Go win - Clarisonic Mia giveaway from my Internet BFF

My Internet BFF Tanya (who sent me the most awesomest birthday package EVER!!!!!) is having an amazing giveaway - a Clarisonic Mia in the pretty pale pink color.

You can go check it out here and enter yourself!

And even if you don't want to win (why wouldn't you???  If you don't, enter anyway and give it to me!), go check out her blog anyway because it's AWESOME.

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Meeting people from the internet (Seattle edition!)

I thought I'd take a break from all those lists and start to do some of my trip recaps because I think the last one I posted was about the Mini in May, so these are definitely overdue.  So I'm not really a stranger to meeting people from the internet...those of you who have been reading our blog for awhile know that like to meet random people in random places, befriend them via internet chatter, and then meet them in person (reference: Airport Chris).

I actually don't remember how I came across Tanya's blog, but I remember it being one of the first blogs I read when I really started reading a lot of blogs.  She took (takes) amazing pictures and seemed funny and smart.  Then she took a break from blogging for awhile.  At one point we started tweeting at each other, and thus a friendship was born!  Eventually we expanded from Twitter to Facebook and then to e-mail, and soon enough, I was planning a trip to Seattle to check out the hipster capital of the US and see if Tanya really was a sassy nerd.

I was actually pretty nervous about meeting her - what if we didn't get along?  What if it was really awkward and weird?  I was staying at her apartment, so if things didn't work out, it was going to make for a long and potentially uncomfortable weekend.  We met up at the baggage claim, and luckily, Drunk Claire from my flight was there and gave us a good little conversation to break the ice, and then it was just like we'd known each other forever.

We decided to try to find some food, but it was late, and pretty much everything was closed.  We went to this burger place called Dick's, which sold wicked cheap burgers...that they refuse to customize for you because they pre-make them all or something.  Do you not like condiments on your burgers?  Do you prefer a burger with ketchup, mustard, or mayonnaise (like I do)?  Well TOO BAD, because Dick's won't make you a burger that isn't on their menu, and all their dinky little burgers come with stuff on them.  I ended up just getting some ice cream, and then we high tailed it out of there when a gaggle of very loud teenage girls descended upon the restaurant.

SO Seattle

I don't remember the exact order of all of these pictures, but we basically spent the weekend eating, shopping, watching Say Yes to the Dress and Russian Dolls, and doing a few touristy things.

We went to this store called Velocity and I saw these super cute piggies.  They are actually functioning piggie banks, and I want one so bad!  If you search for them on Velocity's website, you can see they actually come in a ton of different colors!

Of course we went to the Public Market (mainly because I wanted to see "the fish place").

"The Fish Place"...meh

After the fish place, Tanya was all, "We have to go to the gum wall", which if you think is a wall that people put their chewed gum all over, you'd be correct.  If you think it's totally disgusting and nasty, then you're also correct.

VOM

Following the gum wall nastiness, we went to Piroshky bakery, where GERRY and I laughed at Tanya because she got roped into a conversation with some randos because their something-or-other's girlfriend was from the same country as Tanya, so OMG, that must mean they know each other.

Very tasty - go here if you can!

After we got our piroshkys (piroshkies?  something else completely?) we went and sat by some water.  I feel like this is the Puget Sound, but that's probably because that's the only thing I know by Seattle.

On our way back to the apartment, we came across these awesome ghetto dogs who are just TOO COOL FOR YOU.  They were wearing money, and we weren't sure if you had to pay to take their picture, but we did, because why not.

WE ARE SO COOL

Then on Saturday night we went on this ghost tour of Seattle, which was actually pretty interesting.  This guy who takes ghosthunting WAY too seriously took us around and showed us "famous" spots that may or may not be "haunted".  We of course took this very, very seriously.

Look!  A GHOST!!!!!!

After the ghost tour, we hit up Serious Pie, which I read about in a magazine.  Tanya would check-in there on foursquare and it would make me so jealous, so we had to go there - and it did not disappoint!  This is their mushroom pizza, which is deeeelicious.  My best friend Jeremy also lives in Seattle for the time being, and he let me try his sausage and peppers pizza, which is also really good.  I've basically been craving this pizza non-stop since I left Seattle (and that was over a month ago).  I need to get back ASAP!

Really good pizza

Tanya (pretending to be Asian) and GERRY (pretending to have blue eyes)

On Saturday, we got up and - WHAT ELSE - went to eat.  We got some really yummy bagels and then did the most logical thing after eating bagels - went and got cupcakes.

