I've skipped June entirely!

....but it was SO crazy. So it's okay.

A virtual (and perhaps soon, IRL) friend, Mel, posts a weekly "Randoms" entry on her blog...which is basically what I do ALL the time, but I like that she makes it a habit. So even though *this* entry is a tiny bit linear, I want to make the "Randoms" entries more of a feature, instead of just saying "Um....I don't really have a point here, so here's a bunch of stuff on my mind/what's been going on."

1. June 2-4 was spent in a GORGEOUS, three-room hotel suite at Tan-Tar-A in Osage Beach. Our room was three flights up (no elevator!) but the view, and the swank, was totally worth it. oh, and it was free, so that was DOUBLE worth it. :) The conference was absolutely wonderful, the weather mild, and the outlet mall pleasing. The first night, Brandy and I went out after the keynote speaker (he completely rocked), buying a box of wine (i.e., a box containing 6 bottles of wine, not a boxed wine) from Hy-Vee. We used their cold water wine-cooler thing, and it was way nifty! I chose my favorite white wine from Summit Lake Winery, plus a cute pink polka-dot-bottle Riesling, and, to keep things classy, a $4 metal bottle of Beaujolais with a dot that changes color when it gets cold. That's right--like Coors. We drove through some decidedly unhealthy places to bring dinner back, met Neil in the lobby, and ate in front of the glass walls, amazed at the utter deluge of rain that suddenly came upon the region. Then we trooped up to Brandy's room in the maze that was her hotel wing, Cindy joining us, to partake of the wine.

The next day was the full conference day--normally the kind of thing where I'd be plagued with social anxiety and wondering who I'd sit with and afraid I'd have to eat lunch alone and feeling out of place wandering about alone. But with all of my FABULOUS co-workers joining us for the entire day, I needn't have worried! I've never been surrounded by so many folks who make me feel so comfortable in a work environment. We hung out all day, various folks splitting off into their sessions, reuniting for lunch and breaks, and generally having a great time. The sessions themselves were surprisingly informative, but I'm not sure how much you want to hear about how much I learned about Authority Control or What's New In Cataloging.

That evening, everyone took off, but I was staying one more day for post-conference training. Neil and I visited the outlet mall, grabbed some snacks from Wal-Mart, and ate some nasty, congealed hotel-Sbarro's pizza for dinner.

2. The next event was the day after we returned to Columbia--my 32nd birthday! We had a leisurely morning, then set off for StL at around 2:30 for the weekend. We grabbed Taco Bell for an early dinner and took it in with us at the hotel--a $67-a-night Marriott in Westport Plaza--what a deal! After a little while (and a nap!), we got dressed and headed to the Fox for a night I'd been looking forward to for a YEAR. I was so, so, so excited! Just seeing the familiar weird pyramid-ish structure of junk metal and bicycle tires and mannequin heads onstage was enough to make my heart beat faster. Neil had never seen Rent, and I was so hoping he'd like it...I've *never* taken anyone who hasn't. It was the signed performance, which could have been really interesting....except my eyes were only for Adam and Anthony. This was the Broadway Tour, which meant the cast was pretty much the same cast as the one that had closed the show on Broadway last fall (except Mark and Roger, of course)...in other words--AMAZING. By far, the best cast I'd ever seen together. Angel was astoundingly energetic, and added in little things here and there I'd never seen before. Andy Senor, London's Angel, returned here for a lesser chorale role. No one can compare to Jesse L. Martin or Taye Diggs, but Collins and Benny weren't at all bad. (Oh, and I learned something--I overheard someone saying weekend matinees were when understudies usually step in for shows like this. Duly noted, stranger-girl behind me in the bathroom line!)

...Whoa, sorry for geeking out there. It was a great, great night.

The next day, we went first to Panera for breakfast (egg and cheese souffle, whoo), and then stopped at a Trader Joe's. Then was the Galleria, after which Neil dropped me off at Emily's for some girl-and-Noah time. He spent a few hours in Vintage Vinyl at the Delmar Loop, while I enjoyed myself catching up with the Southerlands and taking a sun-dappled walk over to The Cupcakery for Indulgence Time (also, I could watch Noah play in the fountain for HOURS). And they had the cookies. Oh, Frosted Sugar Cookies, why must you be so perfect? I refrained from eating anything then, because our next plans required an empty stomach--meeting Neil at the Loop for dinner at Fitz's. Fried pickle slices...fresh grape soda...and the Chili Frito Burger. You can't even eat that thing with your hands. For real. And forget eating any of the fries. The only way your tummy can have room for those is if you sample them first. And you know me, I'm a one-thing-at-a-time eater.

Next, Neil and I said our goodbyes and headed to Star Clipper for a short stop to get us some Kasoogi Uglydolls, and were glad to lurch into our hotel room shortly thereafter to recover from the day.

Sunday was another gorgeous day (the weather is always perfect on my birthday, without fail), and we slept in a bit, then packed up, checked out, and spent a little while at our favorite side-by-side stores: R.E.I. for Neil, The Container Store for me. One last stop at the Galleria for California Pizza Kitchen (we both got pepperoni--you may say that's against the rules, but I'm telling you, their pepperoni is AWESOME), and we headed home to Columbia.

3. The next five days were spent working and preparing--for the big trip, a week in Oak Island, North Carolina with the Dazets. We left Saturday morning, traveling to Knoxville the first night and the rest of the way on Sunday.


Actually, you know what? I'm saving this one. Because I actually have pictures for it.

So, to be continued...hopefully sometime during the upcoming awesome 3-day weekend! And STEVE is gonna be here! Yay for brothers!