My daughter offered a few locations that didn’t have parking restrictions, but after driving around and around, realized those locations are snatched quickly, and wasn’t a lucky recipient. Since I was waiting for a friend to arrive, I thought, no worries, I’ll park and set an alarm.

The weather forecast for the weekend wasn’t looking so good. Clouds and rain were headed our way. By the time we arrived at the event it was barely spitting any moisture, hoping to dodge getting wet. As fifty-five happy and excited rooftop goers boarded the private coach, it was announced the first stop on the tour would be an indoor/outdoor rooftop experience. Perfect! Somewhere that would solve any rain issue. It seemed like we were on the bus forever, as over thirty minutes passed before we arrived. All fifty-five wine enthusiasts piled out of the bus, then loaded by small groups using one elevator that took us to an inside, charming bar. Ummm…..unfortunately, the rooftop wasn’t open for the tour. Rats.

It’s a family joke that my daughter is the queen of card games. Sometimes, no….most times, when she’s explaining the crazy rules, you think for certain they’ve been made up. She claims otherwise, and has been taught by other friends. Hannah is rarely at a family gathering without a deck of cards. She actually started a collection.

I hadn’t heard of anyone attending this event before, and didn’t really know what to expect. With my daughter recently moving to Milwaukee, I thought based on the map she might be close to the park hosting the festival. As luck would have it, she was a ten-minute walk to the beautiful Veteran’s Park. I was coming with a friend from another direction, but we made plans to meet.

A few weeks ago people around the world celebrated St. Patrick’s Day. Coincidently, a couple of friends and I had a day planned in the city. We knew the traffic and the people celebrating would be crazy, on the “everything green and shamrock” holiday.

Recently, I came back from an extended business trip that was half way around the world, where the time difference was fourteen hours. Once I returned home, I anticipated a few days of being jet lagged, not only from the time difference but the long airline flight as well.

I thought I made an impact on most of them, well, that’s what I was hoping for. The night before I traveled home my team panicked when I started saying my good-byes. They thought I was staying one more day. I was only there a few hours that evening since I had to finish packing before my early morning flight.

Since we were only in Hong Kong for forty-eight hours, my friend and I decided eating dim sum was a must, but since our first evening had been occupied by the laser light show and getting to and from the heart of the city, we would have to somehow fit dim sum in on day two.

Last weekend I had the opportunity to visit Hong Kong. Once the plane landed, there was shy of forty-eight hours before the return flight. My friend and I had a lot of ground to cover, since I was confident I wouldn’t be returning any time soon, and wanted to make the most of the stay.

Since I’m working the overnight shift, it was February 13th when I brought the chocolates to the office. The hotel is close enough of a walk to and from the office each day, and this particular night the streets were mayhem. Traffic was crazy and almost got hit by a van while crossing the street. My colleague and I were perplexed at the amount of cars and people in the city, on what we thought was a random Tuesday night.

I’ve loved football since I was a little girl and would watch the games together with my Dad. This past weekend happened to be the Super Bowl, which is something I never miss. Even if I’m invited to a party, I’m usually the girl that’s focused on every play of the game while hootin’ and a hollerin’ at the TV. When I realized I was going to be out of the country for this year’s event, I assumed I wouldn’t have any trouble finding a place to watch the game.

Recently, while traveling for business half way around the world to another land and culture, I wanted to trust things would go smoothly. However, when they didn’t, I tried not to panic. I traveled to Manila, Philippines last fall so I felt comfortable to return. I knew the area well, was staying at the same hotel and felt confident using the currency. Last fall, the hotel was able to exchange my US dollars for Philippine pesos and planned to do the same this time around.

Last week, a friend had mentioned an upcoming class she would be taking on crystals in the area and I immediately looked into signing up. After reading about the contents and outcomes, I signed up as well. The name alone intrigued me, Crystal Grid. It was about setting intentions for the New Year.

This past weekend I spent in the city celebrating with four of my girlfriends. We had plans that kept us busy doing one thing or another. The weather was unseasonably cold, which made it a bit difficult to move about the city with ease.

As old and new friends gathered together, the Jingle Babes, as we named our group, headed out by trolley into the brightly lit city sky. People were gathered all around and everyone was in the Christmas spirit. We spent the next four hours exploring the city in all its colorful splendor.

Earlier in October, my friend reached out to me to see if I would be interested in seeing a Food Network personality we both follow. The evening would be complete with a book signing and then a couple hours of listening to her story and answering questions. Even though it was almost ninety minutes away and on a weeknight, I was excited to go.

As part of a recent women’s retreat, we were asked to gather into a circle at the beginning of the day. Chairs were already in place, as each woman arrived and claimed her temporary spot. It’s always interesting to watch the dynamics of personalities as the group of strangers come together.

This past weekend, I went away with my bestie and her husband to Door County, Wisconsin for a long, overdue get-away. My friend and I had planned the weekend for months and had signed up for a “Cultivating Mindfulness” retreat.