While we were out shopping later, we ran into the Occupy Seattle group.  Interesting bunch.

This recap post would not be complete with a picture of GERRY's DOLLS.  Gerry is an avid doll action figure collector and this is just a small part of his awesome extremely dorky collection.  Like, seriously - I think I have four other pictures just of his dolls around the apartment.

And here's a picture of me and my lovely host.  The weekend turned out even better than I expected!!  Tanya is gorgeous (bitch!), has an awesome sense of humor, is wicked smart, and just all around fun.  When I came back from Seattle, I couldn't stop telling Marek how much fun I had.  I'm already planning my next trip back, and I can't wait (plus, I still REALLY, REALLY want some pizza).

(PS - If you want to check out Tanya's blog post - which has way nicer pictures!! - check it out here.)

See, I cropped out your white socks in this one!!

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10 Day You Challenge: six places

(ten secrets / nine loves / eight fears / seven wants)

1.  Old churches/places of worship.  I am always in awe of really old churches.  I've only been to a few churches in Poland, but the Basilica of St. Mary in Lezajsk is just beyond words.  We've attended Mass there and it is a truly amazing place.  The places below are just a tiny part of everything I want to see.

Basilica of St. Mary in Lezajsk, Poland

Fontevraud Abbey, France

Notre Dame, Paris

The Duomo, Florence

Koln Dom, Cologne

2.  Cape Cod.  It's a little slice of Heaven here on earth, honestly.  If you've ever spent time down there, then you know what I'm talking about.  If you haven't, then you should.

Barnstable Harbor

3.  Tropical islands in the Pacific.  Tahiti, Bali, Fiji, Bora Bora...I'm not picky.

4.  Remote places.  Places like the Yukon and the Svalbard.  Their remoteness really appears to that part of me that likes my alone time and likes to just get away.

5.  Football stadiums.  One of my life goals (with Marek) is to see every NFL team play at home, and in doing so, visit every single NFL stadium.  I love the atmosphere of the live games and each stadium has its own personality.  So far we've been to Gillette Stadium (New England Patriots), RCA Dome (old Indianapolis Colts), Lucas Oil Stadium (current Indianapolis Colts), and Giants Stadium (old New York Jets / New York Giants (we saw the Jets)), plus I've been to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome (New Orleans Saints).  We've got a long way to go to get to them all, but it's something we both love, and every spring, I love planning out our next trip.

6.  Home (of course).  Home is many places to me - our apartment, Massachusetts, and my parents' house.  But like Dorothy said, there's no place like it!

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10 Day You Challenge: seven wants

(ten secrets / nine loves / eight fears)

This one is definitely a challenge - the honest answer is there's simultaneously a lot of things and nothing that I want, so how do I pare it down to just seven?  Do I go material wants or "emotional" wants, for lack of a better word?

1.  Ability to let go.  Of so many things.  Material things (clothes, tchotchkes, stuff I keep "just in case").  Intangibles - emotional baggage, guilt (I still feel guilty about something I did when I was in second grade), grudges (hold these like a pro), anger, sadness, and the list goes on.  I hold on to a lot of things and there are times where it really just weighs me down, and letting go is something I really struggle with.

2.  A boat.  I've always loved the water -- swimming and diving are two things I really enjoy -- and there's just something special about being out in the open water.  We are very fortunate to have a friend who has a boat and one of my favorite summer activities is just going out and cruising (especially around the Cape).  Bonus points if my boat has room for MY HORSE.

3.  A female best friend.  Pretty sure I've already bemoaned the lack of female companionship in my life, but this is my list of wants, so I'm going to whine about it some more.  And I'm talking a real female best friend.  (And bonus points if I'm considered her best friend, too.)  I might put too much emphasis on label, but it's something that's important to me, so judge away.  Sadly, most people either already have a best friend or don't "believe" in best friends, so this ship has probably sailed.  #wahwah

4.  A Harry Allen Pig Bank.  (Way to suck the fun out of it, Harry Allen - it's a piggy bank, you snob!)  I saw these super adorable PIG banks when I was in Seattle at the beginning of this month, and I really, really want one.  They only had white ($125) and copper ($220) in the store, but there's a whole bunch of other colors online.  I wonder if I can convince Marek that we need one of every color...

5.  A yellow Camaro.  Because, duh.

6.  Slim, defined upper arms.  Not scary muscular ones, but nice toned ones.  If I can't have that, then I want pronounced collarbones.

