Konnichiwa!

I'm going to Japan!

Finally

A successful shopping trip! I visited TJ Maxx on the way home from work. I'm still on the lookout for nice brown cardigans and flat black shoes. But I did get one thing crossed off my list: brown tights to wear with my white and brown-patterned dress for Thanksgiving next week. Today's take:

• Brown patent Steve Madden pumps with an ankle strap and button. I'm not really in to patent, but I do love Steve Madden shoes. And these are an exception.
• Express brown patterned and plain black tights. I don't think my black tights from the Limited Too really fit anymore, and I don't want to find out.
  
• Brown dress with a light blue and red flower pattern. It's knee-length (so OK for work), button front, and ties in the back.
  
• Undershirts for Andy (special request!).
  

Yes, it does all go together really well, and no I didn't plan it! Weddingbee posted a crazy number of sales this weekend, so I might have to peruse those for my outstanding items.

White

I could hardly believe it, but Style Me Pretty featured two inspiration boards with white color schemes. I thought I was just so lame and out of fashion.

Here's the first....

and here's the second!

They're a little weaksauce because they only involve food and flowers. But, hello, white wedding dress! I don't care what everyone else is wearing. :-D

Quote

If what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, then I must be damn near invincible!

Wallet

So my super-cool friend comes to a meeting today and has this amazingly clever wallet.


Just $16 from Torrid. I don't know what she was doing in there (she is most definitely not plus-sized or goth), and yes I did just buy my Paul Frank wallet, but I think I need one. Especially when it's covered in silver glitter.

Sigh ....

Why don't these come in black???

Whew...

Saturday went by so fast. We got up and made breakfast (my favorite part of the weekend), and then Andy sat down with me while I finished my database programming. I have to admit, I'm starting to get a little worried about the group project... but at least my homework went well. I took a little break afterwards, since it was immensely frustrating, and made a pumpkin pie. That was payment for helping with my homework! I sat down to do my PM homework while it was baking. I'd forgotten how difficult it was, and it wasn't very much easier with the hints my professor sent. Andy ended up helping me with that also ... I don't think I could have survived the day without him! We made a Sam's trip and got gas for the week, had dinner, I finished the problems and did pilates before bed.

Today was over before it began! I got to work extra early for a 7:30 a.m. meeting, worked straight through lunch, and up until my next check-in meeting. Most of my friends at work are going on international trips next semester also, and we're all comparing notes. It's amazingly hectic to think about, and I don't even know where I'm going yet. Plus, next year, I need to find a reception site and dress, two major wedding-planning milestones. I also managed to bid for my classes: Business Law and Data modeling with spreadsheets. Hopefully two easier classes to help me get through my last full load semester.

Now that I'm at school, I'm reading Yahoo! food's recommendations for easy dinners. Someday I'll actually be able to make things like that! I can't wait for the quiet life of a working housewife ... :-)

Week

Oh my, it's been over a week!

This week was super busy. Here's the summary:

Monday: I worked really hard all day, because my coworker is going to be out for the rest of the month getting married (yay!) but I've been assigned most of her work. I didn't know the database testing would be so difficult, so I focused on getting my miscellanea done. My project management class was canceled, so I took the evening to to go the mall, exercise, and finish up my database homework. Believe it or not, there was nothing I liked at the mall. I'm on the lookout for flat black shoes (that don't resemble house slippers), brown sweaters, and brown tights. I can't believe how great it was not having class for just that one day. That means summer semester will be really great!

Tuesday: Was also my coworker's last day in the office. It was a pretty stressful day because I had to get in all my questions and still work! But, I had to leave early (OK, on time) to get up to LA for a group meeting. The traffic was so light all day it was almost unbelievable! I happened to get there a little early and saw my self-management professor in the hall. I have to say, I like both my self-management and database professors in totally different ways. My database professor can look at something and immediately draw a perfect ERD, and program the SQL for it faster than I can even figure out what it is! But my self-management professor is, I think, a very good psychologist and so laid back that I'd love to be more like that! Anyway, we ended up having a fairly unsuccessful meeting, a mind-boggling class, and I came straight home.

Wednesday: I spent all day testing, and going absolutely crazy because some of the things just weren't working. Plus, I had other work to do, and people calling and wanting explanations! I stayed late to catch up, but still had to leave because I knew I had a quiz and the traffic was only going to get worse the later I left. We did have a quiz, and I managed to get to class 15 minutes early, which was enough time to skim and memorize the important chapter. The class session was on meditation, and the professor brought in a yogi to lead the class. She also checked our auras on a computer - all but 2 or 3 people were yellow, including me. If we're all in class though, wouldn't we all be in a learning state of mind? It ended up that her classes were pretty expensive and I really do prefer the more athletic version of yoga. When I got home, I checked the patio because my mom had sent us a Halloween/Thanksgiving gift, and it arrived and was a great dinner/after class snack. And I don't even like popcorn!

Thursday: Still more testing. I did try to finish it up, and asked a bunch of questions, and felt pretty good by the time I left. I had gotten to work at 6:45 to get as much work in as I could and still leave by 3 to make my doctor's appointment. It didn't go well - that's a post within itself. I came home rather devastated and sick, and Andy and I watched TV for the rest of the night. I couldn't do much else! At this point, the week couldn't be getting much worse.

Friday: I got my answers and turned in my test plan in the morning. In fact, I got most everything done that had been hounding me. Things were going pretty well all day, I got to have lunch (for the first time all week!), and my friend and I made an early morning grocery run for snacks for our coworker's birthday. I even started reviewing the class offerings for Monday's registration. Then, at 4 p.m., I got an email that my group's test plans weren't good enough to be signed off on, and that meant next week's testing was going to be held up until it was fixed. All I could do was accept the meeting notice, and then left. It was the perfect end to a perfectly awful week. When I got home, I watched this weird but funny video (yes, that is what college was like!), did yoga, and then we went to Disneyland. We stayed extra late and even watched the fireworks show; something we rarely do. I bought my coworker a wedding present at the Disney store before we left. We were both exhausted and came home before the park closed.

Saturday: I woke up late for my all-day database review/help session. I didn't get to school until almost 11, and the review started at 10. I probably could have gotten the whole assignment done that day if I had just gotten up earlier. We also had a group meeting to hammer out some things, but mostly worked on the homework. I didn't finish because the session ended and Andy invited me to go go-karting. I've never been, and I have to admit by the time I got home I was feeling a little anti-social (programming with do that to you). When we got there, I almost didn't want to race. It seemed rather dangerous, I was tired, and it was pretty expensive. But our group decided to do just one race, and I figured that was safe enough. It ended up being really fun! I'd probably go again ... if it was less expensive. We then headed to the Tustin Marketplace for dinner at Buca di Beppo (instead of BJ's, which was insanely crowded ... and I have to admit, I like Buca better). After a super long and fabulous dinner, we all headed home. That was a much better end to a crappy week!