Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! Trick or treat up here in Manchester was Sunday and I, along with Dutch and Zee, joined Megan and her family for some trick or treating. Dutch was a big hit. He was a redneck and what a good redneck he played! Notice his mullet, bling, and white tank. Classic.

Fritz refused to get into the carrier to go to the Blodgett house. He got dressed up for a bit and then we had to take it off so we could leave. He was a white horse with a knight riding his back. How adorable!

Zee was such a sport. She kept this costume on for about 2 hours and went trick or treating with us via kitty stroller for 3 hours! She was an appropriate costume accessory for Megan's mom as she went as a pregnant lady.

I didn't dress up. I did wear Megan's cat ears though.

My first time...

... attending a BRU national store manager meeting! This year it was in St. Louis, MO. I have never been to Missouri or any other states in the Mississippi River area. Overall St. Louis was clean and appeared safe, though some locals did warn us to make sure to keep our eyes peeled. The days were long - 7am to whenever we went to bed. I learned a lot and thought the vendor trade show was great! If you are having a baby in the next year there are tons of cool new things coming out for your enjoyment!

This was the view from my hotel room. I was supposed to be rooming with the new SBS manager from Hyannis, but she is no longer with the company so I got my own room!

Our first post meeting activity on Monday night was dinner at the City Museum. This place was completely amazing. Everything in the museum has had a past life - for example a wall made of the bins that sit in the school lunch room counter - you know... the kind that sits in the steam bath to keep the food warm. I didn't want to put up all the pictures, but these are some of my favorites. I would go to this place any day. They even had an adult size ball pit and a 7 story slide! This picture is of some of the beautiful glass doorknobs used back in the day. Look how pretty they are! There was a room full of doorknobs and hinges!

This was a giant fish with stairs in it.
The first Otis Elevator cage. Old!!
Tuesday night was our only free time. My DMM and I decided to head out to see the arch and hit the dueling piano bar. What fun!
The arch is huge. When you stand by it you just get dizzy looking up at it. It is also very beautiful, especially at night. I didn't get to go up in the arch as it is closed at night.
Look, I am touching it!
Taken from across the street at the capital building.
This is the capital building.
Have you ever heard of the motivational speaker/magician Gioviani? Neither had I until this meeting. We had to dress up for an awards banquet and he was our speaker/entertainment. It was really fun! We asked to get a picture with him after the show and we actually ended up having our picture up on the big screen at the end of the meeting.
And of course the trip wouldn't be complete with out a geocache! My DMM and I are already cachers, along with the RVP who couldn't get away for a few minutes to get this. My DMM and I took a newbie with us as she wanted to know what it is all about. This was her first find. The cache was only a block away from the hotel!
The Cleveland airport had these cool "paper airplanes" in the hall to the baggage claim. Pretty neat huh?

Busy weekend!

I know that I am a bit delayed on this posting and I do apologize for that. I have been really busy and... well, unmotivated. I am a procrastinator at heart and do my best work under pressure. :)

Let's go back to the weekend of October 4th and 5th. This was a very busy weekend for me, yet relaxing and rewarding at the same time. Saturday October 4th was mostly a day of driving. 6 hours to be exact. My friend, and former boss, Stephen was getting married (finally). I was invited and decided to bring our mutual friend Megan as my "guest". It was a bit "datelike" when I went to go pick her up for the drive to North Conway and discovered we had matching outfits. It was just like the prom... but going with my married and pregnant friend.
No, I didn't wear those shoes to the wedding, just on the drive up (and when my toes got too cold in my open toe shoes later that night). It was really nice to get to spend time with Megan. We rarely get one on one time and we are both busy with work and family. So, we got to catch up. I love talking with Megan as she and I are both a bit goofy and serious at the same time. Don't we look cute???

The drive up to N. Conway was smooth and on schedule until we actually got to the destination area. I thought we were going to be late to the wedding but we made it just in time! It was a beautiful day and the wedding was very nice. Stephen looked so proud and Stephanie appeared to be calm and glowing. The foliage was perfect for pictures... I can't wait to see them!Being that the wedding was way up north, I didn't get home and into bed until about midnight. I was pretty worn out from the long day of driving. But, the weekend's festivities were only half complete!

I, along with coworkers from just about every store in the district, participated in the Walk Now for Autism event in Nashua on October 5th. This year it was not pouring! It was beautiful weather, and the turn out was amazing. Unfortunately the path was not marked very well so a bunch of people, including the TRU team, ended up going off the route and ended up in downtown Nashua. I guess we got more of the message out that way. It is not too late if you want to make a donation!

I got a nice blister at the very end of the walk.

I enjoy doing things that give back to the community. My current project is a military appreciation night at work. Lots and lots of work but it will be worth it to give back to such brave people who protect us every day! Oh, and let's not forget Toys for Tots!

So that was my eventful weekend. I was exhausted by the end of the weekend but it was well worth it.