Random Monday thoughts

Well, it's Groundhog's Day...again. And because January wasn't long enough, Mr. Groundhog saw his shadow today, which means six more days of winter. Ding! I love that movie :)

Guess it's not time to put away the Uggs or deep winter jacket just yet.

Anyhow, today was kind of a long day so I'm putting tonight's random thoughts into a bulleted list, with a strong Super Bowl focus (for this week.)

• Jennifer Hudson looked fabulous last night singing the national anthem. Her voice is still strong and she looked nervous but composed. She's a fighter and she came back with style. I totally want that outfit
  

• I used to hate clothing tags that would itch my back or hip, but now that clothes have gone tagless, I have started wearing my clothing inside out more frequently. This especially includes: T-shirts and underwear. Last week, I wore clothing inside out at least three times. I'm a freak

• The Office! After a disappointing few weeks, the Office was super awesome last night. Granted, I could always use more Jim/Pam sweetness in my life, but Dwight's "safety training" exercises were more than enough enjoyment. One of my favorite parts was during the fire when Angela threw her cat into the ceiling, only to see it crash back down on the opposite side of her desk. I could not stop laughing. 

• I think Lulu (my Macbook) is having temper tantrums. Lulu has been freezing up a lot lately, forcing me to have to restart the computer without properly shutting down. So I turned on my inner geek switch and broke in my new back-up hard drive (just to be safe.) I would freak out if I lost all of my photos and music, so to be safe, I have a date with the Genius Bar this weekend!

• As soon as I saw the GI Joe and Transformers 2 trailers last night, I could see my friend Ryan go into a child-like joy fit. I have a feeling I will be dragged to one or both of those movies this summer. I'll go willingly to one, but not the other

• Super Bowl commercials - Careerbuilder: Tips and Doritos: Crystal Ball. Why? Throwing a snowglobe to get free snacks is hilarious and wishful thinking. And let's be honest, when you're not happy in your job, who hasn't cried constantly, screamed, daydreamed of being somewhere else or wanted to punch small animals? I do love koalas though.

• My favorite all-time Super Bowl ad: Bud Light swear jar. I have a potty mouth so anytime TV beeps out swears, I cannot stop laughing. More immaturity

How did you celebrate the game? Or what is your favorite Super Bowl celebration food? The food spread was thin where I was, but I'm planning something bigger for the Oscars, with taco dip! 

Sometimes I wish the game was on Saturday night so I could fully celebrate with fatty foods and beer but I need to lay off the booze now anyhow.

Happy Monday!

Key Learnings, family visits, cupcakes and cold!

Whenever family comes to town, it feels like the longest day(s) ever. There is a lot of prep work in coming up with things to do and back up ideas in case the plan has be changed, mapping out where to eat, what to see, etc. That said, it's still great to have visitors :)

So while I put my apartment back into normal shape now that my brother and SIL are gone, let's check out my key learnings.

Key Learnings:

• Ice skating is a fun idea until you strap the skates on and realize you have zero idea what you're doing

• Zamboni's are still entertaining to watch as an adult

• $3 mimosa's are a great Saturday night companion

• You really love your family when you spend an entire -11 degree day outside showing them the city

• Entertaining guests all weekend is exhausting!

• It takes a lot of tolerance to watch people unknowingly dirty up your apartment and not immediately clean up after them

• Long underwear is never a fashion faux pas, especially when it's cold

• You know you're just like your brother when you both eat an entire mini-cupcake in one bite and don't judge the other person

• Dancing in restaurants near closing time is publicly acceptable

• It's okay to leave barely a 10 percent tip when your dinner in a non-busy restaurant takes 1.5 hours due to poor service

As I mentioned on Friday, my brother and sister-in-law were in town this weekend and it was fabulous. Now that he's married, I don't get to see him as much as I want to, so getting nearly two days with him was a real treat. And because he doesn't spend a lot of time in Chicago, we covered a lot of ground Saturday, full of food, drinks, sight seeing and trying to win lottery tickets to Wicked (which closed this weekend.) It's fun to be a tourist again. 

We didn't get lucky on tickets, but my brother and I did throw caution to the wind and went ice skating at Millennium Park, which did not turn out as expected. We're more "summer sports" people and both of us looked ridiculous baby stepping around the rink (while holding the bars for support) so that we wouldn't fall. After two slips and an hour in the freezing cold, we called it a day, but had plenty of laughs and one great picture.

