Octoberfest Day 24: "Cheese de Philadelphia"

I woke up today feeling extra crabby. And I'm not sure why. I had great ambitions to perform another random act of kindness today as my Octoberfest activity. But I just didn't have the heart for it. It didn't occur to me until tonight what my activity would be. I promised you guys something new every day of the month, right? And not all of those things are quote, unquote activities. Sometimes they are metaphorically something new. I have tried to provide entertaining accounts of my day-to-day events but I enjoy it very much when I can provide something useful as well. My new activity for today was dealing with a bad day in a way I don't normally do. As I mentioned, I don't really know why I was in such a foul mood. I think that it's so easy for us to get caught up in our obligations and that becomes very overwhelming at times. I've been trying to get caught up on everything since my parents' party. And given my ripe old age of 31, I'm still tired from my parents' party LOL and that isn't helping matters. I made it through the day at work and then I had to attend a guest speaker at Drake as part of our class. Honestly, I wanted to just go home. My classmates and I decided to grab sushi before the speaker. I love these people! :) As a group, we are always laughing hysterically about random stuff and we commiserate over class requirements together. I really wanted to skip the speaker tonight because I just didn't feel up to it, I would have liked to just go home and go to bed but I'm glad that I didn't skip it because the light-hearted laughing helped to improve my mood. Case in point - after I realized I was charged an extra $3 for cream cheese on my sushi rolls (highway robbery!), Chris told a story about being in Mexico and really loving the dip that this hotel had provided. And when he asked the guy what it was made from he replied, "cheese de Philadelphia." LOL Ahhh we got a really good laugh out of that one :). So the tired, overwhelmed, defeated, not sure where to start mood continued even after I left my classmates. If I could have stayed laughing with them a little longer I'm sure my mood would have continued improving. So on the way home, I craved comfort food thinking it would make me feel better. So I stopped at McDonald's and ordered a coke and a sundae, feeling even more guilty because one of the things I'm feeling down on myself for is not eating healthy or getting to the gym lately. Sigh. I'll start tomorrow. I got home and to be honest, the coke didn't taste good, and the sundae didn't hit the spot. So I didn't consume either. Ugh. That didn't work. I let my dog outside and realized there's a hole in my fence where it literally looks like someone punched the wood out. Great. Just what I need. I walk into the yard to assess the damage and I stepped in dog poop. Ok, I'm fighting a losing battle here. And that's when it occurred to me that what I really need to do is give up and go to bed. I think we all live such busy lives that when we feel overwhelmed our first instinct is to do more. But in reality, sometimes those situations call for some TLC for ourselves. I know that I'm tired. What I would normally do is stay up until my usual bedtime of midnight or after checking a few more items off the list. Well guess what? Those items will still be there tomorrow. To make myself feel better, I got organized, made a list of things to accomplish tomorrow and as soon as I finish typing this, I'm going to sleep. There's no other way to try making myself feel better. I just need to give up on today and look forward to tomorrow. Sometimes that's the best medicine for us - and maybe some philadelphia cream cheese wouldn't hurt...

Octoberfest Day 23: "Front Wedgie"

Front Wedgie

Neither myself nor Carrie will be climber of the month anytime soon. But we did give an outstanding effort tonight at Climb Iowa. An outstanding effort at trying to get kicked out. Let me back up. For starters, the guy giving us orientation was like the Ben Stein of rock climbing. Think the Dry Eyes commercial. He was about as lively as a tree. He told us we had to fill out the waiver first and I said "oh is that so if I die, I won't try and sue you" And he said "no." Wow. Ok umm that was a joke buddy. It would be hard for me to sue you if I were dead...oh never mind. Geez, tough crowd. He hands us our shoes and tells us they need to be pretty tight. We ask if we need socks and he says "most people don't." So Carrie says to me "you want a genuine experience right?" And then whispered, "I hope they sanitize these." Next step was to get our harness put on. Let me tell you a little something about the harnesses, they aren't comfortable. Carrie made the mistake of jumping ahead in his orientation by asking about the walls and he said "we're going to get to that" Ok point taken. Man this guy is not effing around. I'm sure that the fact that we weren't taking anything he said seriously didn't help. To make matters worse, in the middle of his explanation of the walls, I exclaimed, "oh god, owww I have a front wedgie" he didn't laugh or look impressed. The thing we were both curious about was that if this hurts for a girl, we can't imagine how uncomfortable these things are for the guys. So he takes us to the wall to try out, shows us how to do everything and then says to try it. I made it up the wall a little bit and then you're supposed to just fall back and let the rope rappel you down. Umm, that requires trusting the rope to hold you and when you're high up, that's scary to do. The guy keeps explaining to us the difference in the different walls when we notice a kid (probably age 7) with a huge backpack slung over his shoulder. And Carrie asks the guy if that's his chalk bag. They give you chalk to help your hands when they get sweaty. Or in our case to just put on our hands to look more official. Carrie said she's going to ask for a designer chalk bag for Christmas. Jesus, these little kids are going to smoke us on these walls. So we attempted a wall that the guy said was somewhat easy. Umm, that's a joke. It wasn't easy at all. I made it up a few feet and then had to let the rope carry me to the floor. And by carry I mean I fell and almost landed on a girl sitting on the floor watching her boyfriend scale the walls sans rope. Why would you sit on the floor when people are flying off these walls? So Carrie says she has to use the bathroom (which I'm thinking would be difficult with the harness on) and then tells me she didn't really have to go, she just wanted the guy to be done with orientation Haha. We were finally on our own to tackle these walls. Tried finding the areas that were the easiest to climb. The first one we tried was a little easier than what the guy was showing us but it was still hard. I made it about a third of the way up and then remembered my chalk bag. LOL it doesn't help by the way. And when you're on a rock climbing wall laughing hysterically things get even more difficult. Carrie was down at the bottom laughing and taking pictures of me. So I came down and we decided to try the easiest wall of all. Except a kid was rushing over to it. "Want me to shoulder check him and tell him to get off?" Carrie asked me. "Well it is Ladies' Night, don't they know they should be letting us do this?" I said. "Would you EVER want to do this in real life, like on a real wall?" Carrie said. "Umm negative. This is hard enough." So the little climbers were finally off the easy wall and we set out to attempt it. Mission accomplished! As I scaled the wall in a pretty quick fashion, Carrie was texting our friends "apparently Shawnna's a natural." I need to work on my landing however because I bounced into the side wall as I came down, of course started laughing hysterically A-gain and fell on the floor (see exhibit A picture as proof). Carrie goes, "my favorite part was when you ran into the wall. Now let me attempt this." So she climbs up gets almost all the way to the top and then stops saying "I'm seeing stars." Omg. LOL Yes you better come back down. Carrie had given blood that day so perhaps rock climbing wasn't the greatest idea ever. Her claim to fame is being the first person to pass out mid-climb and pull a Weekend at Bernies. Admittedly we were starting to get tired of climbing, or rather my hands were. We tried a couple of the hard climbs again and after literally flying off the wall back down and almost hitting that girl again (seriously she's still sitting in harms way!), I said, "ok I'm pretty much done." Now there is a group of people doing planks in a circle, not sure why. We thought it would be hilarious if Carrie came down off the wall landing in the middle of their circle, "well hello everyone." Bahahaha. We conquered the easy wall again two more times because it made us feel like official climbers and called it good. My fingers were shaking and my hands couldn't do another climb. It was probably time for us to go anyway, we are not professional climbers which obviously showed. And I think people were getting tired of us complaining about a front wedgie. You try it and you'll see what I mean. Who's got two thumbs, conquered the easy wall at Climb Iowa and no longer has a front wedgie? This girl.

