It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This (Part One)

Here's the deal with my college friends - they are all super busy women!  Planning a brunch or dinner tends to require weeks of planning and no less than 1,653,719 emails.  So the planning of a girls weekend in Rochester took a bit of time (like 19 months) and effort.  Just imagine the amount of effort that went into the weekends spent in Florida, NYC and someone's fabulous wedding Seattle....  Yes - some of those events required as much planning and consideration as William and Kate's royal wedding!

But when the girls gather and we partake in such a weekend, it unfolds to be a spectacle nothing less than royal affair.  O.K. - so there weren't any fireworks, nor was there a wimpy kiss on a balcony and unfortunately there were no crazy hats like Princess Beatrice and Eugenie.  Despite the lack of hats, Haley and Michelle brought every ounce of their character and it proved to be a spectacular day and night.  Let it be known that the royal highness Thompson was near her porcelain throne throughout the weekend and sadly missed out on the Rochester events.  I went out on a limb and promised her (before the festivities had begun) that it would be an epic event and that the girls would want to hurry back for round two very soon.  (I'll let you browse the photos before you bet on my prediction).

The grandeur day commenced with a few final phone calls and texts to ensure the route had been mapped and the ETA was known to all.  Both Michelle and Haley arrived full of excitement.  Quickly, we were off to a liquid lunch.  In search of a patio to enjoy the impressive March weather I was once again reminded that City Cafe is not open for lunch on Saturdays.  I wonder when that fact will actually stick in my head?  Thankfully we re-routed to Chesters (a popular venue for a liquid lunch on Saturday).  We each toasted with a bloody mary to commence the official festivities.  We noshed on some pretty tasty appetizers including thai chicken lavash, seared tuna and brie cheese balls.  Yep - chunks of brie cheese (one of my favorite among the cheese family) coated in a batter and fried.  These things tasted liked mini donuts filled with cream.  Ahhhh-mazing!  The bloody mary's were finished and the last brie cheese ball had been claimed, however the conversation was still flowing.  I had to call a conversation timeout to make sure we didn't spend the entire afternoon in the booth at Chester's.

Next up - we headed over to TJ Maxx with a quick pit spot for some caffeine.  The drive thru at Dunn Bros proved to be quite entertaining - likely due to the vodka consumed at lunch.  TJ Maxx is one of my favorite hot spots in town.  Naturally I start with the handbags near the entrance and then breeze past the scarves and sunglasses and on to the jewelry.  For weeks I had my eye on a Michael Kors watch, however on Saturday I had to accept the fact that the watch had found a home and it wasn't with me!  After the jewelry I either check out the clothing or shoes next and then wander through the decorative home goods.  I've got a bit of a routine at TJ Maxx and can make my way through the store rather quickly snagging a few must haves each and every visit.  When you throw Michelle and Haley into the equation and add in some neon colors and bright high heels the adventure requires close to 2 hours.  Half way through the store I realized that I lost my coffee.  My best guess is it was left in the shoe department...

Unfortunately there isn't a $70 million prize, but can you guess who went home with a new rock salt lamp and a Buddha?

Can't leave out a funny detail - after Haley and I hit the checkout we watched Michelle scratch her head determined to find a handbag or clutch to match her neon fashion choice in hopes of creating an outfit for the evening.  It was a perfect impulse purchase scenario.  However after careful consideration she left defeated.  I'm sure next time I see her the outfit will include some neon color!

Next up Hobby Lobby.  Another local favorite.  We spent over an hour looking at fabric and thinking of many, many creative projects.  It wasn't until I realized it was almost 6pm that we decided the creative projects would need to wait for another day.  We were hopeful that we could still squeeze in a pedicure before they closed for the day.  As luck would have it, Michelle talked the women into 3 pedicures.  The perfect way to relax after a liquid lunch and plenty of laughs at TJ Maxx.

Settled into the massaging pedicure chairs with plenty of terrible magazines in hand we spent the next hour talking through all of the major Hollywood gossip.  I gladly sacrificed a magazine to Haley as she typically lags a good 4 to 6 months when it comes to the gossip.  In fact, earlier in the day I made a reference to Snooki and she asked, "Who is Snooki?"  Really, Haley?  Yep - she had no idea who Snooki is.  Just as we were drying our toes, she flipped the page in the magazine and I heard her say, "Oh that's Snooki!"  So at that point I knew she had accomplished everything necessary in the way of gossip magazines so it was time to head home to chill and get ready for dinner.

