What engineers do when they need a laugh...

The IT engineer extraordinaire, April, decided that if I were ever to become a singer, despite the fact that my vocal abilities would never be good enough to hold a single note, I would have a hot album cover designed by her. Of course, this is the basic Power Point version (she's no graphic artist) but its quite entertaining... enjoy!! (Note her self publicity in the photo for my hit single. Also - the duet on number 5 is Cakesy - also known as SherriBlaise)... My friends... I gotta love em!!

I'm headed to the interior Design FAB Awards now I have to post my great fashion finds later this weekend...

The DON'T item of the day came from Ben... I won't ask how he found these but these jeans from Sanna's are a NO for EVERYONE!!!!

I love my friends in Detroit!!!!

Here are the pics of my weekend in Detroit with the girls. We went to Detroit Beer Co. on Broadway... the food was cool and all, but I was really mad that I practically had to fight the waitress to give me a new drink when the Almond Joy Martini I ordered tasted more like a chocolate milkshake. Check out the pics....

 

After the dinner, we went to Wanie's place to hang out with her and Harpo (the "mortgage" dog) and somebody suggested we take a celebratory shot - for all the birthday's, new jobs, upcoming cross-country movies and happily ended relationships we are all going through in our grown-up years.

 

BEFORE

DURING

AFTER

You can't top that kinda fun.... HAHA

My item of the day is an internet "game" that had me cracking up at work... follow these directions...

1. Go to Google.com

2. Click on "maps"

3. Click on "get directions"

4. Click in the "from" box, then type "New York"

5. Click in the "to" box, then type "Paris" (hit get directions)

6. scroll down to step #23

Help the Hospitality House win $10,000!

This is an email regarding the rec center that I volunteer at and the contest they entered to win $10,000. Please take a minute to vote and pass this info along to friends so they can vote. See below for the mission statement...

VOTE  EVERY Single Day starting April 1^st – April 15^th  for HOSPITALITY HOUSE!

Hospitality House Youth Directions has been selected to be one of the five 2007 Fan Appreciation Month grant recipient finalists for our Midnight Basketball Program!!!! The awardee of this $10,000 grant (HOSPITALITY HOUSE YEAH!! J ) will be selected by fans.   (THAT’S YOU!)

 

Go to the Timberwolves website and find "Click Here to Vote" under this logo shown on the left. The box will come up and once you select "Hospitality House", enter the password that appears in white text in a blue box just above the "submit" button. You may only vote once daily so please come back each day!

 

Please vote & forward this message to all you know every day until April 16^TH

Thank You for Supporting Hospitality House Youth Directions! www.hhyd.org  

Finalist: Hospitality House Youth Directions - Midnight Basketball
Mission Statement: To provide a Christian outreach focused on the spiritual, intellectual and physical development of urban youth. Hospitality House Youth Directions reaches out to young people, ages 6-22, in their physical and intellectual development, their social integration and their spiritual birth and growth in Jesus Christ. Their strategy is four-fold: go where the youth are…the schools, the parks, the street, to meet the real needs of urban youth, provide a holistic ministry, keep the programs Christ-centered and raise up a new generation of young people who will assume leadership roles in their communities. The purpose of the Midnight Basketball program is to offer hope where there is little; to enrich misplaced lives; and re-direct young people away from an environment of guns, drugs, and the criminal justice system.

April showers bring sheer stupidity... and cute hair

I'm back home ladies and gentlemen!!! Good news for my family, bad news for my friends. I gotta make sure they stay in trouble and get all the excitement they missed out on while I was gone! This week has been CRAZY, so I gotta end it with a bang. It hit its peak mid-week on Wednesday evening... sit back and get ready to laugh...

Wednesday morning started like all the other cold, rainy Midwest days. By 8AM, I'm heading to the park-n-ride a mile away to take the Express bus to work. I was on time today because I had a breakfast seminar to attend at 8:30 and I wanted to be there early enough to get the good food before its picked over. I don't know if it was the funky Timbaland beats on Brandy's "Afrodisiac" CD, or the crazy text messages I received the night before that I was mentally overanalyzing, or the fact that the temperature was trying so hard to stay below freezing... but something had me distracted. The next thing I knew, I was on the interstate and only 3 miles from work. I had totally forgotten to stop at the bus stop. By now I'm mad about spending yet another $10 on over-priced downtown parking, but its too late to turn around and go back, so I just head in and park across the street at the cheap, open garage. (The warm, underground garages are $15-$16/day and that adds up FAST). 

As I'm attempting to jay-walk across LaSalle, a 264 mph gust of wind sends my hat flying in the air on some Mary Poppins type stuff. I stopped, turned around, and looked UP as my hat floating along the second story of the garage. In my mind I'm thinking "I hated that ugly hat anyway..." but then I feel shameful when I remember how wasteful I can be and the last thing I need to do is give myself another excuse to go buy a hat. So... once the hat finally finished its tour of downtown and landed on the sidewalk, I picked it up, put it back on and ran, face down, to my destination. I don't know if anyone saw me and really didn't care. That was not gonna ruin my day....