 

Old Pro

I fell

 

Stopping for chalk

 

Baller Status

 

Look at Carrie go!

 

Octoberfest Day 22: "$25 Grilled Cheese Sammich"

Sometimes in life it really helps to know people and have connections. Like when I need an extra quarter for the vending machine. Or in the case of today's Octoberfest activity: like when we want to eat at the Embassy Club overlooking the downtown area. AMAZEBALLS! The Embassy Club (or Des Moines Club) is a verrry fancy restaurant on like the 34th floor of the Ruan building in downtown Des Moines. It offers really fantastic views of the city from all four angles. Strolling into this place was seriously a scene out of Pretty Woman, we were decidedly out of place but yet milking it for all it's worth. By the way, I should mention I've actually never seen Pretty Woman, I'm just familiar with the basic premise. Add theatrically challenged to my list of faults. So we walk in and the place is deserted, guess we are the only two people choosing to eat at 8:00 pm. The host greeted us with a thick, heavy accent and oozing ritzy professionalism. I like it already. I felt important - a bit like royalty except minus the Prince and a topless photo scandal. So we had the run of the place. Which was awesome except we didn't really know how to behave, we just knew we should probably be uber proper. This ought to be interesting. Jill goes "umm excuse me Shawnna, do silence your cell phone please" LOL. The waiter (is he called a waiter at a fancy joint?) brings over our menus and we open them up to find meals starting in the $30 price range. And I don't even know what some of these menu items are. Gulp. Holy shizballs. What happened to the "casual" menu with things more reasonably priced? So we asked about that menu and then suddenly felt like we'd made a big mistake because the waiter hesitated for a long time and then begrudgingly said "yes, you can order from that menu, let me bring it back" Then they scurried around getting those menus and were probably cursing us the entire time. And Jill says to me, "this kind of thing always happens when I'm with you." What can I say? I'm blessed with the ability to turn any situation into a bonafide story of hilariousness. The waiter finally brings the menus back and we were relieved to see the numbers back down into the teens. I had researched the menu before I came and I had my heart set on the grilled cheese sammich - this thing came with havarti cheese, bacon and apple jelly, now doesn't that sound like both an amaze-fest AND a heart attack at the same time? OM. G. It was! It was probably one of the most delicious sandwiches...EVER. Certainly not part of my diet but oh well. I can get back on track tomorrow...or when this month is over. So by the time our drinks, sandwiches and soup got added to the bill it came to $25 per person...for a grilled cheese sandwich. Moment of silence while I digest that fact. Geesh. It's a good thing I don't do this often. I asked the guy if I could get change and he said "we don't actually carry cash here" Oh man, of course they don't. Geez Shawnna what were you thinking??!! I think it's time for me to go before I embarrass myself any further! Thank you Jill for getting us into a prestigious elite club - classic example of when it pays to have friends in high places! Literally! Tomorrow's activity involves altitude as well...of the climbing variety!

Octoberfest Day 21: "Happy Little Trees"

Not Bob Ross

I should have been thinking more clearly. After partying for my mom and dad's anniversary well past 4 am, I should have tried something new when it comes to Octoberfest: like sleep for 15 hours or something. But noooooo, I had to choose another activity on a day when I was dead tired. But never fear, I managed to create a masterpiece on limited sleep and a lazy, dehydrated state of well being. Have you heard of this new concept where you mix painting with socializing? Me neither! But I heart the idea! There have been a couple of these places pop up in Des Moines lately. We took advantage of a Groupon through the Social Canvas in Waukee. Plus we got a free drink. Umm how can I say no to that? Even when I want nothing to do with anything alcoholic. You guys are counting on me for a genuine, authentic experience. And I'm happy to sacrifice, I really am. The really fantastic thing I want to stress here is that ANYone can do this kind of class. I don't care if you think you're so artistically challenged you can't even write your own name. I promise you, you can do this. They even provide all of the materials. After we got checked in, handed me my drink ticket (bonus!), I got my paint on my palette, threw on a smock and I was ready to Bob Ross this place. Plus I got to have a glass of Moscato wine...mmm...mmmm...mmm...So she walked us through each of the steps, instructed us how to create the right color, what brush to use, etc. I can't say this enough, it was super simple I'm not kidding, anyone can do this. The only challenge would be if a person were to take a drink out of the water cup (for the brushes) and put the used brushes in the glass of wine. Apparently that happened to the Friday night class. Obviously, the wine wasn't the highest priority to that person. Duh. The really interesting thing about this class is that everyone's painting ends up looking different. Your interpretation of the instructor's directions means your canvas is unique to everyone else's. I was amazed that I was able to create such a wonderful masterpiece given I was so tired. I'm sure that the wine helped LOL. If you find yourself looking for an activity to do with a group of girls or for a birthday party, etc., I highly recommend looking up the Social Canvas. They do a bunch of different paintings so you can try as many as you'd like! Plus, they are just getting their business going and I think people should support such a creative idea. Kinda like when I started this uber crazy blog - which by the way is now up to over 1,300 page views! I jumped up 100 page views in one day! Kudos to everyone for checking it out, let's keep this baby going!