Forgive the picture. At this point, it hurt to smile because of the wind

Andy and I also checked out a new cupcake place, Sugar Bliss Cupcakes, which is located across from Macy's downtown. What I love the most about this place is that they have full-size and mini-cupcakes, which is perfect if you want to try several kinds at once. Below is a picture of our bounty. I definitely want to go back for the full size Texas Red Velvet cupcake (yee haw!) and frosting shots. Those just sound awesome.

Clockwise: Chocolate peppermint, chocolate/vanilla, chocolate/milk chocolate

Finally, the best part of having my brother in town is that we sat and talked about anything, from movies to politics to news. We have a lot of the same interests so we never run out of things to talk about, which is probably why we were up until 1:30 a.m. on Saturday morning. Oops. And he's the only guy I would let yell "keep dancing woman" at me at dinner Saturday night, when I couldn't control my dancing groove to Rihanna's "Disturbia."

How was everyone else's weekend? Tonight is the SAG Awards so check back tomorrow for my fashion recap. The response was so great from the Golden Globes, that I'll keep it going!

Weekend key learnings and matchmaker fail

This weekend I went back to Wisconsin and it was exactly what I needed. I got to drive and enjoy some Wisconsin Badger football...in the freezing cold and snow. I love college football, but I have to admit, the November games are tough, especially when you're sandwiched in the stadium. But I wouldn't give up going.

Anyhow, on to the learnings!

Key Learnings:

• Even with four layers of clothes on, it's amazing how you fast you can get a chill

• Hearing a kid scream "we're all gonna die!" on the train home, is not comforting

• Try to be subtle when holding your breath in a cab that smells like onions

• A Bloody Mary and soft pretzel are great ways to start your Saturday

• Think before saying out loud, "I'm tired of taking my clothes off." People won't know that you mean you're tired of taking your clothes off to try on other clothes at the store

• If Goodwill breaks your donation while dropping it off, it's totally fine to jump in the car and speed off before they return to deny it

• Chanel and Louis Vuitton are not appropriate gameday accessories. My rule: don't wear anything you don't mind spilling beer on

• When your parents ask what liquor you want for the cooler, don't say just juice. They won't understand. Just say beer, even if you only want juice

• You know it's been a while since you've seen someone when they comment "wow your hair is brown now" and it's actually been brown for almost two years

• It's okay to break out into spontaneous dance to warm up your legs and body. But you might look silly

• Be an adult and own up to the fact that you look  like a d-bag in a mock turtleneck. They're not made for everyone

At the football game, my stepmom and her friend tried to play matchmaker for me, ending in a big FAIL. Both of my stepbrothers are in long-term relationships and with my brother married, that means it leaves little spinster me the last one solo. 

Before the game, my stepmom and her friend, who has stadium seats near us, were talking about kids, and her friend asked if I was single. When I said yes, she smiled and told me I had to meet her 38-year-old son, who is also single and has never been married. I laughed and said okay (I mean, why not?) and my stepmom was just beyond excited at the prospect of a love connection.

But the woman sharing a pre-game table with us interrupted this nice moment by saying, "oh my god he's 38 and unmarried? What's wrong with him? Why is he still single?" My stepmom threw this rude person her patented death rays, but the mood was killed. I agreed to go through with the "introduction" at half-time and sure enough, when this poor guy came over to the seats to see his mom, she pushed me forward and said, "Craig, meet Jessica, isn't she adorable?"

As if my cheeks weren't red enough already from the cold, my embarrassment was added on top of this. Fortunately, the matchmaking appeared to be nothing new to this guy, who rolled his eyes, shook my hand and then turned around and left. My stepmom and this woman were crushed and my dad told my stepmom in a pointed tone, "Jess is fine, don't force something on her. She's perfect on her own."

Thanks dad, I think you're right :) Back to the drawing board.

Key learnings and tailgating

It's that time again, the weekend is over and as I sit here with a cup of cocoa and soft lighting, I'll share with you some of the things I learned this weekend.

Sit back and enjoy the sharing.

