” life.  The laundry, the bills are still there.  The day-to-day routine that makes up the majority of life.  And I forget to retreat.  To think. To reflect.

I often think I need to take a trip all by myself.  To the beach maybe. Or the mountains.  Somewhere with natural beauty that can inspire me to think about my life and to make real plans to do something with it.  Something meaningful. Something significant.  Something with purpose.  But then I think what would I do?  Would I get lonely?

I even thought about extending this trip for a couple of days– staying over in SF so I could do some stuff I knew I wouldn’t get to do.  But I didn’t have anyone to come out here with me.  Well, that’s not really true.  I didn’t actually ask anyone.

[Editor’s note: Names of friends and family I could’ve asked.  I’m leaving this out to protect the innocent. It’s not their fault I never asked them!]

Even if I didn’t find anyone to come, I should’ve done it.  As I sit here on the plane thinking about it, I have these romantic visions of sitting on the Wharf with my laptop writing.  Or doing the touristy stuff I didn’t do.  Or spending time hiking Muir Woods and “connecting” with the city.  I should’ve done it.

As it turns out, I did extend my trip a bit.  Instead of staying over a couple days in SF, I’m gonna hang in Chicago.  Maybe we can do some off-the-beaten path Chicago stuff.  I just read about a couple places and I’ll have some time to write.

[Editor’s note: As you probably already know, I ended up pretty much crashing in Chicago… and am just now getting around to writing]

I have a lot I want to write:

• Some version of this journal entry [EN: done!]
• Private post I want to write.  [EN: Hey, it’s a peek into my journal, not my soul!]
• SF wrap-up– food/drink, what I did/didn’t do  [EN: done!]
• Review/response to what I’ve been reading:  Malcolm Galdwell piece/Same Kind of Different as Me [EN: forthcoming]
• Story for class [EN: done!]
• Revision of 1st story [EN: forgot about this completely until right now]

———-

So, there you have it.  My journal reads a lot like my blog posts.  But I usually try to edit my blog posts.  At least once!

Frisco Stories, Part 2

I guess I should’ve mentioned in my earlier post that this is my 3rd trip to San Francisco.  I’ve already done many of the touristy things (Golden Gate Bridge, trolley car, wine country), so you won’t see any of that this time.  But San Fran is one of my favorite cities and every time I go back, I’m able to experience a little more of it!

Thursday — Thai, Tapas, and Theater

First official day of work.   A couple minor snafus, but everything went off without a hitch.  

The wonderful thing about San Francisco is that there was an Indian buffet across the street from our hotel.  And a Thai place across another.   Since I actually ate a buffet breakfast on Thursday (totally out of character), I went to the Thai place  Thursday.  My lunch was tasty.  I could’ve used more vegetables, but usual Convention fare consists of cardboard pizza and dry sandwiches, so I’m not gonna complain!

I think it was called broccoli and noodles

After work, we decided to go to the Thirsty Bear for dinner.  It’s a tapas place Kurt and I had been to four years ago and it was (relatively) close by.   We had tickets to see Wicked that night, so we didn’t want to repeat the “where the hell is the restaurant” debacle of the night before.

The Thirsty Bear is also a brewery, so I decided to choose the beer sampler.   Yes, folks, that’s right– NINE different beers (they were only 4 or 5 oz each… but STILL!).  It came with a cool “legend” underneath each beer to indicate what you were drinking.

BEFORE: mmm... beer!

AFTER: Note the legend is now visible

As expected, my favorites were the IPA and the wheat beer.  I wasn’t so keen on the stouts, but I tried them.  I also learned that E.S.B. really does stand for Extra Special Bitters.  I didn’t believe Andrew when he told me that.

Tapas were phenomenal.  

cheese and olives-- this is for you, Lisa!

YUMMY asparagus, another poultry and polenta dish and a tasty sauteed shrimp

Unfortunately, we were a little rushed for time and Kurt and I had to ditch out on Andrew to make it in time for the show.  Getting there was quite an adventure.  We couldn’t hail a cab to save our lives and we were practically race-walking to make it to the theater in time.  At one point, I thought I’d be better off running.   We finally got a cab that took us ~ 4 blocks, but we made it to the show in time.

Wicked was playing at the Orpheum Theater, which was just beautiful.  It’s a very old, very ornate theater.  We got there right on time and I didn’t have a chance to snap any external pics, and they didn’t allow photos of the show, but it was AMAZING.   