Octoberfest Day 20: "40 Years"

Forty years ago today, my parents were married at age 18 and 21. Their road together has been full of love, heartache, joy, sorrow, bickering, making up, sickness and good health: the perfect recipe for a sucessful marriage. They have endured a lot and yet they're still together. What a perfect example for the rest of us to follow. Because my parents have done so much for me in my life, I wanted to give something back to them and truly mark such a special occasion. It isn't everyday that you see couples make it this far. I started thinking about a party probably a year ago. I began planning the surprise party late spring, early summer. I set out to find as many of their old friends as I could: softball friends, bowling friends, family, etc. Once I got the list then I started on addresses. Then the ideas really started coming to me: we could have a flashing blue light in honor of them meeting at K-Mart which is where they both worked, I could have a small replica of their cake made, we could have a DJ, etc. Then I started putting everything into action. I nailed down a location and then created the invitations. I used pictures from their actual wedding album. How did I manage that without them knowing? Well there's an app for that. Of course there is. And I'm breaking my rule of not getting my head out of my apps but it allowed me to scan the pictures out of their wedding album and had high enough resolution for me to print them. Got the rest of the addresses, mailed the invitations, secured the DJ and put the deposit down on the location. Keep in mind that I was doing all of this while attending grad school, doing freelance work and working full-time. Oh and once October hit, doing an activity every day and blogging about it. Geesh. Once everything was in motion, I was able to get a great deal on a cake through my cousin Maddie who works for the Bake Shoppe in Windsor Heights (fantastic cakes, highly recommend them!), we decided to provide beefburgers for food, I purchased a couple of Groupons for decorations through Nobbies, and I was all set. The planning really took a lot out of me. I was ready to just have the party and not have to worry about the organization anymore.

The day of, I decided that in addition to the party, my activity for Octoberfest would be to get my hair and makeup done. Well played by me. It ended up being literally the best I've ever looked in my life. I felt so confident and pretty and just really excited about the party for my parents. Plus, we ended up getting some really fantastic pictures as you can see here. I got to the location of the party to set up around 3:30 pm. Guests were scheduled to arrive by 6:30 pm and my parents were supposed to get there at 7:30 pm. Everyone asked me how we were getting my parents to the place. For one, we told them long before that my cousin Toby's boyfriend David's birthday was also that day and she was having a party for him. About a week before the party I told them that we were taking them out to a steak dinner for their anniversary. They wanted to be surprised by the restaurant which was perfect; they could pick me up from "David's party" and we'd all ride to the restaurant. Oh and I also told them they should wear lavender/purple because it was their wedding color. Yes, I tried to think of everything. We set everything up, got the food cooking, cake was all set, DJ arrived and then guests started trickling in around 6:30. All in all, I bet we had about 70 people come to the party. Which was a really good number. It was time for my parents to arrive. I wondered if maybe they had an inkling of what was going to happen...

No, they sure didn't. The look on their faces was so perfect that it made all the stress of getting to that point worth it. My mom cried for sure and some people said it looked like my dad started to as well. Mission accomplished! Super duper good deed for my parents and they were so thrilled. It was really fantastic to see. They were 100% surprised and didn't have a clue to anything. From that moment on, it was a lot easier for me to relax and have a good time knowing they were there and everything was done. The party really had a natural progression of activity. After my parents greeted everyone, we made them cut their cake and had to remind them of what their cake looked like because they didn't realize it was a replica LOL. Then we made them dance to "You're Still the One" by Shania Twain and my mom cried A-gain. After that, we all hit the dance floor and proceeded to cut a serious rug. Man I wish people still talked like that. I could have said that my dance card was full all night. Of course the night went by too fast and I wish we could have stayed longer, dancing and having fun but all good things must come to an end. It was truly a wonderful party, it was so great to see so many people, I felt absolutely beautiful and the best part of all is how happy my parents were. Made it worth the blood, sweat and tears. Until my mom locked my keys in my car. Hey, I never said they were perfect! LOL. Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad! Here's to another 40 years! :) 

 

Octoberfest Day 19: "Pumpkin Spice, and Everything Nice"

Not good (for the diet)

I woke up on Friday with a LOT to get done. When you read Day 20, you'll understand just what I'm talking about. I took the day off, not so I could relax but so I could get an overabundance of things accomplished. Including fit in an Octoberfest activity. I decided to get that out of the way right away so I met an old professor from Simpson for coffee and breakfast. As an homage to not only Octoberfest but Halloween around the corner, I opted for a Pumpkin Spice latte from Panera. Amaze-Fest USA. That coffee was more than just delish, it was delightful, it was delectable, it was de-sinful. I mean where has that been all my life? It was definitely a great way to start my day. After that, a couple of crazy things happened to me. For one, my professor wants me to speak to one of his classes about the importance of not giving up. You may recall that I lost my job three years ago and dug myself out of a pretty significant financial crisis. I was super flattered that he would ask me to speak to his class. And I will whip those kids in shape! Just kidding, I'll just talk about my story. It's something that comes naturally from me, as the storyteller that I am. We continued talking some more and I told him that I've thought about teaching someday at the college level and he said "would you be interested in teaching for Simpson? We need part-time evening/weekend professors for next fall." Umm, whaaaa? I mean when I said that I was thinking about teaching someday, I didn't really think the "someday" would be next year. But I guess he's leaving for London to teach a semester abroad and they will be needing faculty. Professor Stiver? Has a nice ring to it. I'll definitely consider what he's proposing. In the meantime, I had a lot to accomplish on Friday so I couldn't sit and chat with him forever even though I would have liked to. I got all of my stuff pretty much done and all I had left to do was cook 20 lbs. of hamburger meat. Gulp. I mean we've already established how terrible I am in the kitchen. How in the H am I going to do this? My cousin said to me "Shawnna if you screw up cooking hamburger meat, god help any guy who may date you." LOL. She's right. How could I possible screw this up? I know what you're thinking, "yep, she screwed it up." You're partially right. I didn't screw up the actually cooking part but I did have a little baby disaster when I tried to strain the meat. Let's just say that a large chunk of the meat flew onto my counter and part of the floor. No big deal. I cleaned it up and lost about a pound of hamburger. Worse things could happen right?  Like Starbucks and Panera could stop offering that Pumpkin Spice Latte, that would be an even bigger disaster...

