one week. one week until my first 'real' vacation of the year. i TRIED to take a vacation in july but ended up working for most of it. so i really. really. really need a vacation. some people in my situation might take the opportunity for a staycation, but a staycation for me, would mean checking the blackberry, cleaning the bathroom, etc. etc.
no, for me, it's 'leave the country' time. only problem is that between now and then i somehow have to finish packing up the boxes in my office (we're moving down the road), and successfully pull together our annual k9k fundraising event.
in this case 'my office' includes my cubicle and my three storage areas overflowing with event and promo items, and trust me when i say that organizing, packing, and labeling some 200ish boxes to go out while waiting for my some 20+ k9k boxes to come in, has a way of messing with the mind. just gotta get to next week!
Wednesday, November 09, 2011
Saturday, November 05, 2011
since last we met
i've:
traveled to nine states
visited seven national park units
eaten at six diners, drive-ins, and (or) dives
wandered through three haunted houses/trails
landed twice in urgent care
had one date
i've also:
drunk from a sulphur well
honky tonked my badankadonk
reconnected with old friends
tromped around a cemetery at midnight
enjoyed fall colors in new england
celebrated my 35th birthday
gained a brother-in-law and a niece
become diamond at hilton
become platinum on american
you'll forgive me if i've been remiss in blogging. i will try and be better:)
traveled to nine states
visited seven national park units
eaten at six diners, drive-ins, and (or) dives
wandered through three haunted houses/trails
landed twice in urgent care
had one date
i've also:
drunk from a sulphur well
honky tonked my badankadonk
reconnected with old friends
tromped around a cemetery at midnight
enjoyed fall colors in new england
celebrated my 35th birthday
gained a brother-in-law and a niece
become diamond at hilton
become platinum on american
you'll forgive me if i've been remiss in blogging. i will try and be better:)
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
sast presents: conversations
the background: most of you know that, among other things, my friend and co-worker vicki and i share an interest in horses, and she has friends that work at the nearby race tracks. recently she stopped by for lunch and we were talking about when we could find some time to go watch the races.
vicki: tim asked when we were coming to the track. he said we could come early and ride.
me: ride what?
vicki: ride the horses. get them warmed up. it's $15/hour.
me: $15/hour? that's cheap!
vicki: no, they pay YOU $15/hour
me: they pay me???
vicki: yes, for exercise riding.
me: they PAY. ME??
needless to say, when my knee is strong enough to get back on a horse, i will be taking full advantage of this! exercise riding a racehorse? heaven!
Please sign me up again this year.
ha ha ha ha! sounds about right!
vicki: tim asked when we were coming to the track. he said we could come early and ride.
me: ride what?
vicki: ride the horses. get them warmed up. it's $15/hour.
me: $15/hour? that's cheap!
vicki: no, they pay YOU $15/hour
me: they pay me???
vicki: yes, for exercise riding.
me: they PAY. ME??
needless to say, when my knee is strong enough to get back on a horse, i will be taking full advantage of this! exercise riding a racehorse? heaven!
**********
the background: every year my company hosts a consumer event in the long beach area and we rely on other employees to volunteer for the event. i received this email today from one of the would-be volunteers, and it made me laugh heartily!
Good morning Tara,
I still have in my mind last year's event, when you passed by me, going fast on a golf kart. I saw you driving the golf kart with one hand, while the other held your walkie talkie, and you were giving instructions to someone, one foot on the pedal, pushed to the floor, and your splinted leg sticking out of the kart, a bunch of employees in the back with scary smiles, holding themselves tight. I understood in that moment what true multi-tasking meant!Please sign me up again this year.
the sweetest place on earth
the sweetest place on earth is anywhere my family is. but before getting a taste of that particular sweetness, i headed to hershey, pa for an event.
it's been a few years since i've been to hershey, and though i didn't get to do too much exploring, i did fulfill a year long dream...a visit to the chocolate spa.
the dream was thwarted last year with my various knee injuries preventing me from attending this particular conference, and, because i had used a groupon the week prior for a chocolate facial and cocoa scrub, i decided to forego the chocolate treatments and indulge in a mojito sugar scrub.
never having done a scrub before, i wasn't sure what to expect, but ultimately i decided it's got the perks of a massage with the added benefit of some yummy smelling exfoliation to boot. and boy was it yummy smelling! so much so, that i ordered the product upon my return home.
the masseuse?/aesthetician? was absolutely fantastic and it was a comfortable and thoroughly enjoyable experience. i would highly recommend it to anyone, and i can't wait to use my scrub (which just arrived today!)
