On the fourth day of Christmas...

On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me ... well, he's technically not my true love. Hopefully "lovey" will do as we are talking about The Turkey here. So let's try this again, shall we? 

On the fourth day of Christmas my lovey gave to me ... can you guess? 

Four calling birds? Nope.

Four calling cards? Nope.

Four decks of cards? Nope.

Try this:  four weeks times two (aka eight weeks) at summer camp as paid staff! Yippee!

Today was The Turkey's first ever job interview and he did well. On the spot, they confirmed him for a paid position at summer camp this year. He doesn't officially begin until June 18, but the time between now and then will be peppered with a weekend work day here and there. Volunteer work days, of course.

Needless to say, if this was his first ever job interview, the summer will bring his first ever paychecks. The cash he will come home with is measly, but the camp provides room and board AND his mom has a few weekends of kid-free living.

Let's hear it for a summer job! Hip, hip, HOORAY! 

Congratulations to The Turkey on a stellar job interview.

Three french hens

Happy third day of Christmas!

 

 

O Tannenbaum

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around the house. Finally! The list of errands and other ephemera from yesterday resulted in a fully decorated Christmas tree by late last night. Today's projects will include the little touches of holiday cheer around the rest of the house, in addition to some time on campus for graduation.

Back to the tree, though. We have been trying to come up with an appropriate name for said tree now that she is a part of the family. The Turkey is fond of either Tink or Roxie. She's got sparkle and sass, a festive attitude, she's quiet and still, stoic even, but she really lights up a room. Alice? Esther? Eve?

The Island of Misfit Images

Today, December 18th, I finally have a few "free" hours to focus on the holly and the jolly. I am still at the very beginning stages of decking the halls -- retrieving boxes from the basement, putting a wreath on the front door, assessing the state of the shopping, arranging the Christmas cards, tweaking the 2010 Christmas playlist, and decorating the tree.

Looking back at that list I am not so sure this is a "free" day after all!

In the midst of list management, I am taking a hot tea break while listening to the tweaked 2010 playlist (it's getting there, ya'll!) and wanted to share some miscellaneous shots from the week. These are all from the Island of Misfit Images so don't expect any continuity or theme. ;-)

The New York skyline from the corner of Bryant Park. Don't let the blue sky fool you -- it was bitterly cold. I kept ducking in to shops, stores, coffee shops, offices, whatever, just to get warm for a few minutes.

A very unique snowball in Bryant Park. Wait! That's not a snowball, it's a Kate Spade store! Heaven! The heat was working well, the penguin at the front door was friendly, and the colors and goodies inside were a welcome treat. Expensive, mind you, but very welcome. After about 15 minutes of warm browsing I left the store without any Kates, but with all my Georges in tow. :-)

My bathroom at the hotel in New York. Two separate vanities, a bench by the makeup mirror, a flat screen TV, marble, generous sizes of complimentary toiletries, and pure bathroom bliss. Really, why NOT get a picture of this?

I hearted San Francisco. Just sayin'...

 

Thursday was our office holiday luncheon at an Italian restaurant in DC. The Pope even joined us! *snicker*  We were seated at the Pope's Table at Buca Di Beppo, a round table for 20 with the walls bedecked with images of and from the Vatican. Was this the boss' way of saying we need all the divine inspiration we can get?!?  

This was on the opposite wall from the Pope. I think it was there to remind us of what we would look like after dessert. More bread, anyone? 

Let me know what you think of this one. Like? Dislike? Need some more make up? Ditch the glasses? Call the stylist? You tell me.

Hope your holiday weekend is fully of merry jingles and jollies!

Heading home

New York

 Ta da! The destination du jour is New York City! 

There is much hustle and bustle here, and a bit of snow tonight. If it weren't so dang cold and windy I would say it was super picturesque. There is something wonderful about being here during the holidays and seeing the lights up everywhere, the big decorations on the streets and in buildings, the trees everywhere, Christmas markets in the squares, and a general feeling of Christmas in the air. 

Or is that a Christmas carol? 

That's 50th and 7th down there. Otherwise known as the view from my hotel room. (Hey, since you got the views last week in SF it was only fair you got them of NYC, too.) 

One of the joys of a business trip to NYC is getting to see this cutie patootie: 

Wouldn't it be great if we could all get strolled around the city in our very own sleeping bags? That's the life. 