Octoberfest: Day 18 "Desperate Tannerisms"

Not normal

Let's face it. I'm never going to be a Desperate Housewife - er Housegirl - of Des Moines. For one, there's simply not enough salacious gossip going around. For another, my idea of a catfight would be knocking over someone's water bottle and saying "so there." The drama just isn't in my bones. But I'm really good at pretending so for today's activity, I thought I'd get into character and do something a desperate housewife, or an Orange County housewife, or an Atlanta housewife, or a Jersey housewife would do: get a spray tan. Now I know what you're all thinking...as we approach winter, the time of year when we're completely bundled up and covered, why would I want to tan my skin that nobody will see? It's simple. In the name of science I wanted to see how far they've come with spray tan technology. Now let me just throw the disclaimer out and say that I tried a spray tan booth as opposed to a person who custom spray tans you. Call me crazy but I just wasn't really in the mood to get a tan sprayed on me sans clothing in front of a random stranger. I know the Housewives do it. I guess I'm just not that desperate. In any case, I'm here to tell you that they really have come a LONG way with spray tans. I wasn't sure what to expect at all but I was willing to experiment knowing full well that the outcome could have been disastrous. And it was. At least for about 12 hours. In those twelve hours, my face looked like the tanning mom Patricia that we all heard about recently. Saturday Night Live spoofed her even. If you're unsure who I'm referring to, I've conveniently added a picture as reference. Yes, my face was borderline THAT bad. And I was sweating orange bullets. I thought about taking a picture of myself but it was too embarrassing LOL. I went to bed thinking to myself "dear Lord, please make my face normal colored by morning, I swear I will behave for the rest of my life, sincerely, Me." I woke up the next day - face as orange as ever. Uggggg!!! OMG what am I going to do? I mean do I say that I was in a face tanning accident or that the spray booth got stuck permanently on FACE mode? Ok. Let's take a deep breath and not notice that I'm inhaling a tropical tanning scent. I almost called Classic Tan to ask them about it but I figured well there's nothing anyone can do about it now. Maybe if I take a shower, it will help? Suddenly I remembered the girl telling me that something washed off within the first showering so I quickly disrobed and jumped in hoping and praying that my face looked normal when I was done. THANK THE LORD!!! It worked. I was no longer Patricia's sidekick. Phew that was a close one. I can honestly say that I was impressed with the tan. It looked very natural and hardly anyone noticed. Except for Abe who said to me "have you been tanning??!" in an accusatory way like I just betrayed some sort of natural way of living. Well yes. I was getting into character. And experimenting. Everything that resembles Octoberfest. So for anyone thinking about trying a spray tan, I would recommend it. They really have come a long way and it looked very natural. I may not be desperate but I am tan.

Not cool

Octoberfest: Day 17 "Matchy, Matchy"

As you guys know, on Day 3 of Octoberfest, I created an online dating profile with eHarmony. I'm sure you're all wondering whether that has produced any dates yet. While I do enjoy being able to set a slower pace as I get used to this whole phenomenon, let's just say the locomotive hasn't even left the station yet. I've had some guys I contacted and it has resulted in a stalemate of no further communication. For Day 17, I decided to up the ante a little bit; take the stakes up a little higher. So I created an online dating profile through match.com. Holy hell, whereas eHarmony takes things just a notch faster than molasses or paint drying, match.com is like the turbo version, the high voice version, the amped up on caffeine version. I'm not used to guys being so....forward and aggressive. Because I usually find most things in life comical, this too has provided for quite a few laughs just in the two days that my profile has been listed. Yes, I said two days. And yes, I just compared myself to a real estate listing. As I maneuver my way through this crazy approach to dating, I certainly do not have all of the rules figured out. But call me crazy I think I have enough of an idea to know that the following ways to approach someone may not be as effective as these guys would like to believe. Here I give you a little segment I'd like to call: "Don't do that. Why would you do that?"

Not effective

Take a picture of yourself looking at a mirror taking a picture of yourself
We've all seen it right? The person looking at themselves in the mirror with the phone raised up shielding probably the most important feature: the face. And snap goes the picture. Two things have occurred to me when witnessing this photography bust - one, some of the phones are actually equipped with facing cameras, perhaps you should check that first? And two, for the love of G do you not have at least ONE person who would be willing to snap a picture of you??

Must love artificial....chestacle regions
People in general are visual creatures, guys especially, I get it. When deciphering an attraction to someone, the obvious pull comes from physical features at first. Whether your preference is real or artificial enhancements, let's keep that information to yourself, capish? I'm not impressed with someone who actually has the cajones to say "Must have fake you know whats" Ay..ay..ay...unbelievable.

Winter Boytoy
I received an email from one potential suitor mere hours after I signed up for my profile. He is coming home to Iowa for the winter from being in Alaska and said to me "you're beautiful would you like a boytoy for the winter?" Umm...no, I really don't. I mean maybe if I had a pool to upkeep or a yard that needed mowed. But this guy didn't really look like a "boytoy" type if you catch my drift. He did look like a boy...just not a boytoy.

I mean people are brazen! So the match.com experience so far has been a little aggressive for my taste. I suppose if someone is not an ideal match you want to know right away before wasting any time on something that isn't a good fit. But geez, I'm not comfortable on a high speed rail service either. I'm not going to quit though because it's all part of the learning experience. I think I'm just learning I may have a slight aversion to trains...

Octoberfest: Day 16 "Beer Me"

Picture courtesy of www.beerliving.com

I know you guys are upset with me and I don't blame you. If I started a new relationship with someone and then left them hanging for a couple days, I'd be upset too. Just give me a chance to explain. It's not you, it's me. Life just got in the way and I went MIA for a few days, that's all. That doesn't help does it? Makes things worse? Ok, well umm that's the best that I can do. Nobody's perfect. But you want to know what IS perfect? My activity for Day 16. As imaginative as my brain is, I'm marveling I didn't think of this one sooner. What do you get when you cross Octoberfest and beer? Octoberfest beer! Goes along perfectly with doing homework. I stopped by my local Hy-Vee and picked up just one bottle of Octoberfest beer. It was over my lunch hour and I'm sure the lady who rang up my purchases looked at a lean cuisine and a bottle of beer and thought I was having a stressful day. I insisted that she put my beer in a brown paper bag, I mean I didn't want anyone getting the wrong idea. After work I returned to my brown paper bag and readied myself for the taste of Octoberfest. Those Lienenkugel guys sure do know their beer. The barley malts in the Octoberfest beer made for a rich, hearty character while the aromatic hops provided a smooth, well-balanced and drinkable finish. That means nothing really. Alright yes, I took that language from the website. No, I didn't love the Octoberfest beer. But, again as we've discussed throughout the Octoberfest journey, it's not about winning or losing but about playing the game. And at least we are on good terms again. I'm really glad we had this talk.  