after the conference, it was time for the real sweet treat. my flight (because it was significantly less expensive) was originally scheduled to depart from harrisburg to dulles at 7:40pm, with a quick layover before my flight from dulles to la. but, since i did not have to remain in pennsylvania, i opted to get up at 3am to try and get on a 6:50am standby flight to dulles, leaving the whole day open for me to spend with my family.
i learned two things: 1) it now apparently costs $75 to fly standby (if you make the flight), and 2) if your layover is more than four hours, it is considered a 'stopover' and they will try and charge you for a one-way ticket.
i had an amazing ticket agent who, upon learning about #2 from her supervisor, found a way to circumvent the system when said supervisor was distracted elsewhere. truly, she went above and beyond, and i was incredibly grateful.
i arrived in virginia at 8:30am, was picked up by dad, and headed to the homestead to catch a couple hours of sleep before meeting up with kate, chris, and the girls.
for those of you who may not yet know, my sister recently got married (a justice of the peace ceremony) and i gained a niece! her name is whisper and she is 4. kendyl is enjoying being a big sister, and i think it's a really good thing for her to have that opportunity.
we met at potbelly's for lunch ( a favorite stop when i am back east) and kendyl did not disappoint....literally running across the restaurant, yelling my name, and jumping into my arms for a giant hug. best. feeling. ever! i hope she is still doing that when she's 15 and 22 and 45, but i guess maybe that's not realistic. :)
after lunch we headed back to the house and spent the entire day talking and playing and catching up. i was so grateful that they were all willing and able to set aside their normal saturday tasks to be with me, and so grateful that my work provided me the opportunity.
can't wait to see them all again at christmas! it will be the first time my WHOLE family will be together since adele was born and kate got married, so i am counting down the days:)
it's been a few years since i've been to hershey, and though i didn't get to do too much exploring, i did fulfill a year long dream...a visit to the chocolate spa.
the dream was thwarted last year with my various knee injuries preventing me from attending this particular conference, and, because i had used a groupon the week prior for a chocolate facial and cocoa scrub, i decided to forego the chocolate treatments and indulge in a mojito sugar scrub.
never having done a scrub before, i wasn't sure what to expect, but ultimately i decided it's got the perks of a massage with the added benefit of some yummy smelling exfoliation to boot. and boy was it yummy smelling! so much so, that i ordered the product upon my return home.
 |
| oooooooooohhh. mojito! |
the masseuse?/aesthetician? was absolutely fantastic and it was a comfortable and thoroughly enjoyable experience. i would highly recommend it to anyone, and i can't wait to use my scrub (which just arrived today!)
after the conference, it was time for the real sweet treat. my flight (because it was significantly less expensive) was originally scheduled to depart from harrisburg to dulles at 7:40pm, with a quick layover before my flight from dulles to la. but, since i did not have to remain in pennsylvania, i opted to get up at 3am to try and get on a 6:50am standby flight to dulles, leaving the whole day open for me to spend with my family.
i learned two things: 1) it now apparently costs $75 to fly standby (if you make the flight), and 2) if your layover is more than four hours, it is considered a 'stopover' and they will try and charge you for a one-way ticket.
i had an amazing ticket agent who, upon learning about #2 from her supervisor, found a way to circumvent the system when said supervisor was distracted elsewhere. truly, she went above and beyond, and i was incredibly grateful.
i arrived in virginia at 8:30am, was picked up by dad, and headed to the homestead to catch a couple hours of sleep before meeting up with kate, chris, and the girls.
for those of you who may not yet know, my sister recently got married (a justice of the peace ceremony) and i gained a niece! her name is whisper and she is 4. kendyl is enjoying being a big sister, and i think it's a really good thing for her to have that opportunity.
we met at potbelly's for lunch ( a favorite stop when i am back east) and kendyl did not disappoint....literally running across the restaurant, yelling my name, and jumping into my arms for a giant hug. best. feeling. ever! i hope she is still doing that when she's 15 and 22 and 45, but i guess maybe that's not realistic. :)
 |
| me and my girl |
after lunch we headed back to the house and spent the entire day talking and playing and catching up. i was so grateful that they were all willing and able to set aside their normal saturday tasks to be with me, and so grateful that my work provided me the opportunity.
can't wait to see them all again at christmas! it will be the first time my WHOLE family will be together since adele was born and kate got married, so i am counting down the days:)
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
august: birthday month o' fun
the end of august will mark a big milestone for me - my 35th birthday. that's right, the birthday that forces you to admit that you are in your 'mid' thirties, no longer sliding by in your early thirties like 34 agreeably let's you do.
while i wrestle with the number and not having yet turned some of my hopes into reality, i decided that instead of getting gloomy and despondent (like i did when i turned 30), i am going to spend the entire month of august CELEBRATING and pampering and laughing and loving and dreaming and learning.