Key Learnings:

• When you put your wallet in your desk drawer and say out loud, "hey I have to remember to put this back in my purse so I don't leave it at the office tonight," actually do that. CVS isn't happy (neither are you) when you realize that you didn't follow through with that piece of advice
• It's okay to break your rule of "not drinking before noon" on college game day (Blood Mary's at 9 a.m. will do that)
• Going to a home game and supporting the visiting team in the stands leads to a lot of teasing and taunting
• Guys that "chew" are automatically unattractive
• Spending eight hours in the car in one day can make you and your carmates crabby
• Continuously eating food and walking can keep you awake
• Shrimp on the grill is delicious
• French onion dip with potato chips is like a slice of heaven
• I should not own a dog
• When you shower on a daily basis and then skip a day, it makes you very heightened to your temporary new smell
• Port-O-Johns are never enjoyable to use
• Finding your favorite college, non-Boones, beverage at a bar can totally make your day
• It's always good to get out of the city for a day or two and enjoy the country scenery. There's something soothing about looking out at a farm field with the wide open sky and fall colors

As I mentioned on Friday, I went to Iowa for the Iowa vs. Wisconsin NCAA football game this weekend. And if you follow college sports, you will know how that game turned out. So that was definitely not a high point of my whirlwind 24 hours, but I do have to tell you about some amazing tailgating.

My family members are not big tailgaters. We're more of the "let's go pay for someone to cook and wait on us rather than cook it ourselves" kind of people and we don't like to carry all the stuff to the game and store it. So I was forewarned about the amazing tailgating that I would be a part of before the game on Saturday. And my warning was correct because it was AWESOME (said in a sing-songy voice).

I was reminded how much I love french onion dip with salty potato chips and homemade mac and cheese. This on top of an amazing spread of chips/salsa, cheese squares (also a solid choice), grilled shrimp with butter and garlic salt, homemade trail mix with pretzels, Chex Mix, pecans and corn puffs all mixed with caramel. O-M-G it was amazing.  So I thought that was great but then the pork chops, homemade mac and cheese, baked beans and potato salad came out, of course followed by two dessert trays. Seriously, I did not think it was possible to eat that much and not keel over. That's what Bloody Mary's will do for you :)

The food was amazing, which will now become amazing leftovers this week. Even better! We were able to tailgate on someone's front lawn near the Iowa football stadium, which was perfect to get into the game on time, but our restroom facilities consisted of a Port-O-John in the backyard, which the men used more as a leaning device while urinating in the bushes. Gosh I love college football.

So that is the story of my key learnings for this week and my awesome tailgating story. How was everyone else's weekend?

Reader Note: Thanks everyone for your comments on my personal. I appreciate the offers to date me too! Very sweet. Believe it or not, I'm not that picky when it comes to guys, but I'm really glad you all enjoyed it!

My lots of love list

It's way past by bedtime (yes, it's only 10:30 p.m. - sad) so I'm shamelessly copying this idea from some great bloggers I know because at the end of a long week, as I get ready to kick-start the weekend, I want to take a step back and focus on things that I love. Some things on this list might be cheesy, but I'm having a sincere moment here.

Yes, there is a lot of love on this blog tonight.

So without further ado, here is my inaugural love list.

Smell of fresh laundry - leaves falling - breaking the spine on a new book - opening up new lip balm - watching a thunderstorm - going for walks - getting a good song on my iPod shuffle setting - smell of home cooked food - someone giving me a honest compliment - laughter - hugs  - someone brushing my hair - drinks with good friends - chocolate cake - watching movies - reading a good magazine - cashmere - wrapping a soft scarf around my neck - knitting - dancing to loud music - prancing around my apartment in high heels - playing dress up - kissing a baby's soft cheeks - quiet Friday nights - snow crunching beneath my feet - playing in puddles - taking pictures - a good steak - champagne - watching the Badgers - the sound of a perfectly hit golf ball - sound of a tennis ball hitting the sweet spot - fresh cut flowers - air conditioning on a hot, humid day - guys in a nice, tailored suit - smell of leather shoes - feel of newly dyed hair - ice cream - breeze blowing through the trees - kisses on the cheek - The Colbert Report - sweatpants - having a "lay down" - watching a movie, wrapped in a blanket - Dancing/pretending that I know how to - the "smell of fall" - jumping into a warm bed at night - curling up with a warm bowl of soup - fires in the fireplace - ironing - sound of rain - spending time with my good girlfriends

Oh yeah, I have one more to add on here too. Relaxing on a Friday night with a movie, People magazine and a Pepsi. That's my plan for tomorrow night. I cannot wait! Plus I have a friend's birthday party this weekend so a "night in" would be nice, considering there will be shenanigan's galore on Saturday.

Next week I'll also recap the bloggy event that I went to tonight that was hosted by the 3-A-Day of Dairy program. (To disclose, 3-A-Day is one of my company's clients). Not only was it a good time with cheese, but also I got to meet some awesome Chicago bloggers, like Erin and Laura!