I couldn’t get over how big everything was– the sets were amazing, the costumes were gorgeous, the actors were amazing (Carol Kane played Madame Morrible).   Some of the songs were a little cheesy, but I was just so000 impressed by the whole production.  I’ve never been to a Broadway show or anything like that, so I’m not sure what I expected.  But this topped it all!   A couple highlights:

• Galinda teaching Elphaba the “toss-toss” method of flipping one’s hair to flirt with a guy.  Uh… I know someone like that :) 
• Fiyero describing himself as “deeply shallow.”   Classic
• The curtain call.  For some reason, I *always* get a little veclempt during the curtain call.  I’m weird.

Friday– Run on, Retirement, and G. Love

Usually, about the 2nd or 3rd day of a trade show, you start to get bored.  I spotted a guy wearing a “run on”  tshirt and texted my friend about it, since he used to have a running “team” called the Run-ons.  (English teachers are really quite witty.  Really!)

When the guy wearing the shirt came into our booth, I just  had  to snap a picture:

the back said: 'unless you're a sentence'

Instead of going out for a fancy dinner on Friday night, we celebrated our colleagues, Pat’s, last convention with a pizza party in a SWEET hotel suite. Check out this view:

The Bay. Yep, that's a CRUISE ship on the right

Skyline

Then it was off to the G.Love and Special Sauce concert at The Warfield.   G. Love and the boys did not disappoint.  We had general admission tickets and were able to get fairly close.  I LOVED the venue.  Totally cool and “intimate.”    Definitely one of the highlights of the trip for me.   I’m not sure if Andrew and Kurt enjoyed it as much as I did, but I had a rockin’ good time.  Crazy hippie dancing and all :)

Hallway at the Warfield-- lots of cool acts have played there

Check out the dude with the cast!

Harmonicas are sexxy

So are guitars!

Saturday–  Last day, Haight-Ashbury, and Supper

As you can imagine,  Saturday was a bit of a long day for me.  Even though we had a short day in terms of hours, it was looong in terms of how I felt.  But I made it through.  And then crashed.  I took a 3 hour nap that afternoon. I probably should’ve gone out and “done” more of San Fransisco, but I just didn’t have it in me.

Andrew was visiting with friends, so Kurt and I decided to head to the Haight for dinner.  We went to Magnolia, a gastro pub Lisa read about in a magazine.   There was a wait, so we decided to walk around a bit.   Believe it or not, I had *never* been to Haight-Ashbury before.   Yeah, it’s touristy, but I had to take a pic.

lets all do a little hippie dance

The food and beer were both good at Magnolia.   The service was a little slow, though, or else I probably would’ve had a couple more beers.   All in all, a great way to end our adventure in San Fran!

meat and cheese platter

Kurt had the pork chop

And I had the house ravioli

Sunday-Tuesday:  Recovering in Chicago

Instead of coming home to Champaign on Sunday, I spent a couple days recovering in Chicago.  I was waayyy too tired to do much, but we did spend St. Patty’s day in Millennium Park.   We had super great weather and it was the perfect way to spend my last day in the “real world.”  Again, I didn’t take any pictures.  I need to get better at that.

————–

Things I didn’t do

Although I’m pretty impressed with all the things we were able to do in such a short time (especially considering I had to actually work for most of it), there are a few things I missed:

• Warhol Live at the  de Young Museum  — Andy Warhol and Rock music together.  I really wanted to see it, but the timing just didn’t work out.
• 826 Valencia (aka The Pirate Store)– Jane told us about Dave Eggers’ literacy project that features a “pirate store.”   I never made it down there, but Kurt went and brought me back a souvenir skull.  That’s gotta count for something!
• Alcatraz— I’ve never had time to take the tour, but I hear it’s phenomenal.   One of these days, I will go! For reals.
• SF MOMA Museum store– I made the mistake on my first trip to SF to actually tour the MOMA on the last day of Convention. It was complete sensory overload and too much at the end of a long day.  But I at least wanted to make it to the museum store ‘cuz it’s super cool.
• Take any pictures of myself in San Francisco.  Seriously, what is wrong with me?  I have tons of food pics but none of me!  I really must get better at this!

San Francisco Stories, Part 1

It’s been a week since I left San Fransisco and I’m just now getting around to posting the pics/blog.   Thankfully, I have Twitter to remind me what I did!    I’ll split it into two posts to make it more readable.  Without further adieu…

Tuesday– Travel and Twin Spotting

We made it to San Fran without any problems.  Checked into the hotel, had a late lunch, and walked around a bit.  We saw a street performer with a pet rat and a pet cat but, alas, no photos exist.  It’s too bad, really, ‘cuz it was quite the sight.

