Day 212: Little Help from My Friends

Another long day and late night at work as we wrapped up this week's big events. I definitely couldn't survive such weeks without my fabulously funny and hard-working co-workers!  I took tons of pics tonight, but considering it's already ridiculously late, we'll settle on my top three favorites...

Day 211: Inside the Dome

Spent much of the afternoon in the Pavilion (see Day 147), shuffling our guests to and from their hospital tours. Was glad to finally have my camera on hand to capture all of the great details of the amazing ceiling.

Day 210: Costumes

Just another day at the office.... I love that I work for an organization that fully embraces employees who dress as chickens and pumpkins...

Day 209: You've Been Flash Mobbed

Today, my division at work pulled off an amazing flash mob during our national staff meeting.  The event itself was far too exciting to actually photograph while in the moment.  Thankfully, the staff was still on high from the fun of it all by the end of the night so some of my favorite Judies indulged my request for a late-night reenactment photo shoot. Fabulous job, gang! 

Day 208: Happiest Place on Earth

No, I'm not in Disney World, but according to my friend, Courtney, Wayne's Candy Company is even better. In further preparation for this week's staff meetings, we ventured out to this local gem to stock up on candy. It looks a little bit scary from the outside, but on the inside, it's fully of yummy goodness! Great find!

Day 207: Arts & Crafts Night

While this week is going to be a busy one, it's also going to be so much fun with all of my Judies and work friends coming in town for our national staff meeting. My friend Courtney from our Atlanta office had to come in early for an extra meeting so I was excited to have some overnight company! In preparation for the meeting, she busted out her Crayola markers and called upon her skills from her cheerleader days to create some posters for a meeting later this week.

Day 206: Catching Some Rays

Took advantage of today's HOT weather to get some sun and enjoy some time by the pool...

Day 205: Fresh Pickin's

Hit the Farmer's Market early this morning with Laurie and her mom Laura and picked up some fresh blueberries and zinnias for the week.

Day 204: Lights are Bright on Broad Avenue...

... But they weren't so bright downtown. I came home from work today to find that there was a major power outage in my neighborhood.  Rather than sit in an un-air conditioned apartment, I decided to take the recommendation of my favorite local blog, "I Love Memphis"'s list of the top 5 things to do this weekend and visit the Broad Avenue Summer Art Jam. I wasn't very into the art, but it was perfect for people-watching and photo-taking.

Day 203: Pretty Girls

It was a perfect night downtown for a photo shoot. I was so happy when my friend Jenny called and asked me to take some photos of her and her two best friends. These girls are beautiful and sweet and obviously such wonderful friends to each other.  We visited some of my favorite backdrops in downtown Memphis and capped off the night with some fruity drinks and yummy dinner at one of their favorite spots, The Majestic.  Jenny, Angie and Lauren - I had so much fun! Can't wait to do it again!

Day 202: Madam Presidents

Meeting tonight at the Junior League of Memphis Community Resource Center. I always love wandering through this great old building and scoping out the Wall of Presidents. So many great women who have left their marks on the city of Memphis.

Day 201: What a Difference Two Years Makes

So I know it looks like I already graduated with my Masters (see Day 134), but in actuality, I finished up my last summer class tonight!  Yay!  Rather than a normal class, our teacher hosted us in her home for dinner.  I've spent almost every Tuesday night with this group for the past two years and it's excitingto see how everyone has changed. Many of the changes in my classmates are intangible, but one of the most obvious changes is the addition of sweet little Jaya, the one-year-old daughter of one of my classmates. During the duration of our program, Melinda found out she was pregnant, had Jaya a month early, and now brings her along to class gatherings. She's walking and jabbering and cutting teeth now.  Amazing to think of our course in terms of the early years of a child!

Day 200: Reason to Celebrate

Today, there were a few causes for celebration. First, it was my "birthday buddy's" birthday - Kaitlin - which meant it was my day to bring the cake and gift and deck out the normally boring cubicle land with festive birthday decor.  Happy birthday, Kaitlin!  Second, I got to have a slumber party with sweet Elizabeth (and Angie & Sidney) as they stopped at my place on the way home from a weekend trip. In honor of the occasion, I figured she could use some cute new pj's and couldn't pass up these little giraffe ones. So presh!

Day 199: Hot and Sleepy

These two words pretty much sum up my day. I took the 6:30 am flight out of Minneapolis and its very average and comfortable temperatures to return to Memphis and its sticky, heat. Ugh.  The only thing getting me through the day is my go-to Starbucks order - Iced Skinny Vanilla Latte. I have a feeling I'm going to need to hook this up through an IV over the next few days as I kick start a busy week.

Day 198: Following the Itinerary

When Burton, Donna and I realized we would have basically a whole day free in Minneapolis to see the sights, we reached out to our local office staff for some tips on the must-sees.  Never did we guess that our friends, Amanda and Jessica, would put together an entire itinerary, including driving directions and restaurant recommendations, for us. We didn't quite make it to everything on the list, but we really enjoyed the Stone Arch Bridge and the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. So fun and a great city! Thanks, Amanda and Jessica!

Day 197: Classic Ride

In Minneapolis now for another work convention, which brought me to the Mall of America tonight. We spent most of our time in the Nickelodeon Universe amusement park and while I loved all the fun roller coasters and silly SpongeBob rides, I was just drawn to the design of the classic merry-go-round.

Day 196: Burton's New Friends

Traveling with my co-worker, Burton, this week has been very entertaining. I always knew he was social, but he made all kinds of fun friends at our conference. First, there was Kim from South Africa who showed off her vuvuzela. Next, there was the Barney Fife look-alike (no idea why he was actually at the conference). Finally, he made friends with last night's legend, Cookie Lockhart, in a new, fabulous hat.

Day 195: Girl Power

Spending the day with hundreds of auctioneers can leave you with your head spinning from all the fast talking, as it did to me today after the opening day of the National Auctioneers Association, which I am attending for work.  I was so glad to see some rockstar females in this male-dominated industry - including auction pioneer, Cookie Lockhart, and my personal favorite - and fellow Memphian - Terri Walker.

Day 194: Sweet Repeat

This week's work travel brought me back to this random hotel in Greensboro, NC for the 3rd time in the past few years. Not too many good things to say about the place, except they have their own candy shop inside. Yum! After a long day of traveling, I needed a little sweet pick-me-up.

Day 193: Summer Storm

Although I didn't set a new record, it was still a late night at the office as I prepare to travel for the rest of the week. As usual, my car was the last one in the parking lot.  Thankfully, I made it to the car before the bottom fell out of the sky. I was very grateful for my big, blue umbrella as I ran a few last-minute errands on my way home.