It's way past the witching hour and time for me to hunker down in my own sleeping bag for the night. (Translation: go to sleep in this super comfy hotel bed.) Have a great night, my peeps! You can be sure I will take more pictures tomorrow and share more adventures as soon as I have a viable internet connection.

Sleep tight!

Monday, the 13th

Thank goodness it's not Friday. Today is a Monday with all the traps and trimmings, including another trip! Can you guess where I'm going this time? Hint: it is another business trip. (Expense accounts rock!)

Last week's trip was super smooth and comfortable, with flights running on time, and some gorgeous scenery to keep me entranced on the long ride across the country. While I did not capture images of "smooth and comfortable" (trust me, first class was comfortable!), here are some snaps of the scenery: 

The clouds at 30,000 feet looked like an ocean.

And then the ocean got choppy.

This looked like the Grand Canyon in clouds -- a precipice on the left with different landscapes on either side.

One of my favorite pictures from the trip. Loved the different textures in the clouds.

West of Milwaukee, looking down at the snow on the ground.

Mountains! This was absolutely breathtaking. Based on our location at the time, this could be the northern end of the Grand Canyon. Or not.

Today's trip may not be as photogenic, but hopefully it will be just as smooth. Fingers are crossed (you just can't see them inside the mittens).

Up, up, and away

Hello again from 38,000 feet. :-) This time I'm somewhere over Indiana (I think) and heading east. It was fun being on the other coast for a while, and I would have liked more time to fully explore San FUNcisco -- hee hee -- but I am very content to be heading home.

My body never adjusted to west coast time. I was awake at 4am every bleeping morning. The wee hours were spent handling a lot of business with my office, chatting with friends, checking in with the family, getting spiffy, and then heading down for breakfast at 8am. By the end of the morning's first conference session I was ready for a nap. Always. Made it through the afternoon with my eyes somehow open, changed clothes around 5pm and then headed out for sight seeing, dinner, and fun. In bed by 11pm WEST coast time, and awake again at 4am where the cycle started all over again.

Did I mention I am tired?

Needless to say, I jumped at the opportunity for another first class upgrade going home. The wider seats are a boon for my arthritic hips, the extra leg room is joyous, and the beverages are stellar. (She says while sipping on a Mango Peach Fuze and vodka.)

Some general, Fuze-n-vodka thoughts from San Francisco 

I scored big time when, at a shop in Chinatown they pulled back the magic curtain and I was granted access to the mother lode of faux purses. I swear I heard angels singing. While it was super fun to browse through the purses, I left them all there. Turns out the owner dude was not willing to haggle much, so the white and pink leather coachette stayed there. As did the red prada-ette. They might haunt my dreams.

If for no other reason, I am going back to SF to eat at the Stinking Rose restaurant. Their entire menu is based around garlic. Garlic, ya'll! They are probably still cleaning my nose prints off their windows. It smelled utterly divine and I came thisclose to sidling up to the bar and ordering one of all the appetizers. (Is sidling even a word? If not I just made it up. Webster's, take note!) Anyway, I decided the conference peeps would appreciate me staying away from that much garlic. Next time...

A colleague and I walked from Union Square up through Chinatown, turned left through Little Italy, and then all the way down to Fisherman's Warf, up to Ghiardelli Square, and over to Pier 39 in one night. ONE night. With hills. It was a killer walk.

Did I mention the hills? HILLS, peeps.

No wonder I am tired.

Holdthephone. What am I doing? Why am I blogging while drinking? Better yet, why am I blogging when the guy next to me is kinda cute and willing to chat? Silly me.

Toodles!

San FUNcisco

Chinatown

Ghirardelli Square

(before I figured out how to adjust the brightness and flash on the cell phone camera)

Fisherman's Wharf

Union Square

Over the bakery at Bistro Boudin

Our cable car back to the hotel

The one thing I didn't see in daylight and is difficult to see at night is ... drum roll, please ... the Golden Gate Bridge. WHAT?! What's a trip to SF without a picture and sighting of the Golden Gate Bridge?! I obviously need to come back.

See you again, San FranFUNcisco! 

A room with a view

This is the view from the 26th floor of the hotel. More specifically, the view from my room. Sweet! 

