Yesterday morning, I went to grab my make-up bag from my suitcase. It wasn’t there! Somehow I forgot to pack it. I went to work without makeup. This was the first time I stepped out in public without makeup in absolute years! Oddly enough, no one asked if I was sick, tired, or dying. After work I ran to Walgreens. I bought some mascara, concealer, eyeshadow, and makeup remover. The total set me back almost 30.00!!!

Tomorrow I leave for home. I can hardly wait!!! I feel so very jaded. All I want is a few days off. If all goes well, I may take time off next week.

Jewdez invited me to join GMAIL!!! I have arrived! Thanks, Judy!

Instead of putzing, I went back to Erin’s house for a Kick the Keg party! Can you call 5 people sitting around a picnic table drinking Yuengling a party? Sure, why not!

It feels so good not to be rushing to the airport. I have tons of things I need to do and for once I have some time to do it. On Saturday, Lisa and I drove to Moish and Itzy’s. We were both hungry for Matzo ball soup, pickles and chocolate egg creams. The sign on the door said, “Closed for Yom Kippur.” We went to Don Pablo’s Mexican restaurant instead. Maybe today we will go back and get the Matzo ball soup we were craving on Saturday.

This morning I made a Technical Support house call to Barbara and George. They couldn’t log in to certain Web sites and they were at their wit’s end. I found the issue. Somehow their browser was blocking cookies from those Web pages. I cleared those URLs out and they were good to go.

As I wrote last night before I passed out, I had a great time at Erin’s 30th Birthday party. It was so nice seeing Erin and Pete and Kathy and Charlie and Nancy and Bruce and Diana and Dennis. It makes me wish we could get together more often. In fact, I am already planning a little October get together at the Donna Villa. I can make a fire in my fireplace, serve hot apple cider and ginger snap cookies.

I decided to work from home tomorrow. Instead of leaving early, I will leave in the later afternoon. The traveling is catching up to me and I am just so tired. All I want is to spend a few days at home doing nothing much at all.

Erin gave me a birthday present last night. A Wonder Woman address book, a book on the greatest TV Moments and a copy of the movie Bartleby the Scrivener. She knows me so well!

Now I must clean my room and do my expenses. Who am I kidding? I will putz until I fall asleep.

Just got back from Erin’s 30th birthday party. I am terribly tired. It was so nice seeing everyone. Such a shame it doesn’t happen more often. I wish I had images to post but I did not have my camera on me. Time to sleep. I’ll write more later.

I don’t even want to think about going back to Chicago. The weekend was so lovely. The weather was cool and hanging out with Audra was fun. Now I must revert back to Ms Business Woman. Blech!

Gosh, I really need a vacation. I didn’t take any days off this year. Yeah, a few Fridays when I was working on the house but I never put in for them and I made them up on Saturdays and working late. Now it is late September and I have about 4 weeks of paid time off coming to me. Guess that is better than having no time off coming.

It is so nice sleeping in my own bed. Showering in my own shower. Cooking food in my own kitchen. Chicago is not beckoning me this week.

Last night Audra came over. Lisa and I made meatloaf, mashed potatoes and salad. The meatloaf was surprisingly DELICIOUS! You should definitely try it, especially because it is so easy. Dessert was apple pie with cool whip and listening to the Pirate Movie 2 LP set. We took a walk and then came back to the house and watched Bubba Ho-Tep. I fell asleep in the middle of it but what I saw I enjoyed. Elvis, having faked his death and now living in a nursing home, joins forces with an old black man who believes he is Pres. Jack Kennedy and together they fight an Egyptian Mummy who wears a cowboy hat and is preying on the elderly residents.

Audra gave me an RCA Lyra mp3 player for my birthday. Here is the playlist that I loaded in:
Lola – Kinks
Cool Rider – Grease 2
Some Girls – Smokie
Wannabe – Spice Girls
Ballroom Blitz – Sweet
Little Willy – Sweet
Pumpin’ and Blowin’ – Pirate Movie
C’Mon Everybody – Eddie Cochran
Girls, Girls, Girls – Sailor
Leader of the Pack – Shangri-las
Let’s Have a Party – Wanda Jackson
Greased Lightning – Grease
No Milk Today – Herman’s Hermits
San Francisco – Scott McKenzie
Sweets for my Sweet – Cj Lewis
The Hippy Hippy Shake – Georgia Satellites
Wig Wam Bam – Sweet
With a Girl Like You – Troggs
Sittting in the Ya Ya – Joey Dee and the Starliters

Me like!

1 pound ground beef
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten
8 ounces canned diced tomatoes with juice
1/2 cup bread crumbs

Topping:
squirt of ketchup
squirt of mustard
handful of bacon bits

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Mix all meat loaf ingredients well and place in a baking dish. Shape into a loaf.

Topping:
Spread on loaf. Bake for 1 hour.

Dropped my parents off at the airport. They are touring Poland for two weeks. On the way to the airport and back we listened to the Monkees. What is it about their music that just moves me? I am instantly uplifted! On our way back home, Lisa and I went to the Logan Inn for a drink. At the bar, I made some comment about men growing old while girls grow cold. Lisa said, “Some say diamonds are a girl’s best friend but I argue that a girl’s best friend is truly a good DVD collection.” There is a lot of truth in that statement.

My father, the witch doctor, gave me a potion to drink while he is away. It is H2O2. Hydrogen Peroxide in aloe juice and distilled water. I watched him mix it. He got a little of the H2O2 on his hands and it burnt him. Nevertheless, I plan on drinking it. Should be real cleansing, I am thinking.

I am hoping Audra and Lisa and I can get together tomorrow. I haven’t seen Audgie since we celebrated her birthday in mid-August. Audge, I checked my calendar and I AM free tomorrow! I’ll call you soon!

I awoke to Davy Jones singing Cheer up sleepy Jean from the clock radio next to the hotel bed. “This should be a good sign,” I thought as I dragged myself to the bathroom for a shower. The all day meeting went well. It ran late and then I found myself running to the El. It was at the Washington and Wells station that a woman asked for directions and then started asking me about myself and telling me about her life and that she works for Mary Kay and it is so fulfilling. She gave me her card and asked for mine. She said I should call her when I am back in Chicago and we can go out for drinks. I really wasn’t sure if she was hitting on me, befriending me, or recruiting me to a Mary Kay cult. Should I call her? I don’t know.

At any rate, on the airplane I sat next to a musician. He plays guitar in the Andy Vargas Band. He was very nice and we did a crossword puzzle together.

Lisa forgot to pick me up at the airport even though I called her from the runway to remind her. When she finally arrived, she said she miscounted and thought I was arriving at 11 and not 10. I told her that she just needs to remember that it is 1 1/2 hours from when I call on the tarmac. She started to scream at me and then she ignored me for the ride home. I don’t know why she was so angry, it’s not like she flew to Philly and then had to wait an hour.