7.  One more day with my grandparents.  Hell, I'd take one more hour, if just to tell them how much I love them and miss them every day.

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10 Day You Challenge: eight fears

(ten secrets / ten nine loves)

I have a lot of fears.  I'm generally a huge worrywart and my anxiety is crazy high.  Poor Marek has luckily learned what to expect.  Last night we were talking and I was talking about what happens in bypass surgery and then I started talking to him about varicose veins and how my doctor said I had them once but I don't think I do, but if I do, I am afraid of getting older and having ugly bulging veins on my legs, so that is why I don't cross my legs that much.  Then Marek started laughing a little, and I said, "No, no, I'm totally serious" (because I WAS) and then he started laughing even more and then said, "Oh, trust me, I know how totally serious you are."

1.  Being killed through blunt force trauma to the head.  Specifically, I have a big fear of being hit in the head with a hammer.

2.  When my dog and my parents will die.  All I have to do is start thinking about this and I start crying.  Claudius was my first real pet (sorry, Dingus, Leroy, Harry (RIP), and Eddie), and if he lives 15 years, I'll be 40 when he dies.  I can't even think about it.  And then my parents -- we're so much closer now that I'm older and I'll be truly devastated when they're gone.  I rely on them for so much that I really am afraid what it will be like when they're no longer around.  (I don't worry about this for Marek yet, because I know he's going to be around forever!!)

3.  I'll never want to have kids.  When I was in college, I wanted to get married young and have kids young.  Neither of those things have happened yet, and the longer I wait, the less I want to have children.  Growing up, I could never imagine not being a mom, but as time goes on, it keeps moving farther out of the picture.  Will I ever be ready to have kids?

4.  I'll never learn how to cope properly.  I have extremely bad methods of coping when things are going badly.  I'm pretty sure everyone knows I'm a huge crybaby and I am the first to admit that I have a really bad temper, but even besides that, I cope with things in a very, very unhealthy manner.  I'm not going to get into it, but it's something I've been doing for a very long time.  And coupled with #3, what if it's genetic?  what if my kids are pre-disposed to cope like I do?

5.  People truly think I'm mean (or annoying).  I am a total judger/hater/whatever you want to call it, and I say plenty of mean things (who doesn't?).  I think my entire life I've met only a couple of genuinely nice people who can't really say bad things about anyone.  And while I'm not one of those people, the truth is that I am afraid that people think I actually am a mean person at heart because of the comments I make -- because I'm not.  Honest.  (And as for the annoying part...it was something I was called in high school and is serious baggage I have dragged around with me since.  I'm always on edge, being overly concerned with not wanting to annoy people -- family, friends, co-workers, strangers, anyone.)

6.  Gaining weight.  Between the end of high school and the end of college, I gained in the neighborhood of 40-50 pounds.  I managed to lose 30 pounds by cutting soda and alcohol out of my diet and eating breakfast every day, but I live in constant fear of even a little weight gain.  When we moved to NYC, I lost ten pounds through the sheer stress of the whole process alone, and I've managed to gain most of back.  I freak out by the tiniest upward movement on the scale, and refuse to get rid of my "fat" pants for fear of gaining all that weight back.  I lost all that weight over five years ago, and I still dress as if I were 10-20 pounds heavier.

7.  Having no "real" friends.  I love social media (hello, spilling my guts here on the blog), but I also hate in that - in my opinion - it has blurred the lines of friendship.  Sometimes in a good way, and sometimes in a bad way.  I have enough things I struggle with friend-wise (which doesn't seem to make sense, since isn't that kind of the opposite point of having friends?), but one thing I keep coming back to over and over again is wondering who my "real" friends are?  And what if, in the end, I don't have any "real" friends?

8.  Not being financially stable.  I can't complain about my financial situation - I have a good job, a place to live, food to eat, can pay my bills, etc.  But I've never been good with money and I'm a horrible saver (I've tried, really, I have).  As I get older, I'm reminded more and more of the fact that I should be more fiscally responsible (hello, dropping who knows how much money to go to Colts games all fall and HELLO, Peyton Manning isn't even playing, although it's not like I knew that when I bought the tickets), but I wonder when I will ever get to where I want to be -- and sometimes I'm afraid that I never will.

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10 Day You Challenge: nine loves

(If you missed the first one, ten secrets, hop on over here to read it.)

For all the whining and complaining I do, this list was really hard to put together.  I could easily tell you nine things I don't love, but coming up with only nine things that I really love (that weren't people) was challenging.

