You asked for it

Monday morning again and I get to look back upon the weekend that was.

Last post saw me having a relatively calm Thursday morning, hoping the afternoon would be just as calm... and through that tempting of fate my afternoon exploded. Enough said.

Thursday night I met up with Cyn for some supper at Swiss Chalet, and then some Suzy-made eclairs at Opera. Very yummy all around, especially the eclair - delicious. It was great to hang out with Cyn and have some laughs, pondering over the craziness of Roomie.

Friday was another day of work and then on to pick up Cyn and go to karaoke. Yes, we do have a problem. We pretty much owned the bar again and the list was pretty short, so a lot of songs were sung. I had been out of practice, so I found myself off until about my 4th song. I stuck to songs I'd done before for the most part, in order to get some practice in for a night of karaoke in Tucson. The short list did allow me to stick in a couple of new songs, so I picked a Heart tune to try out, and was then challenged by Suzy to do a 70s Heart tune (Crazy On You). Not like I didn't know every nuance of the song, so why not? Much fun!

We've decided that 2nd karaoke has too much country and a bad sound system, so we went in search of another place to sing. No luck on that front for a Friday night. We ended up going to Sobeys so Jenn could get some groceries, and then I dropped Cyn and Jenn off and came home.

I got a call Friday night from my co-worker, who said she'd be able to go over the border for me and check the mailbox for the maps of Tucson I had ordered. Excellent, don't have to drive down myself. With the Portland shopping trip not so long ago, I didn't really have a reason to go down there. She called later on Saturday and said they weren't there... argh! Glad I didn't drive down there for nothing, but I had to call this morning and request a credit. So much for planning ahead.

Saturday morning now being free, I was able to sleep in and then do some IMing. Headed off to my hair appointment, realizing I had forgotten my collection envelope for church. What I should have done after leaving the salon was go home to get the envelope, but instead I headed to Wal-Mart to get something. Realized by the time I pulled into Wal-Mart that I was going to be late for church because I still had to go home and get the envelope. Ran into T-L and Van, who saw me looking a little frazzled after knowing I was running late, but I stopped to talk to them anyway. Grabbed the thing I needed, then proceeded to the checkout. She rang up the item and I didn't notice it was overpriced until after I saw the receipt - came up as 12.97 instead of 9.97. Then had to go through the whole calling down to dept, going over to service desk for adjustment... the cashier was great about it, it was just that I was already running late and I am too cheap to let something like that go. Drove home, grabbed the envelope, and snuck into church during the Glory to God.

After church I saw my aunt, uncle and cousins and they stopped to chat, which was nice. Hadn't seen them since June. They've been spending most every weekend at their cottage in Charlotte Co. Got home from church and had some BBQ for supper, then spent the rest of the night on IM and plotzing over a music project that saw me downloading songs for a cd I was making for someone, that has now turned into more of a 2 cd set and is more for me now than anyone else... guess I got a little too excited about it and have now claimed it partially for myself. I'll make 2 copies :)

Sunday was a busy day, I had to get laundry done and start digging out the suitcases to begin packing. Also wasn't physically feeling all that well, it had been a stressful week, I'd been slack in walking and my body was not liking the fact that I wasn't getting enough exercise. The sight of suitcases also did not do much for my state. While I have done plenty of traveling in my life, I dislike it a lot. I like being in new places, and going home, but I hate the "getting there" portion of a trip. Whether it be by plane or by car, the getting there always seems to take forever and is very tiring despite the fact that you're just sitting around. My body also apparently knows when I'm about to leave town, and decides to do a bit of churning. I don't have any fears of flying or driving, it's just this weird psychosomatic thing I have. Now that I am sitting here thinking about it again, stomach is already churning. [sigh]

Packing is always difficult, but I am finding this trip more of a challenge than normal. In last year's hot locale of San Antonio, I realized quickly that I hadn't brought enough clothes. Sure, you can pack light and only bring a couple of each item. Problem is, unless you want to spend the money, you can't do laundry while you're away, and in a hot place you're only going to get one wear out of any given outfit. That means this year I have to pack more clothes, which means larger suitcases and more heavy lifting. 2 suitcases, a carry-on and a laptop. I just can't pack light this time. Not if I want to bring anything back!

I gave Lisa & Anthony a call and dropped by their place to pick up Lisa's karaoke gear for the big birthday karaoke weekend (email coming soon). Have a great trip to Vienna you two! Can't wait to see the pictures.

Spent the rest of Sunday night IMing with a couple of people and watching the Colts vs Ravens. I joined a NFL pool again this year, no money involved this time. I am currently in a tie for 3rd, one point behind the 2 leaders, which is pretty cool. May not stay there during the season, but if I can have some good weeks I'll be happy. Having been out of the football loop last year, basically only watching the Superbowl and that's it, I feel a little rusty.

This week will be tough, trying to pack and get organized, making sure everything pressing is done before I go. That includes bridesmaid dress shopping. I had an email from the bride on Friday night, and she has bought her dress and the maid of honor has ordered hers, all in one afternoon. Now the panic is on for me to get to the shop, try some things on and get it ordered. Pretty much the only time I can do this before I go is Wednesday night, because that's when the bridal salon is open in the evening. At least I know the designer and color, I just need to pick a style, and make sure it can get here in time so I can still have time for alterations if I need them.

Gettng more and more nervous as the days get closer and closer... more on that later.