Whole lotta random things...

So. Where to start? I'll start with my trip to St. Louis for the North Central District's meeting. Yep, I get to go to St. Louis and stay in a hotel for two nights. The fun little catch(es)? We fly out on 9/11, and my flight is on Northwest. Lovely. I don't anticipate anything bad happening, the only thing I'm really worried about is that damn CHAOS thing affecting my flight. That would really really suck. The General Manager's coordinator is counting on my being there. Should be a fun time, though. We're going to go on an Anheuser-Busch tour. They have a really good hospitality meeting at the end, but as most of you know, I have zilch interest in beer. Unless they have something crazy cool or summat.

I was super psyched yesterday (And still am today) - I've managed to lose a dress size! Anita, a friend from work and I have been working out during our lunch hour (most days) and I've been doing weight watchers, which has apparently made a big difference, and has allowed my metabolism to catch up, apparently. Which is freaking awesome. I began at the beginning of August, and told myself that my goal was to lose a dress size by Alissa's wedding - so go me! One goal down, another to go. It just feels *so* good because it's a confirmation that I can actually do this. And it won't kill me. I have begun to realize that this is a lifestyle change and I will be watching what I eat and making sure I exercise for the REST OF MY LIFE which is somewhat daunting, but being overweight is worse. Unfortunately, I have not managed to pick up the rest of my immediate family's 'skinny' genes. Ah, well. There could be worse things.

Got my hair trimmed and highlighed today at Fantastic Sam's. I was somewhat dubious about this, wondering what kind of a job a 'discount' chain could do. I suppose it all comes down to the stylist that you get. At any rate, it looks good! I do really like it. Maybe it's because my hair was mostly my natural blah mousy dark ash-blonde color. But I'm happy with it. Just not happy with the price tag - ouch. Nearly $100. She never asked me if I wanted it blown out or whatnot, which all, of course, comes with a price tag. I just assumed that the price of the shampooing was included in the highlighting due to its intrinsically necessary nature. But no, apparently. But then again, like I told Shaun, we have been spoiled silly by the prices that Shelley had been charging us. Maybe if I went to a Fantastic Sam's in a non-ritzy suburb it might be cheaper, too. Which I am sure is the reason why the prices were unposted upon their website.

Tuesday evening immediately after I get home from work we are leaving for Minocqua, WI for Shaun's annual family vacay. Hopefully the weather will be better than last year's, but as SAD as this sounds, I am going to be bringing my laptop in case it rains or whatnot so that I can do some work. But that's alright, otherwise I'd be bored silly watching everyone play cards. Bleck. Apparently, my in-laws (haha! That still sounds funny to me... :) ) will be taking walks in the mornings, so we are planning on joining them. I need to make sure that even though I do not have an elliptical machine available, I am still getting some activity in my daily repitoire.

This is the part that is kinda fun, but bad - Shaun and I bought a hard plastic ball homemade ice cream maker to have the kids make their own ice cream and then eat it afterwards. We're also going to bring fun toppings and whatnot. Wal-Mart (boo, hiss, I know...) had homemade ice cream mixes where all you had to do was add milk, but that stuff turned out NASTY. So I checked out a book from the library and used their Old Fashioned Vanilla Ice Cream recipe to make some. I was supposed to use vanilla bean pods, but those things were $12/2. So, no. After simmering the sugar, egg yolks, milk and whipping cream together I added a good dash of good-quality vanilla exract and we made it the next night with the ball. That was the BEST vanilla ice cream I have ever had. Even after freezing it it stayed soft. Mmmmm. Delish. So tomorrow night I'm going to make a double batch so that it's all ready to just stick in a cooler and bring up. The book says that as long as it stays refrigerated, the mix will keep a week. So that's perfect. :)

Anyway, hope you all are having a great life. :)