We were able to get a (pretty crappy) photo of the Brown Twins, though. They’re living San Francisco landmarks– twin sisters who dress alike and frequent Nob Hill eateries.   We didn’t even know about them until later, but I was able to snap this (bad) picture of them. On this day, they were dressed in leopard-print jackets and cowboy hats.  Pimp!

Wednesday– Set up (Sorta), Eye-Talian, and Tiki

The first day of work was a logistical nightmare.   Due to union restrictions,  we ended up watching other people do the work until about 5:00 then we unpacked our booth.  I’m a strong supporter of unions, but even my resolve was tested.  In the end, it worked out fine, but it sure was frustrating!    

The end result of 8 hours of union labor and an hour and a half of ours!

We then set out for dinner.  As you may recall, dinners out are the highlight of my work trips and Kurt had heard of this Italian place called Cafe Tiramisu.  It was 8 short blocks from the hotel, which was a welcome change from sitting on my a$$ all day.  Unfortunately, we got a little lost and the 8 blocks ended up being much longer– and often uphill.  

Once we made it to the restaurant, it was worth it.  The waiter called us kids, there were hilarious misspellings on the menu (which became somewhat of a theme–see below) and the food was pretty good.  I got the quail, which was good, but reminded me how much I hate to eat meat off of bones:

Good. But lots of bones.

The highlight of the evening, however, was the dessert.  We ordered the sampler for 3 and it didn’t disappoint– various types of gelato, sorbet, cakes, cannolis, biscotti, tiramisu (natch),  profiteroles, etc.   Even though it was billed as enough for 3 people, it was waaaayyy too much.  Apparently, they also had a pasta sampler, but we didn’t try it:

mmm...dessert!

After dinner, we met a former co-worker, Jane (of Not So Plain Jane fame) out for drinks.  She took us to the Tonga Room, which was absolutely AWESOME!   It’s a Tiki-themed bar in the oh-so-fancy Fairmont hotel.  The drinks are strong, the dancing is hoppin’ and it made for a great people-watching experience. (Read Jane’s description here.) 

There was a couple making out on the dance floor, a guy in a white shirt with zero inhibitions and everyone was having a good time.  My only regret is that I didn’t get up and dance.  Andrew offered me free drinks for the rest of the trip, and I didn’t take it.   The Tonga Room is apparently closing soon, so I’m glad we got a chance to experience it.   

A few pics (a la Lisa):

My drink. Can't remember the name. Tasted like a rum runner.

Kurt loooves his drink, The Scorpion :)

Andrew's Mai Thai came in a super awesome plastic coconut

With an umbrella!!

For some dumb reason, I didn’t take any pictures of Jane, who was an awesome tour guide.  It was so much fun to get an “inside look” at San Francisco.  I’m so bummed we didn’t get to hang longer, but the Tonga Room was definitely one of the highlights of a super fun trip.  Thanks, Jane!!

——————————

Funny Menus

One of the recurring themes of this trip (in addition to “you did a GREAT job” and hiding my phone–very funny, boys!), was the number of funny things we read on menus.

At Cafe Tiramisu, they had HORRIBLE misspellings.   Chocoloate for chocolate, Yourgurt for yogurt, etc.   They also had a disclaimer at the bottom that said something like: ” We are not responsible for lost or stolen items.”  Which we thought was odd.

There was a disclaimer on another menu that essentially said:  “Kids are welcome.  Unless they are crying.  Then you need to remove them.”   We thought that was awesome!

TO BE CONTINUED . . . 

Google Reader

I finally broke down and decided to start reading my blogs through Google Reader. 

I’ve had a Reader account forever now, but I’ve always just preferred to click on links in the blogroll…  but then I started missing stuff.  I hope this will help me keep up better, but it will likely make some of your hit counts go down.  If I like a blog on someone else’s blogroll, I usually go to their blog (ahem, illini_girl) and then click around to their friends (ahem, KC Jayhawk, Here’s the Diehl and Ssquared).

So, let me know what the pros and cons are of using the Google Reader (or any other aggregator).  And… if there’s a blog I NEED to read, send it to me.    I’ll add it to my reader and hopefully find a new gem!

In other news… 

I’m going to San Francisco next week and I’m *super* pumped about it.  Yeah, I’m going for work, but I’ve got some fun stuff lined up for my “off” hours, so I’m excited.    I may not be able to take my computer with me, though, which is going to SUCK.  I don’t think I can survive 5 days in another city without my computer.   Especially since I’m using an old phone that doesn’t get email.   Whatever will I do?

Seriously…WHATEVER will I do?   Keep your fingers crossed that I don’t have to find out.