On the other hand, if you've ever read my bio on Twitter, then you probably already know everything that's going to be on this list - it just might be in a different order.

1.  Linguistics.  When I applied to university, I was fully intent on being an English major - an English teacher, in fact.  However, Jefferson Harris and all his 2-page papers about every single thing we read (no matter how short) quickly sucked all the fun out of being an English major for me.  I stumbled upon a linguistics course my sophomore year - I went to a couple classes and dropped it, but gave it another chance, with another instructor, the next semester, and I was totally hooked.  Linguistics is -- huge nerd alert -- one of my real true passions in life.  It's something I genuinely love and find incredibly interesting.  (Seriously - ask me about aspirated stops in English vs. Spanish and I'll talk your ear off for about an hour.)  A secret I left off my list of secrets?  I'd love to go back to school and get my doctorate in linguistics.

2.  Colts (football in general).  Fall is my favorite season - not just because of the cool, crisp weather and pretty foliage (at least where I used to live) - but because it's also football season.  I love spending Sundays in sweatpants, hanging around on the couch, and watching football games all day long.  Equally fun is traveling to watch the games live!  (Not as fun: blowing your entire travel "budget" (what budget??) on Colts game tickets before the season starts only to find out that your favorite player is out for the season.)


3.  Books.  My dream in life is to have a house with a Beauty and the Beast-style library.  But I'll settle for a study/library in my house with built-in shelves to keep all my books...and I have a lot.  I know the Kindle and e-readers and iPads are the wave of the future (or of now?), and yes, they are very convenient, but give me a real book any day.  One of the hardest parts about moving to New York was deciding which books would have to stay behind.  But of course I'm still growing my collection even if the bookpile is getting precariously tall.

4.  History, especially European.  I love European history.  My very particular area of interest is in the British monarchy and in fact, my work study in college was working on a project with a professor on the regicides of King Charles I (another nerd alert!).  My Christmas list last year was pretty much all European history books.  Other topics I find interesting: World War I, the Age of Polar Exploration,

5.  Transformers.  This one is a big huge DUH (or should be, anyway).  I don't even know how many times I've seen the first one (probably over 40 or 50 times at this point), I'm probably one of the only people who doesn't hate the second one, and I saw the third one in the theater six times.

6.  Root beer.  I bring root beer to parties.  And if I'm in the mood for soda and there's root beer on the menu?  I pretty much always order it.  The only brand of root beer that I don't really like is A&W, and I don't think I like Stewart's that much (but I don't remember the last time I had it, so it's entirely possible that I do).  My favorite root beer is probably Virgil's, but I can always go for a Barq's, IBC, and pretty much any micro/craft brew.

7.  Travelling.  My dream job would be one where I get to travel all the time...to fun places.  (I travel for my job now, but the places I go aren't exactly super fun.)  I love taking road trips, and I've been lucky enough to have the luxury to drive from Massachusetts to Indianapolis a few times and to Florida once.  As fast as flying is, I actually prefer road trips because I think it's a great way to see things and travel on your own terms.

Confession: Marek gave me the last three.  I asked him that if he had to name the Top 5 non-people things I love, what would he list.  Out of his list, two matched what I already had, and here's the other three.  (Since I can't pick myself anyway.)

8.  Ditch Plains.  Quite possibly my favorite restaurant (of the moment, because it's always changing).  Poor Marek does not like this restaurant nearly as much as I do ("There's nothing on the menu", wah wah), but whenever it's my choice to pick where we should go to eat, I pretty much always want to go to Ditch Plains (or Landmarc, but I like Ditch Plains better).  And I always get pretty much the same thing: Cheddar & Jalapeno Tater Tots, the Mixed Greens salad (dressing is so yummy), and a Mint Ditch 'Wich.  Sometimes I get the Skirt Steak which is also really good.

9.  Law & Order: SVU.  It took me a long time to start watching primetime television again (thanks a LOT, CSI), but I really like Law & Order: SVU.  I've liked Law & Order since I was in high school (thanks, Mr. Mullen!), and thanks to many months working from home and tuning into the SVU 12-hour Tuesday marathon on USA, it's definitely one of my favorite shows.  Of course, Stabler's gone now (boo hoo), and it seems like Benson's departure is imminent, but the new detectives aren't so bad and they're doing a good job getting them more involved in the show.

10.  Snuggling with the pup.  Pretty much my favorite thing ever.  Snuggling with my doggie makes everything better.  EVERYTHING.  (Except when he farts in my face.)