Almost TGIF time! Does anyone else have fun plans this weekend? At some point this weekend I need to transition out my summery clothes to fall ones. It's bittersweet.

My recent key learnings

Many of my friends ask me for advice on occasion and I always enjoy imparting my words of wisdom or sharing my stories of pure humiliation to help them feel better, or at least help them be glad that they're not me. 

Now that it's Sunday and another week is upon us, I'll share with you some things that I learned this weekend.

• Be careful while opening a bottle of beer when tipsy. The opener can slip and you can cut yourself. I did that

• Always surround yourself with friends who have dumb luck. My friend Sarah found $40 on the street this weekend, I found a quarter

• Rock Band is a fun but humbling experience. It reminded me of two things: I am tone deaf and absolutely uncoordinated. It took me three times on drums to make it through a full song, although I do feel my Bon Jovi solo was pretty good

• It is still flattering when people at the grocery store ask to see your ID when buying alcohol

• Make the cab driver repeat your location back to you so they don't miss your street

• Just because your college football team is winning, anything can happen in the last 20 seconds of the game (I hate you Michigan)

• It's tacky to talk smack about someone when they're standing right next to you. That's just rude - man up and confront them

• It might be painful, but sometimes you have to be nice to someone, even if they're rude to you

• Doing laundry at 1:30 a.m. sounds like a good idea - until you have to stay up to finish it

• Being sober around drunk people is not fun, it's obnoxious

• A wine/beer headache can still be there when you wake up the next day

• Road rage comes back pretty quickly, even if you don't drive on a regular basis

• The right pair of jeans (here's what I'm loving lately) can give you a huge confidence boost and make your hips shake a little like Shakira

• Putting food in front of a friend's face and saying "eat it!" can actually get them to, well eat what you want them to

So those are my lessons from this weekend. It was a flurry of activity.

Any words of wisdom that you would like to share from your weekends? I hope everyone had a good one!

Looking forward to fall

I know summer isn't officially over until the end of September but the weather in Chicago is cooling so I'm starting to look ahead to fall and why I'm excited about the changing seasons. 

What I'm looking forward to:

• Jackets! Well not like winter jackets, more like my cute, cotton/corduroy ones that look awesome with pants and a scarf. I bought one a gorgeous navy one at J.Crew and I can't wait to wear it


• College football - this has technically gotten started but I've been a late-season adapter. Go Badgers!

• Michigan Avenue tree lighting - happens in November and I will have to be dead in order to keep me away from it. I LOVE the lighting of Michigan Avenue. I am a serious attendee


• Leaves changing color - I don't see this a lot in Chicago but when I go home, I love to drive along the tree-lined streets and look at the leaves


• Wisconsin vs. Minnesota football game - I just said I love football but this game is penned in on my calendar every year. They are huge rivals and play for the Paul Bunyon axe. Trust me, when that games end and the teams run for it, it's very exciting

• The "changing of the bags" - yes it's time to retire the summer bags (see you in spring Longchamp!) and bring out the fall/winter ones (hello Kenneth Cole!)


• TV is back!! This is just around the corner and I cannot wait. My DVR has had it too easy for too long, time to get her fired up and back on schedule

• Ugg boots - I cannot wait to bring the ladies out to meet Speedy and my winter bags again. It's funny but I actually have a "theme song" that I play when they come down. I usually pick between "These Boots are Made for Walkin'" or "Big Pimpin.'" I don't know why I chose the latter


• Cool chill in the air - I love walking when the air is cool and crisp. You can actually smell fall coming. For real. Plus it's great sleeping weather, turn the heated mattress pad on and I'm out!

What I'm not looking forward to:

• Never seeing the sun - seriously, I wake up, it's dark and I leave work and it's dark, sad


• Raking - somehow I get roped into this when I go home and I hate it. Stupid leaves and wind


• Snow - it's inevitable and in the city it sucks


• Colds - I always get one and last year's cold kept me sick for over a month and home from work for over three days. No thanks

Fortunately the positives of fall outweigh the negative ones so bring on the change of seasons!

Also - by popular demand, here is a picture of my adorable Bubbles. Look at that face, precious. And posing like a sassy little b*tch. Love her.

Vince Lombardi meets Suzy Homemaker on crack

Yes that must be quite an image.