Octoberfest: Day 15 "A Day in Paris"

La Mie (I'm not looking)

That title got you all to read this, didn't it? Yes, today I got a taste of Paris...by not ever leaving Des Moines. I'm embarassed to admit the little gem I visited today has been near my neighborhood all this time and I have not discovered it until now: La Mie. Several of you are no doubt nodding in disbelief over why I haven't been there yet. Honestly I don't know because the rumors are true: what a great little place to eat. You walk in and just the smell alone reminds you of Paris. Except there aren't any somewhat nice French people unwilling to understand broken French spoken by Americans who don't really know their language. Just a quick sidenote: did you know that in France, you can order a hamburger steak and they'll serve it to you pretty much raw unless you indicate otherwise? Still not over that experience in college. But rest assured, I didn't order a hamburger steak today and I'm fairly certain they would have cooked it to at least medium well - food safety laws and all. So they have pastries galore, and a pretty extensive breakfast and lunch menu. I opted for a spinach and bacon omelette after my friend Stacy told me they had good bacon. She was right. But did I expect anything less? I mean Iowa has great bacon. The omelette was pretty good - they got a little carried away with the spinach but all in all it was delicious. And the pastries were out of this world good. I thoroughly enjoyed catching up with my friend and her son. Chalk up another one in the win column for Octoberfest. The rest of my day was pretty low-key, catching up on things after so much excitement from the weekend: the great birthday gift that just keeps on giving and the failed sunrise attempt. Yes, I was exhausted. Sorry for the quick post, I wanted to get this up so there was no delay. But as you may have guessed, I'm still catching up on sleep so I'm off to get some zzz's! Until tomorrow - keep on reading! :) 

Octoberfest: Day 14 "Birthday Colors and Pocahontas"

When I was in the junior high band, I had my very first saxophone solo during the Pocahontas "Colors of the Wind" song. I remember being so excited and nervous that I thought I might vom. It was my shining moment, when all eyes would be on me and I would celebrate the glory of nailing the performance, high fiving everyone when it was over, pats on the back, massive applause etc, a bow or two, maybe an encore, who knows. The reality of that moment, however, was that I got so flustered that I rushed the solo and nearly got the rest of the band off track for the entire song. The audience could not singwithallthevoicesofthemountainnorcouldtheypaintwithallthecolorsofthewind because it was over too quickly, before they could attempt the lyrics. Someday I would have a chance to redeem myself.

Not sunny

Thirty-one years ago today, my journey began. I was brought into a world full of beauty, promise, wonder, opportunities and more. I try to live my life to the best of my ability, working hard, determined to achieve goals I set and to NEVER settle for anything but the best for myself. Sometimes (ok more often than not) I get too many balls in the air, I stress myself out by working too much, too hard, and the pace is too fast to keep up with. Full-time work, freelance work, graduate school, home improvement projects, and then a crazy idea to do a new activity every day for 31 days AND BLOG ABOUT IT? Phew. I'm tired just typing that. We are all guilty of being too busy to enjoy the simple pleasures and beauty that life has to offer. Everyone says we should slow down, take a deep breath and not sweat the small stuff. Easier said than done. When it came time for me to choose an activity for my actual birthday, it seemed like an impossible task. Nothing could be good enough or exciting enough for the actual day right? Wrong. The activity I chose for today is perfect. Watching the sunrise: simple, peaceful, perfect. I decided to drag my parents along to Lake Red Rock where there is a lookout point and we could watch the sun rise. I expected to see the sun peek out over the horizon, rays sprayed every which way, I would see all of the colors of the wind, the sun, the sky, everything. No rushing this time. Watching, observing, feeling.

Mother Nature had other plans because it rained all morning. We drove to the Lake, hoping there would be a break in the rain, the sun could push through the clouds and give us the sight we were hoping to see. No such luck. But you know what, life is never perfect and that's ok. I think I'm guilty of this more than anybody because I have such an expectation of having and doing things a specific way - everything has to be just right. And more often than not, things never work out the way I expect them to but they work out the way they're supposed to. It was the perfect example of learning to make lemonade out of lemons or dance in the rain or in the case of the picture - looking bewildered in the rain. Keeping that in mind is a hard lesson. But it's so necessary. Looking back, the way the morning played out was perfect. We drove to the lake, couldn't find the lookout point, got scared driving over the bridge with the rain, wind and water below. Laughed hysterically and drove back home. That's typical of every outing in my life: adventurous, unpredictable and hilarious. It really was the perfect way to start my birthday.



Ready...

The rest of the day was perfect as well. I did what I do best and I shopped for awhile :) Had a wonderful massage, and then a great dinner with my family. Blew out birthday candles with my 3-year-old niece who says, "Happy Birthday Sonnie" (that's what she calls me). Who wouldn't love that? My other niece made me a card by hand, I had so many nice birthday messages from friends and I truly felt overwhelmingly loved and supported which is really an incredible feeling. It's my goal to count my blessings and feel that loved every day of the year and not just my birthday. As for not seeing the sunrise, no big deal. There's always an opportunity for an encore.


Set...

Blow!

Octoberfest: Day 13 "Diabetic Socks"

The idea of getting up to work out with Abe Saturday morning at 6 AM was not met with much enthusiasm. Given my hectic schedule and class times, I had no choice. It's a good thing I did however because my two best friends from the gym, Abe and Andrea, surprised me with probably the best birthday present from my entire adult life (the Strawberry Shortcake cake as a kid still wins, nothing can top that). 6 am workout? Best decision ever! As I'm looking through the items in the bag (which I'm going to highlight below, don't you worry), Abe said to me "where do you think we got all this stuff?" And I said, "Walgreens?" He replied, "no of course not, we wouldn't spend that much money on you, the Dollar Store!" Even more perfect. LOL. Without further adieu, I bring to you, the best birthday present EVER:

Princess Crown and Glowing Wand

Heiress (not kidding)

As the Heiress to the Stiver family fortune (as I'm sometimes referred to as), it's only natural that I would need a princess crown, complete with fuzz and plastic jewels. And when I'm giving orders to the lower class members of my household (i.e. my dog Riley), I will do so with the glowing wand. Nevermind that it is no longer glowing. When I tried this out on my dog I said "Riley go get my shoes," she looked at me and then dropped her head back between her paws to continue snoozing. That's something to work on. The wand will help, I'm sure.



