Hello all! Sorry for the disappearing act. But I have been kept away from the Internet for longer than I was comfortable. We have been having some “network issues” at work that have left several of us in my office Internetless. Oh, but it’s not all the time. It’s random. And the people who don’t have Internety-goodness? Random as well. So I will be working (you know that thing I am not suppose to talk about here) away when–CRASH–the world as I know it stops working.

Yeah, you are all thinking, “don’t be so dramatic” or “how did you live before Internet” but the thing is we just switched all our client information to an Internet database. And what does that mean to me? You guessed it, no access to anything I need to do, well, practically anything. It pretty much sucked ass.

At least I had Spider Solitaire and Snood to keep me company. But you know it’s really bad when I want to work and not play games. I just HATE not being caught up on things and chaos winning over. Urgh.

I went to the chiropractor yesterday in further attempts to solve the problems I have been having with my shoulders and knees. I have always been a firm believer in modern medicine, but when their response to my pain was “Don’t do things that make it worse and take Advil when it hurts.” I started to get a little skeptical. So I thought I might look into some more natural, alternative care.

I had Sim check our insurance to see if chiroractic care was covered before I spent all our money on something that might work. Turns out it’s just a co-pay, the same as a doctors visit. Excellent. So I made a call based on a recommendation from a lady in Sim’s office.

The office was adorable, the staff was friendly and the doctor really seemed to know what he was talking about. He poked, prodded, and twisted me. Then it was time to take some X-rays. He asked me if there was a chance I was pregnant. I said I really wasn’t sure, I was kinda in the gray zone (cross your fingers for me!) and I wouldn’t know for another week or so. So he walked across the room and handed me a lead apron to wrap around my stomach area and said, “To protect little Sammy and Susie.” He paused and looked over at me and added, “And Johnny. Just incase you have triplets in there.” I laughed a little and said, “I hope not!”

But just so you all know, if I happen to have a multiple birth, we can all blame the chiropractor for that one.

After yesterday’s festivities, Simeon and I awoke with a pumpkin hangover and needed to seek solace the only way we knew: hair of the dog! So you know my day is already off to a great start. Then throw in the explosion of endorphins that can only be released after a shopping spree, and I am RAWRing to go.

Last night Sim and I came to know the wonderful thing that is the Nike Employee Store. I had been like a decade ago (not an exaggeration, I am just that old) but nothing could have prepared me for the miracle that is clothing that is CURRENTLY in store at 50% (or more) off retail. It’s absolutely faaaabulous. So we stocked up. Although we didn’t take the second cart our Nike contact, Dalt, recommended, and I was able to keep my hands off the Cole Haan’s, we came away with one very full bag.

Now I am hoping this was the push I needed to get me back into exercise mode. I have some adorable shoes, fabulous socks, a vented shirt, and a whole new attitude about exercise. Why didn’t I think about this before? I understand that “new” makes things exciting. I love getting out of bed and jumping into the shower when I have new toiletries to try out. I get excited about work when I have a new sophisticated blazer to wear. Why wouldn’t it work for physical fitness? Well, I am hoping it does. But then again I would be equally cute wearing my new attire while watching TV, right?

I just finished my second Pumpkin Spice Chai Tea Latte from Starbucks. Mmmmmm. It was so good. Simeon is friends with all the guys who work at our Starbucks, so they keep him up to date on the product line-up. Well, last week they informed him that Starbucks was bringing back the Pumpkin. (Insert glorious noises here) We LIVE for the fall menu. It’s fabulous. You have your Pumpkin Spice, which they originally serve to you in latte form, but since I am a chai girl myself, I have them add the pumpkin to my chai. It’s heavenly. From the first tiny sip to the final noisy slurp I feel warm and happy all over.

Then you have your assorted pumpkin pastries. Pumpkin loaf. Pumpkin muffins. Pumpkin scones. My toes tingle just thinking about it all. But more than anything, its a sign that fall is here. Ahhhhhhh. Happiness is.

Sorry I lost my train of thought there! What I was trying to tell you is to beware of the Pumpkin Spice. I have concluded that is must, MUST have crack as the secret ingredient because I cannot stop drinkin’ this stuff. I keep thinking about it and wanting more. Yeah, I know each drink is about a third of my daily calories, but its so worth sweating for 30 minutes later in the day just to get that sweet fix.