I'm technically on vaca right now, doing my time in northern Wisconsin where there is no cell phone access or Internet, except at this nifty little cafe with Wifi, where I now find refuge from a house full of people, including my dad, stepmom, stepbrother and his girlfriend.

The reason we're in northern Wisconsin is because of a golf tournament at the local state park. My dad has played in this tournament for the last 28+ years. It's a tradition in the family every summer to drive four hours north to this little piece of 1950s heaven and get away from the city, horns, drunk baseball fans and work. No McDonalds, cable television or Starbucks. It's a test of your attention span and how well you can entertain yourself. 

And as one of the women in our group, I wake every day of the golf tournament and join my dad on the course, dutifully playing Suzy Homemaker for him until my stepmom arrives, when I then turn into a rabid fan.

This is a very serious job for anyone joining us for the golf tournament and as a woman you're required golf tournament duties entail:

• Waking at an ungodly hour to join your man (in this case my dad) on the course
• Provide moral support
• Drive the golf cart and surrender it upon command
• Cheer when your man does well
• Say nothing when do they badly on a hole
• Pick up golf clubs that have been thrown aside in anger
• Take pictures
• Keep score
• Bring and maintain the cooler for yours and your man's cart - provide them with the requested food when necessary
• Chat with the other daughters, wives and girlfriends before the 10th hole, bragging about how your man is doing

Yes, I'm Suzy Homemaker on crack and while I'm a feminist and independent woman, I don't mind doing this stuff once a year. Even if the golf course bathrooms/out houses are beyond atrocious, it's another sign of how much I love my dad.

Last year, my dad was playing against a long-time friend of his, and whoever won that day's match would go on to the championship round the next day. My dad was beating this guy by only a few holes and I could tell that the thought of having to eliminate his friend from the tournament was weighing on him. So I did what any good supporter would do and I gave him a Vince Lombardi-like pep talk. 

Me: What's wrong?

Dad: I'm only up by one hole, if I win this next one, Mr. X is out of the tournament

Me: So?

Dad: Well I feel bad

Me: What? Don't feel bad, do you think Mr. X is going to give up his seat in the championship because he would feel bad about beating you?

Dad: No

Me: That's right, someone has to lose today and it's going to be him, it sucks but you're not a loser, we're winners, you raised me to be a winner and now you're going to be

Dad: I raised you to be a leader

Me: Whatever, go out there and beat him and if it makes you feel better, don't crush him, but win, win, win, win!

Dad: You're right

Me: No shit I'm right, go team!

And my dad did win and I made sure to clap and cheer when he did. I think it boosted his self-esteem for the championship round the next day. Unfortunately he lost, but he played well.

Well it's time for me to go back to our rented house, change for dinner and pack my dad's cooler for the next day. My voice is actually kind of sore from cheering today too so I should rest. One of the wives was giving me a "look" today when I was bragging about how well my dad was playing (unbeknownst to me, he was playing against her husband). Time to sharpen the nails in case she gets in my face. Yes I'm a scratcher and a biter.

Full vaca wrap-up will be coming this week, I have plenty of unique photos to share, but I leave you today with this image of a little visitor (aka a wild turkey) that came out on the 7th hole today.

Brett Favre retires...a cheese state mourns

So if you somehow haven't heard the news, Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre will not be returning to the Packers this fall. It was the "news heard round the Midwest" today, seeing as the man is treated, rightfully so, as a god in Wisconsin.

The Journal-Sentinel site carried the first "official word" from Favre's agent and it crashed the site. Apparently it needs to invest in better bandwidth. It treated his retirement like a national day of mourning, encouraging fans to write about their Favre memories and featured a banner that said "Brett Favre 1992-2007." I thought at first that he had actually died and not retired. My brother and I traded frantic IM's this morning, trying to find out what's the actual story and then, when we heard, my Buccaneers-fan-brother was able to share his joy fully. Personally, I'm not a Packers fan, but rather am a "supporter." I am disappointed to see he wasn't returning, but if it was me, I'd rather go out on a successful season than come back, have a bad one and end it that way. Leaving on a high note is always the best way to go, even if that high note didn't result in a Super Bowl win.

Later on the paper's site, I saw that Packer's fans were gathering at Lambeau Field to listen to the news and "mourn." Again, did he die or retire? But to be fair, it would be hard for people within Green Bay where the town actually owns the team. That's something rare nowadays.