I spent the day working, going through meetings (which were much more exciting and aggressive than any gathering of professionals should ever become) and running over to Macy's to pick up a few things for my step-mom. While in Macy's, I was watching the clock like a hawk, because I was a few blocks away from the bus stop and the last bus comes at 6:22PM. I couldn't afford to miss it. So I rushed up the street, got to the stop too early, at 6:15P, and almost froze while I waited. I was soooo glad to get on that warm bus and while I usually sit in the very front, I went to the very last row, kicked up my feet and leaned back to relax and enjoy the 15 minute ride in silence. Since I was in the back, I was the last one off the bus. I thanked the driver, a young sista who peeled off as soon as I stepped onto the curb, and I proceeded towards the parking lot to get my car....... except... its.not.there.... because... remember......

I DROVE TO WORK TODAY!

Now I'm stranded at the bus stop, 10 miles from work, 1 mile from home, in 25 degree weather, in a suburb with no cabs... this is the story of my life. I had to call my cousin who had just sat down to dinner, to come rescue me. The wait wasn't so bad though. In my despair I glanced up and saw a Chin's Asia Fresh. FOOD!!!! It doesn't get any better. I trudged across the parking lot, ordered some food and sat in silence while I reflected on the day's events and just how truly dumb that day was...

So in celebration of getting over that and the other dumb mistakes I made, or almost made this week, I highlighted my hair and then decided to make a 6-7" donation to Locks of Love - yes, freshkinkycut, I chopped it off. Now we just have to get sherriblaise to do the same! Its only been a few hours but I'm loving it already!!! Actually wishing I had cut a little more off... maybe next time... but anyway, here it is.... what do ya think??? BTW - My new makeup artist friend Nic was hooking it up in the salon - I told her to give me a hot club look cause me and the girls are going out in 50 minutes!!!! 

**I wrote this before we went out but it didn't post until I got home that night... go figure...**

    

***I know you all were looking forward to more pics, but I can't do an item of the day cause I gotta get ready for dinner right now... will post item and pics of the girls and I hanging out later. Have a great, safe night everyone!

Lots of nothing to talk about....

Last week was a little draining. Monday the forecasted high of 74 turned out to be 82 degrees. Absolutely beautiful!!! But, I got a little too excited about it and lost my common sense... After work I went home, threw on some shorts and sandals and went downtown for a little walking and shopping on Nicollet Mall (see photos below, for those of you who haven't been to downtown MPLS). That choice of clothing may have not been the best decision now that I look back. After the high temperature dropped 30 degrees for the following day and it began to rain EVERYDAY last week, I felt the sickness coming on. All week my coworkers were coughing, sneezing, hacking or blowing - causing me to cringe and have nightmares of the germs floating in the air. Aleve Cold and Sinus was definitely my best friend this week...

 

On a more positive note - Macy's had a sale this week - extra 30% off all sale and clearance, with an ADDITIONAL 20% off that price if you use your Macy's card. I made 3... or 4 visits to the downtown Macy's and managed to find some great items. My search for the ultimate trench coat is on hold right now. I ended up buying a khaki Tahari jacket that I've had my eye on for a while and while its too thin to get much use out of now, I really wanted it - and at $60 (marked down from $220) I just couldn't pass it up. I also got a Tahari blouse ($98 marked down to $13) that will go really nice with a pair of slacks this summer and a red dress by Velvet for Sharifa ($120 marked down to $24 - just like the one I posted a few months ago).

Last weekend I found a navy blue spring coat for sale at a boutique in Arbor Lakes (only $30, marked down from $62). It has a cute hood and belt with nice buttons, but I think I bought it a size too small... it fit good at first, but when I sat in the car, reached for the steering wheel and heard a LOUD riiiiiiiiiiiiiiip, I realized it was too small. Luckily the rip was on the inside lining, so I can still wear it. I also found this gray dress/shirt in my closet, still with tags. I bought it back in Feb when I was in Vegas. I tried it on with and without a wide belt. I am considering wearing it as a minidress before the warm weather hits...

 

Saks Fifth Avenue's Off Fifth Outlet downtown has a designer preview sale. I walked in there totally excited, but did not find much. I left out with just these cute Michael Kors wedge sandals ($44 marked down from $129). I have a few summer dresses that will look nice with these shoes.

I was surfing the net this week and came across an article on the Hip Candy blog about straight men wearing heels... uh... no..... That's just not right. Old dude in the middle has on 5" heels. I can't imagine going on a date with a man whose shoes are HIGHER THAN MINE!!! Ugh. Who is gonna carry who to the car after the club when your feet are hurting??? As if that weren't enough, there is a website called the High Heel Place dedicated to men who enjoy wearing heels (that's where the second pic came from)... what is the world coming to??

I finished the week by going to see TMNT! I was caught totally off guard because I had no idea that it was going to be animated! The plot was simply OK, but the graphics were great. I loved the turtles but was somewhat disappointed at "April" have a DD chest and a 18" waist line. So unrealistic in this age of unsafe trends like anorexia...

 

And by special request, the Item of the Day is the 6" leather ballet heel from the Beyonce Green Light video. I can't find that actual shoe online but there are plenty of others like it at this website. I would have been cut that day for falling over repeatedly in that shoe... its funny how in this scene of the video you can see the 3rd chick trying to suck her stomach in without passing out when the camera zooms past her... LOL