We spent the next hour or so doing only what girls know how to do... sipping Skinny Girl margaritas, chatting (some more), picking out clothes, jewelry, shoes, etc for the night out.  This has to be my favorite part of a girls weekend.  It brings back so many great memories of the years we spent living together when we had the luxury of this routine several nights a week.  Sure I can dress myself and get out the door in much less time each and every morning of the week - but to linger with a cocktail and mull over the choice of my earrings with two of my best girls - it really doesn't get better than this!


Well actually, it does...

To be continued.

Thunder & Lightning & Statistics.... Oh my!

The thunder and lightning outside are orchestrating a perfect summer storm tonight.  I was anticipating their arrival given the lack of behavior of my locks the past few days.  Here's the deal... when the temps hit 80 degrees in March and there's a bit of humidity in the air I promise to bite my tongue.  In between a hectic day of phone screens and some annoying meetings I ran my fingers through my hair fully annoyed with the limp locks.  Just last week I started using the WEN products and for 3, maybe 4 days I swore it was gonna change my life.  Introduce humidity and I have less than 5% confidence that the behavior of my locks is dependent upon the WEN products.

Just now the sky lit up and every head in the classroom turned towards the windows in a noticeable distraction from the professor who is mumbling about regression analysis and pvalues and slopes and statistical significance.  As if that wasn't enough of a sign, the crash of thunder that followed was just loud enough to drown out his voice.

About 30 minutes ago I leaned over the guy next to me telling him that I'm struggling to apply this mumbo jumbo to my every day light.  Introduce a little thunder and lighting and some hair products and VIOLA - I can instantly apply the subject matter!  This seems like quite an accomplishment.  I think my work here has been done.  Hint, hint...  Its time to get home and snuggled into bed so that I can finish the last 60 pages of my book!

Who Saved the Daylight?

My first memory of daylight savings time must be somewhere around the age of six, maybe seven years old.  I remember running through the neighborhood (even after eating "supper" with the family) playing with my friends hardly noticing the sun slowly drop off the edge of the earth.  The sun disappeared just past the end of West Wood Acres, on the west edge of town.

There are also memories of bed time coming long before the sun fell of the edge of the earth.  Those were the nights that I would plead with my parents to stay up just a little bit longer.  There was always some other family in the neighborhood who was still outside making the most of the last few minutes of daylight.  Their laughter made just a little bit more frustrated with my parents and their chosen bedtime for me and my sister.

Then I remember daylight savings time in college.  Some years it meant an extra hour of partying.  Other times it allowed me an extra hour of sleep to recover from the previous night.

When my friends started having kids, there were comments about how babies/toddlers and daylight savings time don't mix well.

I have plenty of previous experience with daylight savings time, however daylight savings time this spring was especially painful.  Nevermind the babies and toddlers, let's talk about the 33 year old women.  Those of us that don't even have babies or toddlers.

In the weeks leading up to daylight savings time I was perfectly happy with my morning routine.  The first alarm sounds at 4:29 and allows me 6 minutes to snooze until the second alarm at 4:35.  At that point I exactly eleven minutes to pee, brush my teeth, find some workout clothes, let Tucker outside, grab my gym bag and stumble to the car in order to find a place on the mat for my 5am kickboxing class.   There's no reason to protect the guilty - so I might as well note that many nights the furry monster at the end of the bed wakes me around 2 or 3am for potty break.  I must limit that dog's water at night.  Trust me that there are more than a few choice words spoken at that time of night!

So now add daylight savings time to my morning routine and last week was basically a train wreck!  4:29 turned in 7:09.  I'm fairly certain that I hit the snooze button 23 times during that period of time.  Around 6:30 I even turned on the TV in hopes the noise would help me rise from the slumber.  As I tossed and turned the view out the window was a black sky.  My body was stiff and sore and my mind was groggy.  Repeat this process Monday through Friday.

Thank goodness the weather gods are confused between March and May because I was able to run or walk every night after work.  For about 1 hour each night I took in the extra daylight and was a happy girl.  It felt great to return home feeling accomplished, after sweating it out.  At that point I was feeling like I could accomplish anything given the sun had not yet set!  Too bad none of those endorphins were still hanging around the next morning, say around 4:29am.

At the end of a long week, I was commiserating with my friend Haley, sharing our thoughts about the less than favorable effects of daylight savings time.  She found the most succinct way to express her true feelings.  As she told me that she had early morning meetings most days that week she concluded saying, "and don't you think I didn't realize that an 8am meeting really starts at 7am!"

There it is!  Daylight savings time takes place at 2am on a specific day.  However it takes most of us a few days to change all the clocks and watches we own to the correct time.  Worse, though, is the zombie-like feeling that lingers for days, maybe even a week!  It's effects haunt babies, toddlers and 33 year old woman!

Looks like its bedtime if there's any hope to rise and shine tomorrow morning while its still dark outside.