If I knew how to do photo stitching you'd have a panoramic view of the city from my little window on the world. Hopefully one day soon I can get that software to work. For now though, you'll have to settle with another picture taken while I was looking to the right: 

And here's the city when the rain cleared and the sun decided to come out and play:

When I got "home" tonight after a whirlwind trip to Chinatown, Little Italy, Ghirardelli Square, Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39, dinner at Bistro Boudin, and a cable car ride back up the hills - whew! - well, here is what greeted me at 10pm:

Take the sight seeing list above and add a full day of conference sessions and you have one tired Pinkie. *Yawn!* Come back tomorrow (or another time that's convenient for you) to get more details on the trip, the conference, my impressions on San Francisco, and the usual zaniness. For now ...

Nite! Nite!

30,000 feet plus 8

Hi again. It's flight numero dos for the day. This one is a bit longer at 4 hours. Unfortunately, my layover wasn't long enough to fully recharge the laptop batteries so I'm only going to have power for 1/3 of the flight. Dang it. I also forgot to stop and buy a book or a new magazine. Double dang it. Ninety minutes in to the flight and I've already napped for the first 45 and read the airline's publication from stem to stern. After this blog entry, and with battery life down to 49%, I'm not sure what I'll do. Sigh.

But let's get to the good stuff, shall we? My final destination is ... can you guess? Maryland to Milwaukee and then a 4 hour flight somewhere else. Any guesses? Anyone? Buehler? 

Here's a clue: it starts with an S and ends with rancisco. And why anyone, much less me, would go through Milwaukee to go from east to west is beyond me. Oh wait. I remember. Milwaukee sounded easier than Atlanta, less risky than Denver, much less congested than Chicago, and there was a great chance of an upgrade to first class. Right! That's why I booked this particular flight.

That and in Wisconsin there's always the possibility of cheese. :-) 

From Maryland to San Francisco -- you figured that out, right? -- by way of Milwaukee, in first class all the way -- hooray! ... um ... I just lost my train plane of thought. Oh well. We're only at 41% battery life now so let's just say that the trip to San Fran is for work stuff and am looking forward to being there, seeing the city, and catching up with colleagues. Should be fun. Let me know if you have any suggestions for things to do. (Besides plugging in the laptop!)

Over -n- out from 38,000 feet.

30,000 feet

Hello from somewhere between Maryland and Milwaukee!

Thanks to the marketing minds at AirTran I am blogging from the friendly skies this morning. Let me tell you, I am loving.Loving.LOVING this whole free WiFi thing on the plane. At first I was all pooh-pooh about it. I mean, one of the joys of being on a plane is the relative freedom and disconnectivity from life, right? But when this pink turkey jumps on a plane at 7am with a to do list a mile long, well, the pooh-pooh's can take a hike.

The other thing that took a hike today was the wardrobe. My normal flight attire is something along the lines of slacks, nice shoes, work-appropriate top, and a blazer -- just in case I run across a professional contact, potential date, or otherwise need to look put together. (Remind me to tell you about the contacts I've made on planes before. Or, better yet, have Aimee tell you.) 

Today though, with the prospect of a 7+ hour travel day and nightmares of security lines dancing through my head, I pulled out the yoga pants, t-shirt, tennies, and *gasp!* sweat shirt. Add little/no make-up and barely dry hair and it looks something like this:

It's enough to make Stacy and Clinton scream! (The picture is small because it's sooo embarrassing.)

And, hey, I didn't even get charged an extra baggage fee for those suitcases under my eyes. Bonus!

Anyhoo ... all this noise lately about airport security had me a little edgy this morning as I approached the dreaded security line. Thankfully, the lines were short so it went quickly. Took off the sweatshirt and shoes, put all my crap items in bins, held on to the boarding pass with a vice grip, and waited for the pat down or the scan or whatever they were going to do.

And waited.

Here it comes ...

Nothing.

Nothing. Not even a wand or a gratuitous grope. An "OK" from the TSA guy was all I got. Honestly, I felt a little cheated. But then I realized airport security is the only place where no shoes and no shirt will still get you service. The entire security section from entering to stripping to screening to putting the shoes back on, took all of 10 minutes. I guess that counts as service.

Next stop: Milwaukee. Will catch you from the next plane, my peeps!

Fa la la la la, la la la la!

Christmas is coming, the geese are getting fat. Please put a penny in the old man's hat. If you haven't got a penny, a Christmas song will do. If you haven't got a Christmas song, then God bless you! 


The Thanksgiving holiday is coming to a screeching halt, shoppers are out in full force in the malls and on line, there is a smattering of holiday tunes on the radio, and Christmas is less than one month away. It all points to one thing ...

