Eureka!

Life is a series of trade-offs, I suppose. Granted, my job is stressful at times. And I do have to read and respond to e-mail in the evenings and on weekends in order to stay caught up. But all of the long hours, stressful personnel situations, and mountains of correspondence seem worth it when I get to have a day like today.

I did have to get up especially early and endure a fruitless search for gourmet coffee before my 7:15 a.m. arrival at the conference. But after working for five hours or so, I got to come back to the hotel, take a hot bath in the huge whirlpool tub, read a book, and take a two-hour nap. Then I had an amazingly delicious meal at DeVito's (again... sorry, Alisa) where I enjoyed a wonderful salmon with pesto, side of homemade spaghetti and bread, and finished with coffee and raspberry white chocolate cheesecake, all placed on the ol' work credit card.

Brent (my coworker) and I did have to be back tonight for a couple of more hours, but we really didn't talk to anyone, so he read a book for class and I read a trashy novel.

Now I'm tucked in and ready to get up at the crack of dawn again tomorrow. But we only have to be there 'til 10 a.m., then it's off to Branson for a bit of shopping.

Yeah, my job is cheesy. And everyone wants to be me when I'm eating cheesecake and taking naps. But nobody wants to deal with the problems.

Table for one

Ok, so I was wrong about the lack of wireless internet availability in the ca. Civil War hotel. Lucky for you guys... I'd HATE for you all to miss a single moment of my exciting life.

Speaking of single, I did something tonight that reminds me of my spousal-challenged existence: I ate dinner by myself. There's nothing worse than entering a restaurant and the hostess saying, "Dining alone?" Oh, I'm sure I could have driven through some horrible fast-food joint and eaten in my room, but I wanted to enjoy one of my favorite restaurants, Rogue's Manor, while I was in Eureka (sorry, Alisa... I know you're jealous!).

So I grabbed a book and headed to a table for two as one. Dinner was yummy, and my waiter was especially attentive (I find that's always how it is when you're alone... guess they feel sorry for you). Now I'm in my room, laying in a bed meant for two, after enjoying an amazing bath in a double whirlpool tub.

{Sigh}. It's a bicycle built-for-two world, and I'm riding a unicycle.

Oh, most days I love that I can buy as many pair of shoes as I wish. I don't mind not sharing a bed. I couldn't even make a long-term commitment to a cat, but occasionally, I would be nice to say "table for two."

But I don't want to share my dessert.

Guten tag!

Life continues to be a series of good news/bad news and good days/bad days or, as Paula Abdul would say, "all the many shades of all my favorite colors" (would someone please check her medicine cabinet?). But I digress.

My weekends have been lifesavers these past few weeks because they not only allow me to catch up on my sleep, but to be lazy and watch TV and not have to think. Or stress. I'm so happy that I had a week off between jobs to get my house settled, because quite frankly, I've done next to nothing to it since. My project for today is to get my office set up so that I will only have one messy and disorganized room left in my house.

I left work an hour early on Friday because, frankly, it all became too much and I wanted to run away and hide under the covers. I know we all have days like that, but I generally figure out a way to make that happen.

Back to the good news... turns out '08 may be the "Year of Lori" after all. This looks to be the year that I cross yet another thing off my life list. It's all very unscheduled and not at all a done deal, but it appears that I have a need to obtain a passport before the end of the year. I do so love to travel and I've never been outside of the U.S., so the possibility is thrilling. Now I need to learn some conversational German. I'll keep ya posted.

Last night I went over to "The Corridor" to shop at Target and meet my friends Kelly and Amanda for dinner and a movie. Our waiter at Carrabba's was a total tool (he mocked us because we didn't know Italian... I'm sure lots of folks in Rogers do), but the food was pretty tasty. I managed to not completely ruin the diet with my entree, but the three or four or eight pieces of bread weren't so healthy.

And you know how I love me a romantic comedy, and we saw one of the best movies I've seen in a long time, Definitely, Maybe. The critics hated it, but I thought it was wonderful. Even better than 27 Dresses.

I got into bed at 2 a.m. Now I need a nap.

This should be a very short week since I'm only in the office for three days, then I'm on the road for a week. But I found a cool hotel in Eureka Springs with a big bed and no Internet. I bought two books last night at Target so that I can simply relax and read while I'm there. Then I'm off to Mountain Home to hang out with Chris and Estella, where I will get a massage and have gourmet cooking lessons.

All things considered, I have a pretty good life.

P.S. Congrats to my wonderful nephew, Taylor, and his Hackett Hornets, who won their 28th game in a row on their way to a regional basketball tournament victory. On to state!