Edit: Tanya pointed out that I was only supposed to do nine of these, not ten.  But I don't know which one to take off!  I suppose Law & Order: SVU will have to go.

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10 Day You Challenge: ten secrets

(I stole this from my girl Tanya over at Sassynerd.)

(Oh, and before I continue, go check out Marek's blog, where he is recapping his hike of Mt. Kilimanjaro!! - Some Hiker Guy.  Here's hoping he likes that blog better than this one... since he still has not made an appearance here yet.)

Okay, so here we go.  Not really sure what constitutes a secret, and contrary to my interwebs presence, I do like to maintain a bit of privacy.  But anyway...

1.  I'm kind of a hoarder.  Favorite things to hoard are clothes, stationary, and office supplies.
2.  My favorite color is not pink.
3.  Despite being a major book lover, I don't like used books.  As an undergraduate, I never bought a single used book.  As a graduate, I bought a used book once - because it was the only one available.
4.  I'm really, really shy.  (People don't seem to believe this one.)
5.  I have very little interest in meeting my birthparents.
6.  I believe that God made both humans and the earth.
7.  I still sleep with a stuffed animal...or five.
8.  I don't really like to share my stuff.  Even with Marek.
9.  My psychiatrist told me that he had never come across anything like my OCD compulsion before.
10.  I don't unpack my suitcase in hotels.  I'm too paranoid about leaving something behind.

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The Amazing Race Game

Marek and I do not watch a ton of TV, but one of the shows we really like to watch together is "The Amazing Race", a show we started watching a number of years ago only because one of the stops was in Poland.  It is one of our favorite shows.

One of our favorite things to do while watching the show is playing the "WHAT WOULD WE DO??" game (yes, that's it's official name).  Our other favorite thing to do is pick a couple of teams to hate on, and hate on them HARD for the entire season!!  Whenever the detours (or whatever they're called) come up, Marek or I immediately turn to each other and we either ask each other what we would do or who would do what, and sometimes we just tell the other one.

For the first episode of this season, the teams traveled to Taipei, Taiwan.  The first thing they had to do was listen to some recording and repeat it back to a monk or something, so Marek said I would do that.  Then for the next one, one person had to beat a drum (ME), while the other one helped paddle a boat (Marek, DUH).

And in case you are curious, our designated teams to hate on this season?  The blonde twins and the Vegas showgirls.  Our favorite teams so far are the interracial couple, the flight attendants (SO CUTE!), the grandparents (so far), and the former Colts guy (Marek wants to make sure I write "by default" here).  Because I know you really want to know!

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failfailfailfailfailfailFAIL

So remember my overly-ambitious 52 in 23* list?  It's looking like a big old pile of FAIL right about now.  I've got just about three and a half months to crank out the rest of my list, and I'm currently at a whopping 30.7%.  This project has major failure written all over it.

Maybe some of you are thinking, "Wow! What a downer! Three and a half months is still plenty of time to get these things done."  Maybe you are thinking I'm being a Negative Nancy and just quitting, throwing in the towel. I wouldn't really argue with you on that, to be perfectly honest.  There are some goals I probably could still accomplish, but I know that they're highly unlikely not to happen, so I figured I should just come to terms with that now and then I will have the next three and a half months to console myself and comfort myself with lots of french fries and ice cream (part of the reason why "Lose 10 pounds" is unlikely to occur).

Here's the list of things I've officially given up on (outside of the things I mentioned here that I would not be doing).

• Run the Boston Half Marathon. - I did this last year, and I know how much training it would require (damn you, rolling hills!), and with my schedule, I just don't have the time for it, so I didn't even sign up for it this year.  The Chicago half is going to be bad enough.
• A side casualty to this is probably "Get my minute/mile pace under 10 minutes", but I'm not giving up on that one just yet.  I will add a quantifier around this: run 5 miles in 49:59:59 minutes or less.
• Visit my penpal. - Sadly, she does not seem interested.
• Go skydiving. - No time, and I'd rather spend my money on football games.

Further things that are highly, highly unlikely to happen, but I am not officially giving up on:

• Go to a college football game.
• Take a road trip to someplace besides Indianapolis, Chicago, or DC.
• Visit my #2.
• Learn how to rollerblade.
• Learn Flash.
• Watch the entire series of Frasier, from beginning to end, in order. [Seriously...24 episodes per season for 11 seasons = 264 episodes x 22 minutes per episode / 60 minutes per hour = 97 hours.  No.]
• Bake my favorite chocolate chip cookies (while living in New York).
• Organize my entire music library. (HA! HA!)
• Finish LEGO Star Wars with Marek (starting from the beginning).
• Lose 10 pounds. (HAAAAAAAA HA HAHAHAHA!)
• Set up my photography website.

