2.16

I wore my pink shoes again. 2nd time in a week.

Traffic was awful on my way to work and I learned it was because a truck hit another truck.  I failed at getting good pictures. I guess what's what happens when you pay attention to the road.

After work I had a Stampin' Up party at Dawn's. It was a fun time. Some new people were there too and they ordered. It's all exciting.

9.24 - Quick Eating

I took my camera and tripod with me but then didn't end up taking pictures. It was dark when I got home so indoor pictures it was.  Dave took these for me too.

Jacket: NY&Co.
Shirt: F21
Jeans: Express
Shoes: Famous Footwear
Necklace: Lia Sophipa
Earrings: Target

I woke up and had many things to do. Before I knew it, it was late.

I went and got my drivers license picture.  That took awhile. The last Saturday of the month is too busy.  Then I went to the South Side to pick up my race packet. Then it was to the Haufbrahaus to meet my parents.  I got the Hot Brown. I love it. It doesn't seem like something I'd like.  It's a potato pancake with turkey, ham, melted cheese, and bacon on top.  I was the first one done.  This has only happened one other time before. I did remember from past experience if you eat too slow the cheese solidifies and it isn't nearly as good.

After we ate, I went to go do some shopping at South Side Works. I went into H&M and saw the line was 30 people so I just walked out and left.  I went to the mall on the way home. I got tons of good deals.

I made probably 30 wrong turns trying to get to the South Side. I only made 1 wrong turn while leaving.

After 3 hours or so at the mall, I headed to Wendy's because Dave wanted food.  His grilled chicken took over 30 minutes. It was not a fun Wendy's trip.  After I got home, we watched TV and ate.  Then I had to get ready for my race.  My nervousness didn't start until late because I was so busy all day.  I hate how races get me so nervous. I don't know why. Well I guess I half know why. I have certain goal times and everyone says you will do better at races than at training runs so then I really want to meet my goal times but I know from experience I don't and then I get all stressed about it and wonder if I will meet them this time. Also driving to races and arriving early enough is stressful too.

5.20 - Breakfast, Drive, Rehearsal, 2 dinners

Outfit 1: To work for a breakfast

Skirt: F21

Shirt: NY&Co.

Blazer: Sears

Belt: Target

Necklace: Sears

Earrings: Target

The blue earrings are the same shade as the shirt. I'm not sure if you can tell in the picture.

I had probably a dozen better ideas of what to wear but then something was dirty or I thought it would be too tight since I gained a little weight.

Outfit 2: Driving to Philly but also ended up being wedding rehearsal outfit

Jeans: Indi

Shirt: NY&Co

Jacket: NY&Co

Shoes: Kohl's

Necklace: Sears

Earrings: Target

These jeans were a lot more comfortable than the jeans I bought ages ago. I think because I was already getting fatter when I got these.  The sandals have 4+ inch heels. They are the first sandals I bought and wore. They are still out of my comfort zone and are already almost a year old. (See them better here.)

Poly cuddled with me in the morning so I got started getting ready a little late.

I got up and Dave was still sleeping. Look how cute Poly was.

Then after my shower, Poly wanted in.  She loves the shower.

I went to work for the breakfast. It was the recognition for the WIN scholarship Winner. There were 16 total in attendance.  As soon as I got home, we grabbed last minute things and were on the road.

We were making a pit stop on the way so my mom could cat-sit Poly.  Poly doesn't mind  the car as much during the daylight.  Dave sat in the backseat with her.  BTW this is a dog cage. The cat ones were too little and she didn't like them.  We always leave the cage out in the living room. We caught her napping in it once or twice. Sometimes she also naps on top of it. She actually does that often. We leave it out so she doesn't see it and hate it when we do have to go somewhere. Inside the cage is an afghan and a towel so she has a nice soft surface to sleep on.

We got to my parents and Poly made herself right at home.  We stayed there talking a little bit and then realized we might be late if we didn't get a move on it.  Also I always forget to take into account that I like to stop at every rest stop to take a little nap.