In fact, I even had to talk to one of the guys over at Starbucks to promise me that Simeon would not have more than five of them a day. A stretch, I know. But I gotta protect what savings we actually have. At $3.55 a drink, it’s not a cheap addiction. And with Simeon being just a hop, skip and a jump from them, I gotta keep him under control!

Ok, I just wrote this really long, witty post about movies and puppets and re-makes and when I hit the “save” button it all disappeared. Now I am too mad to re-write it all. Sorry. It was a good one too. I know you would have liked it.

Voicemail. It’s a love-hate relationship for me. Most days I love it. It allows me to screen my calls (“Yeah. I’ll call you back. Riiiiight.”), let irate clients blow off their steam before I talk to them in person (“I am so sorry you feel that way. Is there anything I can do?”) and it can be replayed over and over and over. (“Hi hun. I was just thinkin’ about you. Call me. Lovin’.”)

I don’t even mind leaving voicemails. I can break bad news with tact (“Sorry. Somewhere along the line we must have lost that check.”), leave vague but professional messages (“Due to compliance regulations we are unable to accommodate your wishes at this time.”) and plan exactly what I am going to say without interruption (“I understand how you were confused by this, but unfortunately it is not something we can do.”)

Today I HATE it. I have several people I have been playing phone-tag with (not nearly as fun as it sounds) and it is really starting to get on my nerves. All I need to do is actually TALK to these two people and I can go home for the day. That’s it. Then I can start my weekend. But nooooooo. I keep getting their damn voicemail. Urgggh.

On the other hand, voicemail is waaaaay better than that goddamn busy signal.

This is the best I can do with what is out there on the Internet! Enjoy!

It’s Wednesday which means I am half way through this week, which is turning out to be the Longest. Week. Ever. I don’t really know why, but every day this week has felt like it should be a few days later, which only leads to bitter disappointment.

On a happier note, it’s raining today. I know to most people that is not necessarily a good thing, but for me it’s great. I love the rain. It’s the Oregonian in me. I am not a lover of the sun (and my pale skin makes that painfully obvious). But I just love curling up inside with a good book or a classic movie and watching the rain come down outside. Today it’s more of a sprinkle, but I had to turn on my windshield wipers on the drive to work and that thoroughly excited me.

Now if only fall would just hurry up and get here. Simeon and I were talking this morning about a Meier & Frank gift card I got for my birthday and how I am having trouble using it. I know, I know. It’s a dilemma. But there is just so much summer clothing still out there that I am not into. But I reassured Sim that I am feeling fine and sweaters will be out soon. And you all know I have NO trouble buying sweaters. Mmmmm. I just love ’em. Comfy…Cozy… Concealing. 😉

I have also been craving fall foods. You know what I mean: pumpkin, stuffing, mashed potatoes. I get hungry just thinking about it. But since it’s still summer, the restaurants and stores haven’t yet switched to their fall menus. So I just have to improvise. Thanks to Raych, I was able to order a “Pumpkin” Chai today at Starbucks. Since the Pumpkin Spice isn’t available yet, she taught me that if you do two pumps vanilla, one pump cinnamon and one pump hazelnut, it tastes amazingly close to pumpkin. Sooooo good. And you can get it year round. It’s a win-win really.

Oh and one more thing that is making me smile today. I just realized I am on the last page of my phone message book here at work, so I get to….order office supplies! I can feel the adrenaline pumping already. Hey, it’s as close as I can get to buying school supplies. Which is just about the best part about back-to-school time. Too bad I haven’t been in school for three years. I wonder if I will ever grow out of the urge to stock up on pencils (which I cannot even remember the last time I used a pencil), erasers, and notebook paper. Ooooh! And spiral notebooks. Ahhhh. Those were the good ol’ days. But I can seek solace in buying my phone message book, a couple ink cartridges, and maybe even a new sharpie for good measure. Or some more Wite-Out correction tape. It’s the best thing ever. Oh and for those of you who are curious, the Retractable Hi-Liter is still phenomenal. FYI.