There you go.  Don't you feel better about yourself now?

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would you trade?

No, this post isn't an announcement.

In June, I finally got to the travel part of my "up to 100% travel" job.  My normal schedule would be "standard" Monday through Thursday, but my first assignment ended up being a weekend project, which actually didn't bother me too much, as that would mean I'd have the middle of the week to relax, get things done, and hang out with the Royal Devil.  Of course, if we are friends in real life and/or friends on Twitter, then you know that since about the third week of June, I have basically been working every day since I was assigned to a second project.

Fun fact: from June 6 through August 5, I will have had exactly five days off from work.  One of those days was Fourth of July and two of those days were a regular weekend.  I work an average of 10-hour days, 7 days a week.

But on the plus side, spending all that time on the road means racking up lots of hotel points, and I was lucky enough to be able to take advantage of a great promotion with one of the big hotel chains.  Basically, at the end of this month, I'll have earned six free nights at a "resort" hotel - hotels that normally go for upwards of $500/night.

We have always wanted to go to the Maldives (we heard it is disappearing!), and it was on the list of available resorts - among the many fabulous destinations, which also included Fiji, Bora Bora, Bali, Tahiti, Seychelles, Mauritius, you get the picture!  Even though the nights are free, getting to the Maldives is another story, so Marek gave me a choice: get engaged this year or go to the Maldives.

Now, most of you know that Marek and I have been together for awhile (more than five years...and if you want to get all technical, substantially more than five years, according to the federal government - pulling a little policy debate nerdiness out for you!), and getting engaged was in the cards for this year.

Until six free nights at the resort hotel in the Maldives entered the picture.  I mean, look at it!!!

So, which would have you picked?  Would you trade getting engaged for a dream vacation?

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More adventures of Fred the cow

(Don't worry, I'll post about something else soon. But even if I don't, it's my blog, so deal with it!)

Marek and I were in the same city this weekend (a really, really big deal), and we went out to dinner to celebrate his upcoming birthday.  We went to one of our favorite restaurants, Texas de Brazil, which is basically a big meat buffet.  So of course we dragged Fred with us!

He hitched a ride from the car to the restaurant in Marek's pocket... lazy cow!

We asked for limes for our water, so Fred set himself up under his little lime-palm tree and glared at us while we ate lots of steak.

Fred did not approve of my plate of beef.  Pretty sure he is still giving me the silent treatment over this one.

After dinner, I had some cake with a nice refreshing glass of milk.  Fred was wishy-washy on this one.

We forced him to change his outfit for the night.  We thought it was rude of him to wear his normal sign when he was in another place!

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My day with Fred the Chick-Fil-A cow

Last week I was having a really crappy day, so I decided to cheer myself up with a new friend - a Chick-Fil-A plush cow, whom I've decided to name Fred - and then I spent the next day toting him around and putting him in silly poses and giggling like we were the best of friends.

First we got up in the morning and admired the lovely view outside of the hotel window.  We are very close to the airport and Fred likes to listen to the planes roar by overhead.  It's especially nice when we're going to bed and trying to sleep.

After we got ready for work - I changed, but Fred was lazy and did not - and then we drove ourselves to the office.  Poor Fred - he has an even harder time seeing out of the car than I do.

Here we are in the infamous bathroom with all the soaps.  Fred could not resist an opportunity to get his picture taken with some of the soaps, so he talked my boss into keeping me at work late so we could take this picture without worrying about people walking in and laughing at us.

After work, we headed over to Red Robin, which Fred wasn't exactly thrilled about, since it's a burger place and he is a cow.  But he couldn't say no to some french fries and a raspberry limeade!

After he ate his food, Fred went and hid in my purse for the rest of the meal.  He didn't want to have any uncomfortable run-ins with anyone at Red Robin, especially Robin himself, who was wandering around (and scared the crap out of me).

Fred loved our car this week - bright red and from California!  It's the farthest away car we've had yet (although Mississippi is a close second), and Fred was already to head west.

Once we got back to the room, Fred parked his fat cow butt in a chair and promptly took control of the remote.

After some TV watching - good way to tire a little toy cow out - Fred hopped into bed and got ready for a good night's sleep.

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