I knew we were running behind so I only stopped at 2 stops.  We also didn't make a final stop close to Philly where Dave would drive. I hate driving near there.  We arrived at the rehearsal at 4:58.  It was supposed to start at 5. Also I originally thought we'd go to the hotel first before going to the rehearsal.  We hit a ton of traffic near Philly and that sucked.

The officiant arrived at 5:34 so I guess it was like we were early.

After the rehearsal, we all went to dinner at some random place near Tyler Arboretum.  While there I was talking to Dave about where our 2nd dinner would be.

We ended up getting Wawa for 2nd dinner.  I got an italian hoagie and Dave got 2 hoagies.  This was the start of me gaining 2 lbs while in Philly.   Man was I exhausted.  I don't like all that driving.

5.2 - Cooked Dinner

I keep tricking my eyes with these nude pumps.
Shirt: Express
Blazer: Sears
Skirt: F21
Shoes: Aldo
Belt: Target
Necklace: Sears
Earrings: Target
Ring: Lia Sophia

My shoes cost more than the rest of my outfit put together.  This is one of my favorite shirts.  I wish the sleeves on the blazer were a little longer.

This morning I opened a box of pantyhose and put them on. Around 10AM I noticed a big runner in them.

I was going to run after work but somehow I got hacked into coming home and cooking. I did the cooking. I even did the stuff on the grill.  I wasn't too happy about that.  The fries were made in the oven according to the directions and then in the broiler for a few minutes and I turned them in order to get them crispy.  The chicken has Carolina's seasoning mix that my mom bought me from the place she bought her grill. The green beans were steamed from fresh with butter and pepper added.  The corn was steamfresh. As an FYI I ate 3/4 of my chicken but ate more veggies than were on my plate here.

DC Day 4 - May 10

Outfit 1: Business Attire.   Outfit 2: Casual.   1 shirt was the same
Shirt: Express (2009 - $10)
Skirt: Express
Blazer: Sears
Shoes: Famous Footwear
Necklace: Kohl's
Earrings: Target (Pearls)

Outfit 2:
Cardigan: Kohl's
Jeans: Express
Shoes: Online somewhere (Brooks)
Belt: Kohl's
Earrings: Kohl's

Our day started with a pre-job brief for Hill Day. Then venturing out to go meet with some aids. They had everyone in groups based on who their representatives were.  Groups mainly had a few different groups of people so then we got to go to see more people with larger groups.

I did not get pictures of all the offices we visited. Sometimes we were just too busy. I can understand why they say that lobbyists wear out their shoes. It was a lot of walking.  It didn't help that our middle of the day appointment was a far walk and then we had to head back. I eat slow so ended up having to throw part of my lunch away to get to our appointment on time.

My group met with all aids but some groups met with actual Congressman. A few groups even met with some Governors.

During all our walking, we made a pit stop to take some pictures in front of the Capitol. We were really in a hurry so it was all rather quick. I wish we had more time just to pose a little better.

We were done around 1:45 and then it was time to head back.

Once we got back, we changed and headed out for a walk to see some sights. I wish the water at the hotel didn't taste bad. I was thirsty and didn't drink it. I wanted to buy a bottled water but one wasn't convenient so I kept walking. It was 80 degrees and hot.  I was dying.

I took a picture of the lack of Reflecting Pool. It is not everyday that it is like this except the pool sure does make a lot prettier pictures. I did get pictures last year when I visited (1, 3, 4, 5, and postcards) so I wasn't taking a ton of pictures this time around.

 

The White House Garden

After we got back there were only a few minutes to get ready or to just get over to the Happy Hour for Westinghouse people.  I got there at 5:30.  It started at 5 and was ending at 7.   It was at a cigar bar. I cannot tell you how unhappy I was when I got there and it smelled of cigar smoke. I believe we were warned that we would be in a back room away from the smoke. We were wrong. Cigar smoke is worse than normal smoke. I left after 15 minutes. I had trouble breathing. My eyes were bothering me. I was mad about the clothes I was wearing and how they were going to stink.  (They did stink and stunk up my suitcase and now I can't use my purse until I wash it.) Nobody talked to me that was there anyway before I left. I only talked to the people that I walked in with.  I felt really bad leaving but I don't like all the smoke and I definitely don't want to be around it. I was complaining to the people I was sitting with. I sure hope they weren't offended. They did say they would have left too but didn't since they had dinner plans and thought they'd just stay there until it was time.