It's time to make the annual Christmas playlist! YIPPEE!

Yes, my pink peeps, it is indeed that time of year again. I am in full Christmas song, holiday hits, fa la la la geeking mode. I spent hours this weekend combing through the iTunes store and my own song library for potential pieces to include. While listening, singing, humming, finding new options, listening some more, and toying with some possibilities, the proverbial light bulb finally clicked on.

*ON!*

Yep, just like that.

I have a mega iTunes collection with goo gobs of Christmas tunes -- not to brag; it's a little more embarrassing than that -- and would like to share the Christmas joy. In song. I have lots of favorites but what are YOUR favorites? Do you have an all-time favorite holiday tune? Does it matter who performs it, or does the tune of, say, Little Drummer Boy transcend the performer? Do you like the classical Christmas vibe a la Handel's Messiah, or something more modern and upbeat like Mary's Boy Child? Peaceful and quiet or big and bold? What song comes on the radio and makes you think "NOW it's Christmas?"

Don't go tell it on the mountain. Tell me instead! Leave a comment with your favorite Christmas song or songs and any other information you want to share about your holiday tune tastes.  Maybe, just maybe, your personal fave will make an appearance on the Christmas '10 mix.

God rest ye merry, gentle peeps!

Welcome, Olivia

We have a new member of the pink turkey household. She is a big softie with a firm core, has a bit of a muffin top, is an expensive date, and is a pain in the butt to get up the stairs.

Meet Olivia:

Olivia is now residing in my room. My old mattress -- un-named, by the way; we checked -- is now in Turkey's room. The Turkey's old mattress with coils poking through the fabric is hitch hiking its way to the county recycling center. I have it on good authority it will have a ride by 8 tomorrow morning.

While Turkey's old mattress waits for its ride we have been busy moving beds around, cleaning, washing dust ruffles and comforters, and generally getting ready for the first night with Olivia in the house. It is very safe to say the Turkey and I are both looking forward to tonight's journey to Dreamland on new and new-to-you beds.

Thanks to my parents for the early Christmas present for both of us! And welcome, Olivia. I sincerely hope you enjoy your new home.

P.S.  Um. When did mattress companies start naming their products?! Does anyone else find this just a tad bit weird?

Williamsburg

Picturesque. Everyone always describes the historic Williamsburg experience as picturesque.

I'd like to add quaint, charming, colorful, and fun to the adjective list.

However you describe it, here's a glimpse at a weekend in the very picturesque, quaint, charming, colorful, fun, and very historic Williamsburg, Virginia:

The first stop on our journey - The Capital. 

More shots of the Capital from the street. (Can you believe that sky is not even photoshopped? It was a gorgeous day.)

 This was the fencing in front of the Magazine and Guardhouse.While I wouldn't want to run into it, I'm not sure how effective it would be at keeping people out.

The Courthouse with a very gorgeous tree out front. I stood across the street for a while waiting for the hordes of picture takers to clear out from under the tree.

....and then I became a total tourist and took a picture, too! 

(Don't pay attention to the hair. It was a windy day.)

 The Governor's Palace. And, yes, that is indeed a nametag. It was my admission ticket for the historic buildings. I committed a major sin by forgetting to take it off for pictures. Twenty "Hail Letitia's" were said as pennance.

Believe it or not, I got in trouble for taking this picture. We were in the study on the 2nd floor of the Governor's Palace, and I moved the blinds just a fraction to be able to get this shot out the window.  The docent .... 'scuze me .... the historical interpreter got very angry with me for touching the blinds. I apologized in due course and mistakenly referred to another worker in the building as a docent. Lordy! You would have thought General Washington himself was walking through the property by the way she fussed at me! Needless to say, I was very quiet and didn't touch the furniture or the blinds for the rest of our tour.At least not that she could see. *wink*

This is the back yard at the Governor's Palace. There was a boxwood maze off to the right (which I navigated successfully. Thankyouverymuch.), formal gardens on the left, a stage in the way back, and we even saw General Lafayette taking a stroll. I wish my back yard would look this good. Sigh. 

From the Palace we meandered through the streets a little more, stopped at Trellis for some Death by Chocolate, picked up some cheese (see previous post), were very much alive after devouring the chocolate, and skipped back to the Visitor Center before heading to the airport. 

The good news is, after 46 hours together, we were still smiling on the trip home. 

See ya' next time, Williamsburg!