Writing letters (not sure)

Manuscript Tablet and Fashion Pen
As a writer, it's important for me to know words. Knowing how to write letters is really secondary. Not anymore. Now I have my own manuscript tablet to practice writing letters again. The tablet is recommended for preschool through 2nd grade so it's perfect. Maybe I'll finally know the proper direction of an N since I have to write so many in my own name. As for the fashion pen? Duh, of course I would have a fashion pen as opposed to a regular pen. The pen is connected to a bracelet of jewels (not real ones) so it doubles as an accessory. I mean can you say Genius?!

Precautions (not pregnant)

Pregnancy Test, Warming Touch Jelly and Feminine Wipes
I really appreciate how optimistic Abe and Andrea are when it comes to my dating life. They decided to look out for me by supplying me with an uber effective pregnancy test. As a matter of fact, this Dollar Store favorite claims to be over 99% accurate and you can compare it to e.p.t. (although that has not been approved by the FDA) At just a dollar a piece, I'm thinking people could really stock up on these - why buy them elsewhere when you can buy them at the Dollar Store? Again, it's a no brainer. As for the warming touch jelly - it's tagline is "intimacy is in the touch" - well of course it is. I can always appreciate a creative tagline when I see one. The feminine wipes will be perfect for those times when I don't have access to a shower and can just use those as ....I'M KIDDING! They're not big enough.

Diabetic socks (not regular socks)

Diabetic Socks and Autumn Mix Candy
Now we have my personal favorite out of the entire bag. When you think of things that go together perfectly you think of peanut butter and jelly, wine and cheese, Sonny and Cher...I've got one to add and it's brilliant: diabetic socks and autumn mix candy. Makes sense right? I know you may be wondering what makes a pair of socks diabetic socks and I'm glad you asked that because I have no idea. I was also wondering that myself. Who knew they made such a thing? And they are a size 9-11 which will be nice and roomy for my size 7 feet. As for the candy, I absolutely love candy corn and this bag is full of it. Do my friends know me or what? I cannot wait to wear these socks. I plan on wearing them and eating the candy at the same time - but I'm saving it for a special occasion.

Me (blowing out candle, not working)

Birthday Wishes Book
Last but not least, we have a birthday wishes book. I've always wanted a birthday wishes book. It's like all my dreams coming true with one gift - totally amazeballs. Let me just read you a passage from the book, really gets to the heart of the message:
"I wish you frosting-filled days, cookies with glaze, marshmallow moments, and dreams that come true. I wish you cotton candy fun and a jelly bean sun under a rainbow that celebrates you!"
No words.


A VERY special thanks to Abe and Andrea for the hilariously thoughtful birthday present which gave me more than enough great material for this blog post! Because I had such a great way to start my day, I decided to pay it forward for my Octoberfest activity on Saturday by paying for the person's coffee behind me at Starbucks. I'm sure that it made that person's day to find out their coffee had been paid for. But I guarantee they didn't feel nearly as special as I did upon getting an entire bag of goodies from the dollar store. Diabetic socks? You betcha!

Octoberfest: Day 12 "Betty Focker"

The professionals (not bad)

Betty Crocker, I am not. I'm more like a Betty Focker when it comes to baking. Always trying to please Robert DeNiro but never quite measuring up. If you haven't seen Meet the Parents and don't know who the Fockers are, you need more help than this blog can provide. Last year I brought birthday treats to work six months after my actual birthday. True story. So this year, I knew that Octoberfest would hold me to getting my birthday treats delivered somewhat on time, albeit a little early. I know that scotcheroos (mmmm...scotcheroos) are always a hit but for the purpose of fulfilling my "new activity each day" promise to Octoberfest, I decided to try a new recipe. Here's the thing about recipes. When people tell you that a recipe calls for minimal ingredients, they are almost always lying. I know normal people just have a kitchen stocked full of items for baking like vanilla, baking soda or powder (not quite sure of the difference), an assortment of nuts, and 85 different kinds of sugar. Betty Focker does not. Betty Focker has a vanilla candle and a block of sugar that is so hard it should probably be in a horse barn somewhere. So I chose an easy recipe: chocolate peanut butter brownie cups. The best part was it really only called for four ingredients: brownie mix, peanut butter, semi-sweet chocolate chips, and peanut butter chips. Miraculously I had two of the four ingredients already so I was in business. I read the first part of the recipe which says "normally I make my brownies from scratch," yeah I'm going to gloss right over that. I don't make anything from scratch unless it's paper. For the most part the recipe was pretty simple. You just threw everything together in a bowl, mix it up, spoon into cupcake papers and bake. So far so good. The problem is that I always underestimate on time. Literally with everything. So while the box says 13-15 minutes to bake, I think "oh this should only take like 9 minutes right?" More like 25 minutes. And that's one pan's worth. And I doubled the recipe. Uggggg!!! See this is why baking is not my forte. I think it has something to do with my patience. Or lack of patience I should say. So the baking part felt like it literally took forever. Once they were baked, you tap the spoon on the center to make a little scoop, drizzle some melted peanut butter sprinkled some chips and voila! They were done! Dare I say the recipe was easy?? The true test would obviously be when people tasted them but the actual baking process went smoothly! How about that?! Then I realized I left the oven on an hour after I was done baking and Betty Focker was back. Hey, at least it wasn't like the last time I accidentally left the oven on....for an entire day...when I wasn't home... Good thing I made myself sign that waiver before I started tonight.

Mine (not perfect)

So baking isn't my thing. I'm admitting that. And I'm ok with it. But this could hinder my dating process given the fastest way to a man's heart is through his stomach. I'm guessing that's NOT through some bout with food poisoning either. Cuh-rap. I hope whatever guy I end up with likes easy mac and scotcheroos because aside from the recipe I just completed, those are my two specialties. And maybe scrambled eggs on a good day. Oh shoot, I'm forgetting about homemade pizza. I am a MASTER of that. Anyway, you get the idea...time to hang up the wrinkled and torn apron, Betty Focker is done baking for the day.

UPDATE: The birthday treats were a hit. I'm still not giving up my day job.