I left with Jenna and we decided to walk and go find a place to eat outside. We walked a few different places and looked at the menus and then chose to go to other places.  Our final destination was at a restaurant right next to the cigar bar.  I got lasagna and it was delicious.  

I told people to keep me informed on what they were doing in the evening and a few of them did but they told me the name of the place (slightly different versions of the name each time I was told) and I tried to look it up on google and couldn't figure out where it was.  I texted more people trying to find out the actual name or where and got nowhere. I was really tired anyway.  I decided to change in to my PJs and give up. I did want to go out though.  I was extremely tired so it was better that I did not since it was a long day of travels the next day and after only 3:39 of sleep the night before I needed my rest.  I ended up staying up until midnight though watching TV.   I kind of still want to know where it was that everyone went.

Throughout the entire day I took 26,416 steps and that was without an official workout.  No wonder my feet hurt. I had been taking a ton of steps all days too. (Some of those steps were when I was still awake after midnight the night before. Probably a miles worth.)  A normal day at work w/o exercise is normally around 3,000 steps. I love BodyMedia fit. I love all the stats.

When you travel for work, do you go out in the evening with other travelers?  How do you decide where to go? Are you the decider or are you the follower?

Day 18: February 21 - E-Week Presentation (and Day 19)

I'm pretty sure this could be outfits 2018 and 2119. I had the blazer on in the morning and no blazer in the afternoon. (Sometimes I swear the hardest part of this challenge is figuring out which outfit day I'm on.)

Shoes: JCP
Skirt: F21
Shirt: Express
Blazer: Sears
Necklace: Sears
Umbrella: Carnegie Mellon

What didn't work: 
I think the black and white were too blah looking. I should have worn some color under the blazer like I have done in the past. (I almost wore this outfit but realized I already wore it for the 30 for 30 so I couldn't wear it again.)
There wasn't enough red to balance the red of the shoes because my hair blocks most of the necklace.

Note it was raining in the morning. I wish I would have known we were going to get an insane amount of snow because I would have taken boots to work with me instead of those red shoes.

Details of the Day:
At work there was a speaker for E-Week. This speaker was Dr. Sam Cerni. He presented to ANS earlier and the presentation was basically the same. Dr. Cerni was excellent at his presentation. Everyone listened intently which is rare for every single person to be so interested in the presentation especially with a group of about 300 people.  I introduced him and did not do so well. Then I presented him with a paperweight that was inscribed. That ended up even worse. My public speaking skills aren't the best. Then my public speaking skills into a microphone while being photographed and videotaped is even worse. The worst part of it all is that other sites are playing the DVD to employees.  I can't even bring myself to watch my introduction to see how bad it is.

Right before I was about to speak for the first time, I got a text message from my husband making me more nervous. He always likes to do that, but it is very annoying.

Nothing else went on in my day except normal workday stuff, which included computer issues.  I was afraid every time I saw anyone I knew that they would tell me they saw the presentation in the morning and would tell me how awful I did.

So after work there was supposed to be a team building event with a group at work but because of the snow that didn't happen. I really wished I had my gym bag at work. So not only did I not get home until 11, but I didn't get a workout in and I wasn't productive all evening.

30 for 30 Winter Edition: Day 7 (February 7) - Stampin' Up Class

I had to wear a blazer today to get a professional picture taken (well retaken).  This time I specifically asked the photographer to take 3 pictures instead of just one. He just took one again. What kind of photographer only takes one. He still didn't email it to me so I haven't seen it yet.
Most of the day I wore the blazer unbuttoned.  I was cold so I left it on all day.
After work I changed into jeans. These aren't my 30 for 30 jeans. I grabbed the wrong ones, but I already had my outfit for today so I'm ok.

