Somnambulistic State

All I wanted to do was retreat and cocoon myself somewhere. The universe was not playing the same game. Felt like I was sought out all day by different people which made me want to bury myself somewhere even more. My cube's less than central location was not a deterrent.

I was grateful that it was Friday which meant an end to an exhausting week and a fast-paced month. The past two months have really taken their toll on me and I am hoping it is uphill from now on. I cannot begin to express my desire for sunshine again in my life. This somnambulistic state I have been living in is no longer safe. It's going to take some work....hard work with the dreaded holidays coming up. My anxiety factor is ready to shoot up at a moment's notice. Can February or March get here already? I feel things will be better by then with less chaos, less anticipation and less anxiousness. Who can't get happy with what an early Florida spring brings? This city is more fun then.

A couple of people left chocolate goodies at my desk. One was an anonymous gift and the other was brought on by Bridget from Godiva. This time she brought champagne truffles and that sinful strawberry cheesecake enrobed in Godiva milk chocolate. Everything was heavenly.

Went to lunch with Jeff and Tawny. Gosh, it's felt like ages since I have properly seen them. It has been a week! Tawny and I made our way to Sephora while Jeff meandered around another part of the mall after we scarfed our food down. Tawny spent under $25 on one thing while I spent...nevermind. I was running out of a few things and I bought someone the gift of lipgloss. Too bad she wasn't in today for me to see her face when she received the package. It will be a nice treat for her on Monday. She's not good at picking things out like that for herself and I am. Those previous make-up artist skills do come in handy.

I was forced to wear my sunglasses leaving the garage parking lot. Not exactly thrilled at wearing them because the little feet by the nose give me headache. They look good on, but I am confined to a certain style because of the shape of my nose. (Slightly annoying.) My normal route takes me by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Stadium, but one of the universities was having a football game there tonight and it was a traffic jam happening already. Took a faster toll road around the airport which had the setting sun right in my eyes. My body was already preparing for cocooning...hibernating...whatever you want to call it. The sunglasses were not helping in that regard.

Got home, took care of Cabal, skipped dinner and sat on the sofa where I fell asleep by 8:30pm. I woke up at 12:15am and went to a proper bed. The dog looked at me as if to say Oh and got up to take his guarding position a few feet away in front of my bed. There. All settled.

Somnambulistic State

SUPERFINE Brow Liner

It's a little bit of midweek madness in AGOL-land. Accounts Payable is driving Bridget and me to the last edges of our nerves, but we push through it by calling our interim boss and express our concerns. Okay, who am I kidding? We were having a bitch session.

Decided that I needed to visit a Happy Place after a rough morning so I literally dragged a surprisingly upset Tawny out of her office. Her husband was having one of his moments and decided to spread his dark joy. Grrr.

We ran into Sara (the Greek girl) at the elevator. Now Sara and I have a one-upsmanship going and we thrive on the verbal barbs. She's a member of my unofficial club Wild Women Do and They Don't Regret It. As we were all about to get in the elevator, I held the door for her as she got in, blocked the way and announced, I don't think there is enough room in here for all this ego. She was stunned and we all died laughing on the way down.

I was telling Tawny that if Bridget had been there, it would have been too much for the elevator to handle all the egos and God forbid the man who was brave enough to ride the elevator with us. She replied that he would've turned instantly gay from all that fierce estrogen. Some guys come out of the closet; he would have come out of the elevator. Ha!

My chosen Happy Place before having lunch was Sephora where an AGOL can be herself surrounded by cosmetics, perfumery and bath goodies. Needed to buy more moisturizer and a new eyebrow liner. My old one was discontinued so I bought Clinique's Superfine Brow Liner. For some reason, I emphasize the word superfine whenever I think about it.

On the drive home, I turned the radio on low and took the highway following the remnants of rush hour traffic. As I rounded downtown Trampa, the traffic was moving along at 50mph and I kept hearing a strange beep that lasted several moments and I thought it was the music until it became more pronounced. I turned to my left and some guy in his SUV had been trying to get my attention. I smiled and he mimed if he could call me. I said no and he drove off. I then looked in the rearview mirror and noticed the traffic had stacked up behind him in the fast lane. Oh good God.

What would possess a man to hold up highway traffic to get a chick's number? Almost had an accident myself when I had to brake suddenly a minute later. Called Bridget who was still at work and we laughed about it. It must be the hair or I need to lay off the lip gloss. No chance of that happening ever.

I had the intentions to buy my stepmother's gift tonight, but I didn't. Realized it too late as I drove into my apartment complex. Besides, I like living on the edge. It's going to be between me and the post office in the end. Don't worry. It will be done because I am not risking the ire of my ex-military dad. I'd rather go without lip gloss...for a week! Shuddering in Shallowville.

SUPERFINE Brow Liner

Bistro and Beauty

Happy Sunday! It was indeed a very happy one filled with people I care about and a lot of laughter even a little driving around the extended city of Trampa.

Picked up Tawny at her home at 11am and stopped for coffee to get us started before we made our way to my cousin Ida's on the other side of town. She needed some IT expertise; her Internet connection was not working properly.

It is not often I get my family and friends together. I am very protective of my family. Tawny is like a sister to me so I didn't mind finally introducing her to my cousin and her family. This was the first opportunity to do so. The twins also enjoyed meeting someone new.

Tawny was able to diagnose the technical problem much better than I ever could. Ida needs the tech to come back and properly connect their cable modem. We called and made the appointment the next day for her before leaving to pick up my aunt.

My aunt decided to take her own trip before we left her house....in front of her house, falling on the grass, thank God. I nearly had a heart attack watching her fall, but she didn't fall on the pavement. After making sure she was okay and didn't sprain an ankle or break a hip, Tawny and I helped her up and cleaned her clothes from the leaves on the ground. (I received an update this evening and she is still okay. Whew!)

Lunch was enjoyed at the Gallery Eclectic Bistro in the Bay Street section of International Plaza. The food and the company were great. We giggled and told stories. My aunt hasn't seen Tawny in a while so they enjoyed catching up when they were not tormenting me.

The doors gleamed a bright welcome when we arrived at Sephora. My aunt was soon hooked up with her own BareMinerals kit and a new blush as well as nail polish and this scary yet fascinating mascara called Lash Injection by Too Faced that promises extreme volume. All were presents from her daughter Angie and me. Tawny and I didn't come away empty-handed either. Are you kidding?

All this decision-making required a little treat so I took the girls on the other side of town at La Casa Dolce for gelato. We spent an extra 15 minutes trying to find it since I forgot the street it was on, but managed a hard turn into the parking lot at the back. Sigh. The girls tormented me some more. It is after all their favorite activity...wenches.

We brought my aunt home, picked some calamondin (Filipino lime) from the bush at the back of her house and made our way back to Trampa proper where I dropped Tawny back home around 6:40pm. I hustled home to let Cabal out, feed him and make it on time for my call with Yummy. It was great to hear his voice and end my weekend with him.

(As a side note, I saw that Yummy updated his blog and mentioned me coming over to England to visit him. I can't wait!)

Bistro and Beauty