I made it to Ikea! Believe it or not, I was not the first to Ikea...Dad was. The first weekend Ikea opened, Dad was there. Who would have thought? This is the same man who only goes to a Mall for 'emergencies' because he hates the crowds. The 'emergency' that got him to Ikea was the need for a new office chair. When Dad went, there was not a vacant parking spot in the 1,000 plus spots. To find extra parking, you had to follow the parking signs down and around to the mall. And after you parked, walked forever in the 100 degree heat, and made it inside the store, it was a maze of people!
The second weekend of there opening, I drove past Ikea. I just wanted to see how bad it was. In driving by the store, you hit traffic. There are three entrances and exits, but apparently everyone has to use one!
I was able to make it two and half weeks later in the middle of the week. A couple of times a year, we have staff development days. These days are special for one reason. You get to leave work by 2:30. Since me and my girlfriend now had time to spare, we decided it was time to visit Ikea.
You will all be very proud of me. I spent under $10 and that was for Swedish coffee. It was so much fun to walk through. Ikea is every home decorators dream (I saw too many things that I wanted and nothing that I needed). To end the wonderful adventure, we stopped at Ikea's cafeteria. They had the best apple pie. The trip was worth the apple pie!
Monday, August 29
Friday, August 26
Quote of the Day...
Though I am not a coffee drinker, I thought this was good.
"I can never take for granted the euphoria produced by a cup of coffee. I'm grateful every day that it isn't banned as a drug." writer Anita Loos
"I can never take for granted the euphoria produced by a cup of coffee. I'm grateful every day that it isn't banned as a drug." writer Anita Loos
Tuesday, August 23
License Plates
I love the unique saying drivers put on their license plates. For example, driving to a friend's apartment the other day I got behind a Toyota Tacoma Pick up. The Texas license plate read 'Ah Ya No.' Of course, all Texans say that. :)
Tuesday, August 9
My weekend
This past weekend I had the chance to visit New Mexico. My trip began by flying to El Paso late Thursday night. After many delays, my flight finally landed at the great airport of El Paso around 10:30. After picking up my bags, I was ready to head to Alamogordo, NM – my home for the next few days. Shortly after one am Texas time, we arrived in Alamogordo.
Friday morning came too quickly. At seven am, the alarm clock went off. Since we had a lot planned for Friday, we were up and at ‘em. Okay truth be told, I was up and at ‘em a little after seven. By 8:30, we were ready, had eaten breakfast, and were on the road to Carlsbad Caverns. Carlsbad is about 3 ½ hours from Alamogordo. And just our luck, it rained most of way there. But the mountains and plains were beautiful to see, even if it was raining. By noon we had arrived at Carlsbad Caverns and were eating lunch at their restaurant.
By 12:30 we were ready to hit the trials. We had decided to walk down the Natural Entrance into the Main Corridor and down to the Big Room. It was about a three hour hike/walk. You enter the cave through the Natural Entrance. As you walk down the Natural Entrance, you descend 750 feet by following steep, narrow trails until you enter the Main Corridor. At the Main Corridor, the cave begins to open wider. Right before you get to the Big Room, you walk past the Hall of Giants. The Hall of Giants is home to several large stalagmites called the Giant Dome and Twin Domes. As you pass the mighty stalagmites, you enter the Big Room, the largest room in the cave. Three hours later we emerged from the Caverns onto the surface of the Earth. And may it be said, thank goodness for elevators! What a hike it would have been to walk all the way back up!
Saturday we went to Cloudcroft, NM. The first stop was at the Cloudcroft Lodge where we had lunch at Rebecca’s. Rebecca’s is named after one of the early residents to the lodge. Story has it that she worked at the lodge. Well, she was engaged to a young gent. Unfortunately, the young gent found her in the arms of another man. After the incident, Rebecca was never seen again. Many believe that Rebecca still lives at the lodge. Doors are found opened that should have been closed; lights are found off that were on just a minute ago; and drinks are moved across the bar. Since her spirit seems to live on at the lodge, the restaurant took her name and has since been Rebecca’s.
The room we ate lunch in was a large sunroom. Through stain glassed windows, you overlooked the mountains. It was absolutely gorgeous!