UPDATE #2: I was feeling pretty good about my birthday treats until my coworker decided to show me up and trump my treats with alcohol. We share the same birthday and he chose to undercut my attempt at winning. Alcohol vs. chocolate treats? No brainer. That jerk. :)

Octoberfest: Day 11 "Body Thump"

Body Pump (not my class)

Must. Write. Blog. Before I lose the ability to move any limb (heavy sigh). Well my activity tonight was very exhausting. I tried a new workout class or as its more commonly called "had my butt handed to me." You would think that after working with a personal trainer the last 10 months I would be used to this type of abuse. I'm used to Abe's verbal and emotional abuse but physical not so much. I'm kidding...on all accounts :) A new friend asked me if I had ever tried the Body Pump class at Aspen. I hadn't yet which meant it would be perfect for Octoberfest. Holy shizballs. This class was hard and awesome at the same time. You work one muscle group for the duration of an entire song and then you move to the next major muscle group. The reps are a combination of slow, fast, medium, etc. We worked quads, hamstrings, calves, back, abs, biceps, triceps, shoulders, etc. All in all, the instructor said you do 800 reps total for the entire hour. EIGHT HUNDRED REPS??!! Yes, 800. Wow. I don't think we even get close to 100 reps during my training session. But that's my fault because I'm usually talking (sharp intake of breath) or laughing. One of the two. I think the true test of a good workout is when you're done and your arms are still somewhat shaking and/or wobbly. LOL. The kind of torment we put our bodies through, I swear. Body Pump? Body Thump is more like it. I will definitely have to take this class again. If I can get out of bed tomorrow, that is. 

Even our bodies can get into ruts if we do the same repetitive things over and over. What I really liked hearing about this class was that each instructor does a different workout compared to another. And if I kept going to the same instructor, they change their workouts every few weeks. This is exciting to me because on the days I'm not meeting with Abe, my workouts can get a little stale. And aren't nearly as funny. But that's what happens when I'm not working out with a comedian. J'esljt slkjeious quieotpp ;leeeooa. Sorry, post-workout rigamortis is setting in and my fingers are not cooperating with the keys. I'm going to wrap this up before my grammar gets anymore embarassing. Tomorrow I'm attempting to conquer the world of aprons and mixing bowls again...until then. 

Octoberfest: Day 10 "Double Dose"

Delicious (not kidding)

Today is your lucky day, you lucky ducks. Lucky you. I'm going to give you TWO pieces of advice. Not one but two. And I'm not even charging you for it. Heckuva deal. Why the good fortune, you may be wondering? Because I'm simply in a giving spirit - especially the closer I get to my actual birthday. Which is Sunday. And I would accept a singing telegram from any one of you. I'm just throwing that out there in case you were still looking for a good gift idea. I digress. So today's Octoberfest activity was a double dose of fun. For lunch I decided to try a new restaurant in honor of not only Octoberfest but also my friend Hannah's birthday. We strolled on over to the East Village and decided to try Lucca - a small bistro off of Locust Street next to Jimmy Johns. The atmosphere was very pleasant, not overly crowded, not too noisy just simple and modern. You order at the counter and then choose a table to sit at. My only requirement was that I had to choose something I either haven't tried or wouldn't normally choose. I went with the pastrami sandwich with a greek salad. I do love greek salads so one out of two fit my requirement. The sandwich was divine. The bread alone was to die for. Probably some of the freshest softest foccacia bread I've ever had. The greek salad was definitely in my top 3 favorite greek salads in Des Moines. It was so good that I took a picture to share, of course. Hannah thorougly enjoyed her sandwich as well. We gave the place two thumbs up for lunch. I'm told that dinner is quite a bit pricier but for our lunch today it was under $10. Not bad for a splurge when it comes to lunch. It was more like a sit-down restaurant but with the convenience of a more fast-food type deli. I highly recommend going to Lucca and we plan to make a return trip back sometime soon.

Dazzling (not dragon)

After work, I met up with my friend Karla for a much needed pedicure. When I say much needed I mean the nails on my toes resembled dragon claws. You know you need a pedicure when you're scratching your own self. Unacceptable. Well here's the other piece of advice: Wednesdays are apparently the "ladies night" of pedicures. We thought we could just pop into any joint for two walk-in pedicures. We thought wrong. After searching East Village high and low, we called a couple joints on Ingersoll that were questionable, a few down Fleur that were booked, until finally we found a place down in the Kaleidoscope at the Hub. Ahh this brings back memories of when I worked for Principal down there on the 1st floor, right next to Burger King, I'd get a pack of cini-minis and walk back to work until the day I almost got ran over by a lady driving a Rascal at a ridiculously high speed. She didn't even honk, she could have just mowed me down. I'm certain she didn't have a license and was probably not carrying insurance either. I attract those kind of hit and run type drivers. Those were the good ol' days. So we walked into Cali Nails & Tanning to find that they stayed open just to accommodate us. I don't suppose they get much business because once regular office hours are over, everyone leaves that area. The people there were so friendly, we were the only ones so they took their time making sure we had an enjoyable experience. It's refreshing to get that kind of customer service. In a world that is always in a hurry, it was nice to just slow down and have someone really treat us right. And to top things off, the lady who was working on my feet said that I had really nice, soft feet that hardly needed any work. Well how about that? Guess they weren't dragon claws after all. Hey, since the hand modeling gig is out, maybe I should change my dream to a foot modeling career. I mean let's be honest, being blessed with great feet has nothing to do with luck, am I right?

I'm signing off early tonight - tomorrow's activity requires all of my limited strength so I'm resting up...until then! 

Octoberfest: Day 9 "DIY Decoupage Phase 1"

I have a confession: I'm selfish. You see, I want you all to like my blog so much that I'm posting things that are enjoyable to read. But I want more for you - I want you to actually learn something from this. So for tonight's activity, I started a DIY project at home that will actually have 3-4 different phases. Tonight was the getting started part. Time for another confession. Remember that time that Madonna came out with the book Truth or Dare in which she confessed everything you never wanted to know about her and her private life? Yeah this is nothing like that. The confession is that I'm a hoarder. Thankfully, I'm also guilty of exaggerating at times. So while I'm not at the TLC Hoarders: Buried Alive status YET (I mean how does ANYone get to that point?), I recognize that I do have a bit of a problem. Admitting it is the first step, right? What exactly do I hoard, you ask? I'm glad you asked that because I'm going to tell you. I hoard magazines. That's not so bad right? Except that my parents still have a wall in the upstairs bedroom that is adorned with dozens of pictures of Nick and Sharon from the Young & the Restless. Yes, I was obsessed. No I haven't outgrown it. So I watch soap operas. I mean there are worse things...