Shirt: NY&Co. (I sewed the wings on this shirt. I thought it looked awesome all day but look at the picture from the back. I guess good thing I wore my blazer all day.
Skirt: Express
Boots: Famous Footwear
Tights: Target
Necklace: Gift

Jeans: Express

I really like how this color looks on me. I never realized how much I liked it.
I took the blazer unbuttoned and the jean pictures after work. The pictures turned out a ton better.

After work, there was a Stampin' Up class at my house. There were 9 people including me.  We started a little late and we ate dinner and we were still done in 3.5 hours. I was impressed with us. I also planned a few really simple cards to help us get it done quicker. 

During the Stampin' Up Class, Poly wanted to be the center of attention. Someone even said she wanted to quit making cards and play with Poly. Poly was sleeping on my bag of supplies at one point.  I would try to reach around her and get into my bag and she would hit me.  She stole my card that I was in the process of making. It only had the base and the ribbon on it. She stole it from the ribbon.  I'm so glad everyone who visited liked cats.  Poly also tried to play fetch with us. She kept reaching through the chair to hit the girl beside me. I sometimes sit in that seat and Poly bothers me when I'm there. 

BTW I cheated and wore my $5 Nickel shoes when I put on jeans instead of putting back on my boots and then I stepped wrong going onto my porch and scraped away a bunch of the front of the shoe. The material is gone and it is not just that it could be polished. That is what I get for cheating.

I submitted an overheard thing for Sarah's Overheard Friday. Now just to remember the other crazy stuff I overhear to send her something else this week.

Perhaps rules aren't lame. I thought the gray skirt and black blazer were stupid most of the day. I realized after the fact that I could have worn my floral skirt. That would have been better. sigh.

30 for 30 Winter Edition: Day 2 (February 2)

Shirt: NY&Co.

Skirt: Express

Tights: Target (Thigh highs. shear)

Shoes: JCP then Famous Footwear (not shown since didn't upload the pictures but they are my other red shoes in my 30 for 30)

Necklace: Sears

Blazer: Sears

Most of the day w/o the blazer. When the blazer was on it was mostly unbuttoned. I did button it a few times.

Some people say they couldn't pull off red shoes at work. I'm glad I never thought about it before I wore mine. I not only pulled off one pair of shoes today, but pulled off two. I swapped after walking about a mile in my heels. My feet sure were hurting. 

I had to take the pictures on the porch because it was raining again.

What didn't work: While I walked and had my coat and backpack on my skirt would rotate 90 degrees. The buttons from the back would end up on my left side. I had to try to fix it covertly. I first noticed this though when I was at the printer.
Also these tights. I don't like the shear ones. They seem too see through that I might as well wear pantyhose. That's what I get for asking my husband what tights to wear and giving him all the options.  He picked and I just went with it.

Most of my pictures turned out blurry.  My face was out of focus but my shirt was in focus. I wonder what I did differently today for that to happen.

I was getting a head shot taken today at work. I decided to crop up my pictures. Even the ones out of focus turned out better than the one the photographer took today.  Too bad it is on my work computer or I would post that. Maybe I will tomorrow. Should I use one of the ones above in a newsletter or take my own picture another day?

This morning before work there was a double rainbow.

 I had a busy day at work. I didn't get my workout in for the third day in a row. I almost went during core hours since work meetings messed me up during non core hours. I felt too guilty. Also I had a work thing starting at 6PM tonight (just like Monday night). Sometimes I feel like the evening work things should count towards the work time only if I am trying to squeeze a gym trip in. I didn't squeeze it in thought and get mad.

Today I got to work at 8:10. I took a 45 minute lunch.  I left at 5:50 to head over to the work function/dinner and then left that at 10:30 PM.   I did better today remembering names of people I talked to.  Sometimes I feel like my brain is too full and I can't remember anything else.

Tonight I got home around 10:45 and Poly greeted me but Dave was already asleep. At least someone likes me.  Now she sits here watching me type this post.

How do you handle days that you are out all day?  Do you get as exhausted as I do socializing all day and evening.? 


Update: Here is the picture that work took. I just need to figure out how to get the blue background behind the shot I want to use and also crop it to the right dimensions.