to kick off the birthday month o' fun, a southern california tradition, the pageant of the masters.
i learned (months ago) that this year's theme was 'only make believe,' and i couldn't help but wonder if they chose it just for me, somehow knowing that my birthday was coming! yea or nay, it was ideally suited for me and my friend vicki and I met up in laguna beach for dinner before the show.
laguna tends to be overly auto-congested with challenging parking, so the evening was off to a good start when i found a space about to open up in an otherwise full lot, and the driver of the departing car offered me his parking ticket, so i could avoid the hefty lot fee. happy birthday to me:)
i had chosen a restaurant, based on my friend yelp's high marks, called the lumberyard, and we were more than pleased with the selection. reasonably priced, dimly lit cozy atmosphere, and blue cheese & bacon mac and cheese to DIE for.
after dinner, we headed over to the art festival to peruse the various works before making our way into the bowl for the event.
the pageant is an annual event, taking place june-august every year, for, i think, the last some 70 or 80 years, and is best described as a series of 'living pictures.' works of art are recreated in larger than life size, with living people standing in as the subjects of the sculpture or painting. looking at the works of art, you'd have no idea you were looking at actual people unless you had binoculars and could watch them blink!
the evening was full of fairies and dragons and myths and legends, and i was certain that this had been the perfect way to begin the birthday month o' fun celebration!
and to continue it, last weekend, i scheduled a facial and massage at a local spa. i had purchased a groupon for the treatments, and though i'm not usually one to spend money on those types of indulgences (my indulgences usually lean towards the gadgety and blingy), it was such a good deal, and the offer so tempting, i decided that the birthday month 'o fun needed some pampering. A LOT of pampering!
i arrived at the spa, pleased to find that while it was small, it had a nice atmosphere and the staff was friendly. i spent the first hour enjoying my chocolate facial and the second, my cocoa massage. and yes, the 'chocolate factor' was what made it solo deliciously tempting!
i was especially glad i had taken care of my weekend errands BEFORE the appointment, since the mellow blissful haze lingered (and was allowed to do so) for the rest of the day.
i'm now hershey, pa bound for work, and there are a couple birthday month o' fun events already locked in for the coming week, at least one of which will involve the chocolate spa at hershey hotel. let the celebration continue!
while i wrestle with the number and not having yet turned some of my hopes into reality, i decided that instead of getting gloomy and despondent (like i did when i turned 30), i am going to spend the entire month of august CELEBRATING and pampering and laughing and loving and dreaming and learning.
to kick off the birthday month o' fun, a southern california tradition, the pageant of the masters.
i learned (months ago) that this year's theme was 'only make believe,' and i couldn't help but wonder if they chose it just for me, somehow knowing that my birthday was coming! yea or nay, it was ideally suited for me and my friend vicki and I met up in laguna beach for dinner before the show.
laguna tends to be overly auto-congested with challenging parking, so the evening was off to a good start when i found a space about to open up in an otherwise full lot, and the driver of the departing car offered me his parking ticket, so i could avoid the hefty lot fee. happy birthday to me:)
i had chosen a restaurant, based on my friend yelp's high marks, called the lumberyard, and we were more than pleased with the selection. reasonably priced, dimly lit cozy atmosphere, and blue cheese & bacon mac and cheese to DIE for.
after dinner, we headed over to the art festival to peruse the various works before making our way into the bowl for the event.
the pageant is an annual event, taking place june-august every year, for, i think, the last some 70 or 80 years, and is best described as a series of 'living pictures.' works of art are recreated in larger than life size, with living people standing in as the subjects of the sculpture or painting. looking at the works of art, you'd have no idea you were looking at actual people unless you had binoculars and could watch them blink!
the evening was full of fairies and dragons and myths and legends, and i was certain that this had been the perfect way to begin the birthday month o' fun celebration!
and to continue it, last weekend, i scheduled a facial and massage at a local spa. i had purchased a groupon for the treatments, and though i'm not usually one to spend money on those types of indulgences (my indulgences usually lean towards the gadgety and blingy), it was such a good deal, and the offer so tempting, i decided that the birthday month 'o fun needed some pampering. A LOT of pampering!
i arrived at the spa, pleased to find that while it was small, it had a nice atmosphere and the staff was friendly. i spent the first hour enjoying my chocolate facial and the second, my cocoa massage. and yes, the 'chocolate factor' was what made it solo deliciously tempting!
i was especially glad i had taken care of my weekend errands BEFORE the appointment, since the mellow blissful haze lingered (and was allowed to do so) for the rest of the day.
i'm now hershey, pa bound for work, and there are a couple birthday month o' fun events already locked in for the coming week, at least one of which will involve the chocolate spa at hershey hotel. let the celebration continue!
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