At the gym, ESPN was heavy into Favre-coverage, including his brief cameo in the movie, There's Something About Mary, which still cracks me up. But apparently his appeal isn't that wide-spread because a girl I work with (who I promised not to name publicly) asked me today who Brett Favre is! You can imagine my reaction (comforting) but the shocked look on my co-worker's face did make me laugh.

So in closing, let's take a moment of silence to honor this Wisconsin legend, who no matter what, will always be a hero there, much like Barry Alvarez, but on a much bigger scale.

I am officially a couch potato

Yes, for the second day in a row, I have done little but lay around, "clean" my apartment and watch a mind-numbing amount of TV. I did not make it to the gym today, but I did start to lay out clothes for my Miami trip this week and called the hotel to make sure I could use the gym, in case I'm motivated and have time Tuesday night.

I'm proud of my movie achievements this weekend: Painted Veil, Superman 3, Casino Royale, 2 Days in Paris, King of Kong: Fistfull of Quarters and several movies in my DVR as well. It's insanely lazy and unproductive, but I love it :)

My official choice of favorite Super Bowl commercial has to be: Pepsi's "head bobbing" ad, which appeared in the first part of the game. It reminded me of the "2 p.m. coma" that happens around the office and the hilarious Will Ferrell/Chris Katten SNL sketch from the 90s. Very funny.

Oh and it's snowing again...hard. Instead of 1-3" by tomorrow morning, the Tribune online has upgraded it to 3-5" - awesome! (said sarcastically)

Okay time to clean my bathroom sink and get the dishwasher going. I'm out of forks and spoons.

Yes Virginia - it's still cold

Unfortunately nothing to report today. I was basically a shut-in, minus a trip to Best Buy and brunch with Ryan at Francis' deli on Broadway and Wrightwood, which had a surprisingly large crowd for a bitter cold day. Today's only other excitement was re-organizing my purses and cleaning, seriously.

Fingers crossed for more adventures and a more forgiving wind chill tomorrow. Go Packers.

Golden Globes letdown

For all of you who know me pretty well, this is my favorite time of year. Red carpets, winner predictions, glitz and glamour, all from the comfortable spot on my couch in the living room. And this year I was going to be able to enjoy all of that fashion-fun from in HD! But no, along with killing all of my favorite shows, likely for the season, this writer's strike as also harpooned my awards season fun.

The "news conference" last night, which was more like a bad hour-long episode of Access Hollywood, which I also hate, was painful to watch. Personally, Nancy O'Dell's arms were way to tan, compared to her face, and was it just me or is she still nursing? That part was painfully obvious. It was nice to have the show really clip along, allowing for less time for me to be distracted, but in the end, it was all anti climatic.

I was very surprised by Cate Blanchett, Marie Cotillard and Sweeny Todd's wins, especially that last one over Juno. This opens up my Oscar ballot way more than I thought it would. Javier Bardem and Daniel Day Lewis are a definite so at least I'll know those are locked up. Sounds like I'll need to rely more on my Oscar prediction issue of Entertainment Weekly to help me round out the ballot.

In closing - congrats to the Packers, who will now face the Giants next Sunday night. Saturday's game (in a blizzard at Lambeau) was great. Also, I invite everyone to checked out Linkedin, which Sarah referred me to. It's a networking site, sort of like Facebook for professionals. So far it's helped me connect with an old friend from college that I lost touch with so that is worth it!

Blowing through nap time

Even at my late-20 something age, I still enjoy it when my dad worries about me. Tonight, in the midst of terrible thunderstorms in Chicago, Wisconsin and Indiana, he called while I was waiting for a 145 or 146 in the rain to make sure I was okay. Apparently there were tornado sightings between Chicago and Wisconsin and south of the city as well. Of course I didn't this out until I was home and saw the radar online...and I'm glad I didn't.

Now that it's back to work and Liz's office coffee cup crisis is getting better (and an opportunity ripe for the black coffee cup market) so it's business as usual. I'm back to pondering deep thoughts, such as "how do I properly use this eye makeup brush on my crease properly," and "do my newly shorn eyebrows work for my face shape? Or do I now have a more perplexed look on my face?" Deep thoughts.

Before I go back to my issue of Us Weekly and watch LSU hopefully crush Ohio State (suck it Buckeyes!), I say that one of my New Years resolutions this year is to get back on blogging track, to my readers (however many of them are our there), I promise to do better.

Now back to Britney's recent meltdown and how I can be as skinny as the stars, without the food delivered to my home and the oodles of money to work out with a trainer for hours a day and not worry about working....