Hi There,
After a self imposed exile to catch up on family time and work from when I was away, I'm back. I really do love all the traveling I do with work, but it does allow work to pile up!
Unfortunately although I vowed I would take photos of our booth at this trade show, with all the business and hub-bub, I did the predictable and forgot and only remembered when I was in the car on the way to the airport to go to the Philly gift show. Ugh. One of these times I'll get it right and remember to take pictures! In the meantime, I did promise you some photos of the new booth, so I'll direct you over to Robin's blog. She posted a few photos of it.
With the exception of the worst cab ride I have had in my entire life, the show in Philly went really well. So here's what happened...I left CHA at noon on the last day to get my flight to Philly. I arrived on the east coast at 11:45 at night. There was no shuttle, so I asked a cab driver if she knew where 'x' hotel was and if she could take me to it. She said yes, so I got in the cab. It was about a 30 minute drive to the exit near the hotel. But once we got off the freeway, I noticed she was slowing down at every intersection. (In some of them she even stopped and looked one way then another, right in the center of the intersection) So I began to get the idea that she didn't know where the heck she was going. So I ask, do you want the address. She says sure. So I dig around in my bag and find it, and relay it to her. She grunts and continues driving. I tell her that I know it's right by the mall 'cause my boss told me that we'd be within walking distance to it. So she turns around to go closer to the mall. I read her the address again and ask her if she has a cell phone so that we can call the hotel to get directions as I have the phone number. She says no. I then ask if we can radio her dispatch to get directions. She says no. I then ask if she can type the address into her GPS system which I can see on her dashboard. She says she doesn't know how to use it. So finally I take out my cell phone. I tell her that I didn't want to use it as I"m from Canada and I don't have a USA plan, so I will be paying big money for an international call. So I phone the hotel and tell the front desk man that my cab driver can't find the hotel, can he please give her directions. Then I hand the phone to her. Well...apparently she didn't know this area at all so she kept him on the phone the whole time that she was driving to the hotel so that he could walk her step-by-step through the directions. I was sooo mad. She was on the phone for 10 minutes. ugh. OK, but here's the kicker. I get to the hotel and go to give her my credit card and she says:
'I don't take credit cards mam.'
I'm like 'excuse me?'
'No mam, i don't take cards.'
'What do you mean you don't take credit cards?, you have the logos for the cards on your window and there is a card swiper and instructions inside the cab for how to pay with one.'
'Well, i don't take cards. I would have told you if you asked.'
I said 'I didn't think I had to ask. It was advertised on your cab'.
I reluctantly went into my purse and got out some of my cash to pay her. But it was sooo frustrating as it was supposed to go on the company credit card. grrrr. Needless to say, I did not use that cab company for the return trip to the airport.
Once home I had four days to prepare for a big party for my hubby as he celebrated his 40th birthday on Feb 9th. We had a rather large group of family and friends over to eat, watch the Canuck game on TV and play games. It was so much fun and a great opportunity to celebrate Rick, who never likes attention on himself. Love that man so much and am looking forward to what the coming year has in store for him (and me!)
Don't know if any of you still watch American Idol, but I was excited to see the competition finally kick into gear as the real singers began to preform last night. Although sometimes the auditions are fun to watch, my favorite part of the show begins when the people who can sign begin to show their stuff. It's funny because I love watching the show, yet as a Canadian I can't vote. Some people don't understand how I can enjoy watching without the ability to participate in the voting process, but for me it's just a fun talent competition and even though I get frustrated when good people get voted off before I think they should be, I still watch every week and enjoy it. If you're a fan of reality, it's a really great month as Survivor, American Idol, Apprentice and Amazing Race are all back on. Oh yeah, you know what I"m watching, lol!
I think that's about it for now. I'll be back to updating regularly now that I'm home and back into the swing of things. Thanks to all of you who check in regularly.
1) Penelope Cruz. Although I wish the color on this dress had been a bit more striking and not so pale, I loved this dress. It screams vintage Hollywood glamor and all the detail just blows me away. 
2) Nicole Kidman.
3) Reese Witherspoon. This girl has had a rough year, but is looking like a million bucks here. This is probably my favorite dress of the whole night. Classic yet unexpected with the cascading ruffles. 