Decoupage Tables (not collector magazines here)

Back to the hoarding. I just can't get rid of magazines. Part of me says I'll read them eventually. And then the other part just keeps adding to the pile knowing full well I'm never getting to it anytime soon. But the thing is that I view some magazines as coffee table books and collector items that I just can't part with. However, then I start saying that EVERY magazine is a collector item and now you see why I have a problem. Thankfully, I also have a very artistic solution to this problem. I'm going to take my beloved magazines and cut them up (gasp!), apply them to the surface of a table, glue and then varnish. So my DIY project is to decoupage a table with magazine clippings. The finished project should look something like this picture. Then I can view the best part of those magazines as part of a functional display table. And to take the idea one step further, I can take the published magazine article I just did for dsm Magazine, "Women Who Wine," and personalize the table!

If you guys want to follow along, we're going to break out the steps in separate blogs. Tonight what I did was go through all of my old magazines that I'm keeping and I tore out the pages that I want to use for the tables. I have attached a picture of the tables starting bare so you can see how they progress throughout the project. At various times of the month, I will be coming back to this project and moving forward with the next step. If you are impatient and want to jump ahead and tackle the project in its entirety, here is a great article on how to decoupage furniture. So for this post you get humor AND a DIY project idea! See, sometimes it pays to be selfish.

Table (not done)

Octoberfest: Day 8 "Great Expectations"

It's normal to have expectations. You get excited by something, you enjoy it and you want more of it. Then you start expecting it to be good every time. Kind of like a meat and potato burrito from Taco John's. But I'm here to forewarn you about having expectations. It's not good. It's better to set the bar low and then be pleasantly surprised when something is better than you were thinking it would be. That something, of course is my blog. I promised you guys exciting stuff this week for Octoberfest and I intend to make good on that promise. It's just your definition of exciting might be a little different than mine. Due to the unfortunate Marathon Monday I had to begin my week, it wasn't possible for me to do an activity for Octoberfest after work. So I had to start my day off with an activity of sorts - I took a different route to work. Now if you're anything like me, you're always rushing to get to work. That sounds terrible, don't be like me LOL. The problem is that I'm not a morning person, so I get up with just enough time to get ready and just enough time to get to work. I was very skeptical about the new route to work. Instead of going down 235 where the traffic moves fast, I chose to drive down Hickman where cars are slower and there are traffic lights. After the initial anxiety over getting to work on time wore off, I actually enjoyed the different scenery. One of the things I love about October (besides the obvious birthday duh!), is that fall produces some of the most beautifully colored leaves. I drove down Hickman winding down around Broadlawns, the sun was coming over the trees and it really made those leaves look like a firestorm of oranges and reds. The extremely surprising thing about the new route is that not only did I make it to work on time but I was actually early! Ah-mazing! I never would have guessed that route was just as quick as taking the freeway.


Great Expectations (not read)

Taking a different route can give you a perspective you wouldn't normally experience by going the same way every day. It opens your eyes to a view that can be new and wonderful and unexpected. I, of course, live my life by taking the road less traveled often. And quite literally today it beat my expectations.

One more thing before I let you guys go. I told my friend (and personal trainer) Abe about my blog which he started reading. And by reading I mean that he's probably looking at the pictures only and scanning the rest. But because he's been reading my blog, he noticed that I shockingly left him out of the blog post from Friday night. And I'm in trouble. He used very hateful language with me (he actually said the words, "I hate you for not including me.") so I promised him that I would make it right by issuing a revised update to Friday's post. So here goes, yes I went to sushi with Abe Friday night. His company was very enjoyable except for when he told me how he loves long walks on the beach (weird), he craves drama in his life and he despises football. Call me crazy but my expectation (here I go again with the expectation) would be that guys love football. Then again Abe is... one of a kind. So he told me I was a horrible date (because I was late) and then made me split the check. And I'm the horrible date? To top everything off, he ordered edamame and then said I should have known it looked like peas? Overall the company at dinner met none of my expectations but was interesting nontheless...

    

Octoberfest is on hiatus

Just kidding, I fell asleep writing last night, will be back tonight with TWO new updates!

Octoberfest: Day 7 "Whole Lotta Confusion"

Cupcakes (not on the diet)

Van Halen got me prepared for tonight's activity; I'm Jumping for joy. Super excited...are you ready for this? I stopped by the new Whole Foods grocery store! (crickets chirping) What's the matter? Not impressed? Well I can't jump off a mountain or anything super adventurous, it's Sunday. So I drove over to Des Moines' latest attempt at being seen as a "real city." I walked in and noticed that the store is much smaller than I was envisioning. Nontheless, I grabbed a cart and tooled myself around the store, looking at everything and taking in the items they had to offer. Admittedly, I didn't know what I was getting into before I stepped foot into this store. I should have done my research. I knew that their claim to fame was organic but what I didn't realize was that they wouldn't carry any of the brands on my list LOL. I approached one of the workers (who, by the way was pretty attractive), did my very best imitation of a "lost shopper," batted the ol' eyelashes and said "umm, excuse me, where are the Anderson Erickson items?" And he looked at me, offended, and said, "we don't carry that brand here. It's all organic stuff." Ohh.....so THAT'S why I can't find anything! My shopping excursion ended quickly after that - but not before I stopped at the bakery to witness probably some of the most amazing cupcakes I've ever laid eyes on. And took a picture for you guys. As I was walking myself out, I noticed a couple of other attractive guys (and tried justifying another return trip based on that fact alone, but I couldn't. Unless I have nothing better to do than shop for groceries on a Sunday afternoon and not actually buy any groceries). Strangely enough the shaggy haired, tie-dyed adorned cutie was looking at hemp chips - makes sense. Wait a minute, WHAT?! Chips made out of hemp? This place is way out of my league. I gotta go home, to Hy-Vee, that's my grocery store. I know where everything is located, I know what everything is, and I can always expect a smile (finish it with me...in every aisle).

You win some and you lose some. I took a chance and visited a place well out of my comfort zone and I came up empty handed. BUT, the important part is that I tried. I expanded my horizon of grocery staples for just a moment and then realized I would need to do some more homework before attempting the Whole Foods again. Oh well...

I didn't promise that every Octoberfest event would result in winning. Sometimes the losses are just as important and eye opening. What's that? You want your money back on reading this? Sorry, I don't issue refunds. Stick with me, lots of exciting things planned for this week!