After lunch, we headed into town for shopping. Along the main strip were various stores…jewelry stores, antique stores, craft stores, toy stores, candy stores, just to name a few. It was a lot of fun, even if it did to start pour down rain as we shopped.
That evening (after we had warmed up and were dry again) we had dinner at a Mexican restaurant just outside of Alamogordo. It was really good. There is nothing like good tacos! On our way home, we saw a beautiful rainbow over the mountains. If only we would have had a camera!
Sunday I got up and packed all of my things. After we had lunch at Chili’s (who can resist their chocolate frosty!), I was off to the airport. The weekend was over. It was time to head back to Texas.
Friday morning came too quickly. At seven am, the alarm clock went off. Since we had a lot planned for Friday, we were up and at ‘em. Okay truth be told, I was up and at ‘em a little after seven. By 8:30, we were ready, had eaten breakfast, and were on the road to Carlsbad Caverns. Carlsbad is about 3 ½ hours from Alamogordo. And just our luck, it rained most of way there. But the mountains and plains were beautiful to see, even if it was raining. By noon we had arrived at Carlsbad Caverns and were eating lunch at their restaurant.
By 12:30 we were ready to hit the trials. We had decided to walk down the Natural Entrance into the Main Corridor and down to the Big Room. It was about a three hour hike/walk. You enter the cave through the Natural Entrance. As you walk down the Natural Entrance, you descend 750 feet by following steep, narrow trails until you enter the Main Corridor. At the Main Corridor, the cave begins to open wider. Right before you get to the Big Room, you walk past the Hall of Giants. The Hall of Giants is home to several large stalagmites called the Giant Dome and Twin Domes. As you pass the mighty stalagmites, you enter the Big Room, the largest room in the cave. Three hours later we emerged from the Caverns onto the surface of the Earth. And may it be said, thank goodness for elevators! What a hike it would have been to walk all the way back up!
Saturday we went to Cloudcroft, NM. The first stop was at the Cloudcroft Lodge where we had lunch at Rebecca’s. Rebecca’s is named after one of the early residents to the lodge. Story has it that she worked at the lodge. Well, she was engaged to a young gent. Unfortunately, the young gent found her in the arms of another man. After the incident, Rebecca was never seen again. Many believe that Rebecca still lives at the lodge. Doors are found opened that should have been closed; lights are found off that were on just a minute ago; and drinks are moved across the bar. Since her spirit seems to live on at the lodge, the restaurant took her name and has since been Rebecca’s.
The room we ate lunch in was a large sunroom. Through stain glassed windows, you overlooked the mountains. It was absolutely gorgeous!
After lunch, we headed into town for shopping. Along the main strip were various stores…jewelry stores, antique stores, craft stores, toy stores, candy stores, just to name a few. It was a lot of fun, even if it did to start pour down rain as we shopped.
That evening (after we had warmed up and were dry again) we had dinner at a Mexican restaurant just outside of Alamogordo. It was really good. There is nothing like good tacos! On our way home, we saw a beautiful rainbow over the mountains. If only we would have had a camera!
Sunday I got up and packed all of my things. After we had lunch at Chili’s (who can resist their chocolate frosty!), I was off to the airport. The weekend was over. It was time to head back to Texas.
Tuesday, August 2
Fall Classes are About to Begin
It's definitely getting busier at the college. For example, this morning there was a line out the door and the telephone was ringing off the hook. And of course, be it my luck that everyone else in the office was running late and not here by 8 am.
When I went to school, I was one of those students who did everything way early. Months before a semester started, I had either set aside money to pay for everything or had gotten my student loans in order. To me it is a foreign concept to wait until the week before payment is due and decide that I need to find a way to pay for classes.
At this time, everyone in the office just takes a deep breath and prays for the month to be over. Come August 31 we will all be shouting for joy. We made it through the beginning of a semester once more.
When I went to school, I was one of those students who did everything way early. Months before a semester started, I had either set aside money to pay for everything or had gotten my student loans in order. To me it is a foreign concept to wait until the week before payment is due and decide that I need to find a way to pay for classes.
At this time, everyone in the office just takes a deep breath and prays for the month to be over. Come August 31 we will all be shouting for joy. We made it through the beginning of a semester once more.
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