Into the wild blue.

Who bites at posting consistently? I do, I do! Oh well. :)

Some fun tidbits to share!

• Finally made it to the doctor and got some antibiotics for the Sickness O' Phlegm and am back to good to go.
  
• Spent a couple of days at home with my parents last week, which was all sorts of relaxing and nice. On Valentine's Day, we went to dinner at Vallarta's (MMM, thanks, Dad!) then watched Survivor and Lost (it was Thursday after all). I found it delightful that, during every commercial break during Lost, my aunt called Mom to ooo and ah about what had just happened. Friday, I lazed about the house while the parents worked to make a living. Giada started acting weird; Grammie came to visit; we had hamburgers for dinner and watched Cast Away (my favorite movie) with surround sound.
  
• Giada has been acting funny since last week. Friday morning, she was fine. A couple of hours later, she started tearing around the house, stopping only to lick her coat every once in a while. I thought she might have accidentally gotten outside and rolled in something or chewed on a plant then had a bad reaction. Grammie suggested I rub her down to clean her coat, which seemed to help for a while but the behavior has continued intermittently. Now she's biting at one of her hind feet so I'm going to take her to the vet on Friday. She won't let me look at her foot long enough to see if anything is wrong, and we need to get her fixed up.
• Have you seen the Dunkin' Doughnuts Lattes commercial with the people singing about confusing coffee names? I find it mildly hilarious that announcer tells you to by lattes from Dunkin' Doughnuts, where you "order in English." Don't be fooled -- no matter where you say it, "latte" is an Italian word, people!
• The weather has been amazing lately, eh? Skies almost as blue and expansive as skies in Ohio. Big, fluffy white clouds that don't move as fast as Ohio clouds but are just as pretty. Driving to Exeter on Thursday, I was literally moved to tears by the beauty and majesty of the Sierra Nevadas that greeted me as I made my way east on 198. (Usually, I turn onto Anderson Rd to head home, but that day I drove down to 65 to take the longer way through town, just to see the view for a little while longer.) Mountains remind me of my place in the world -- I am so small and insignificant in the grand scheme of things, yet God feels it of utmost importance to romance me with the most beautiful sight in my eyes, for no more reason than just to show He loves me intimately.
• Tomorrow is a Super Starbucks Big Whig tour (That's my own name, by the way.) . Traci, my regional director, and Cos, my area vice president (I think, I'm not totally sure of his job title; suffice it to say, he's way up there -- my boss's boss's boss's boss) are touring five stores, including mine, tomorrow. I just found out on Tuesday so I'm a little bit (okay, totally) freaked out. Buuut, my goal is to see this as an exciting opportunity to show off my store -- it's a visit, not a check-up or a test or an obstacle. Traci is great, and it's always good to have face time with important people. Wish me luck!
• For the next two or three weeks, I have Friday and Saturday off, and I'm looking forward to it. No big plans this weekend (take care of Giada, go home to get a table and my computer chair, vacuum) but maybe next weekend. I'd like to make a little trip somewhere, maybe Pismo or Hearst Castle or Monterey Bay Aquarium. And seriously, if anyone around Fresno feels like going with me, please let me know!
• Heads up for Starbucks fans -- next Tuesday, every retail store in North America will close at 530p. At 6p, every store will hold a special training sessions for all of its partners (employees). Starbucks is going through a radical period of adjustment and refocusing, and the training will zone in on making perfect beverages and creating amazing connections with customers. I'm super excited to have this time with my team, and I know that it will be the beginning of better experiences for our customers -- including you!

Well, it's almost time for the season premiere of America's Next Top Model so time to wrap up. After ANTM and some reading, it will be bedtime -- definitely need a good night's sleep tonight! Hope everyone is well; love you all.

Been a long time gone.

Wow, hi, guys. It's been two weeks since the last update, sorry about that. I never got around to posting last week because I've been sick. But let me recap what's been going on.

The gathering at Brad and Jen's house was awesome. I met a really neat young woman named Jen, and we clicked immediately. At the end of the evening, we exchanged phone numbers, but I haven't called her because I've been ill -- don't want to try to make plans I might have to cancel. But later this week, if I'm feeling better, I'll try to connect. My prayers against nerves and to hopefully met a friend were answered; not going to forget about it because of a cold.

Wasn't feeling well Tuesday night so didn't attend the yoga class. Had Wednesday off and started to feel awful; missed the first meeting of the Bible study. Felt disgusting by Wednesday night and ended up calling in sick to work Thursday and Friday. Anyone that knows me knows that is not typical Erica behavior. I'm usually a trooper, but I was too exhausted to get off the couch, much less be perky at work.

Friday night, I finally started to feeling better and made a trip to Target just to get out of the house (be glad you didn't have to look at me; I looked a mess!). Saturday was a productive day -- cleaned the house (dishes and laundry and 409, oh my), listened to a message on dating by Brad, shopped at Borders (five books for under $25 and I had a gift card), read and journaled at Starbucks, and saw Juno in the theatre (wonderful movie). That was the first time I'd ever been to see a movie alone. It was kind of weird, just because I was early (of course) and didn't have anyone to talk to, but I didn't feel as awkward or self-conscious as I expected to. And I'm so glad I went because I loved Juno. It's the kind of movie you want to see again as soon as it's over. What can I say, I'm a sucker for a good story and witty dialogue.

Sunday morning brought church then work. So disappointed that I didn't get to see Eli win the Super Bowl -- woo! I would have been adequately impressed if the Patriots had completed a perfect season (it's an admirable feat), but I'd rather root for the underdog. Work itself went well, but I was exhausted by the end of the night. I couldn't remember feeling that tired for a long time.

Now we're only two days in to this week, and it's already been rough. Even though I felt better over the weekend, I'm still congested and phelgm-y. Breathing is wheezy and labored. Extremely tired, easily fatigued. Monday was a fairly productive day at work. When I finally left the store at 430p, I got in the car, turned the key, and ... nothing happened. Absolutely nothing. Got out of the car, popped the hood, and stared at the engine like I might magically conjure up car knowledge that would give me some insight. No such luck, but the battery did have some ick on it.

Hoping my battery was just dead, I went back inside but no one working at the store had jumper cables. Thankfully, Brooklyn was brave enough to ask the lobby full of people if anyone could help. A guy who had just come in the store to put up a flyer on our community board offered to give me a jump, just like that. This Josh, he restored some of my faith in humanity. After pulling his old Mustang around in front of mine, he jumped the battery and was on his way. I went back in the store to get my purse, and when I come back out ... the car was dead again. (NO!!!) This time, I called another Starbucks, and Casey, another partner, offered to come by on her way to the dinner for Serena (it had been changed from Friday to Monday) and jump my car again (she rocks).

This time, I headed to Wal-mart, praying the whole time just to make it there. Once at Wal-mart, I waited for two hours to have the battery replaced (note to self: learn to install car battery). It was after 8p by the time I got home, and I was dead on my feet. But the car is functional again. I think there was some damage from the cold in Cleveland, but who knows. Yet another reason to revel in a snowless Central Valley.

Today was a good day, all things considered. I had my Store Plan of Action visit with Autumn, and it was really nice to spend time connecting with her, even if my head was foggy. We spent most of the morning in the cafe, surrounded by sixth graders having a "field trip" at my store for scholastic excellence. While it's flattering that they came to our store, it was so distracting. Autumn even commented that it was strange to see me so easily distracted. But all I can do is try, eh. I have a doctor's appointment Thursday afternoon to hopefully get some help with the cold that never ends.

Ups and Downs:
- I haven't seen my parents for a month. Might as well be living in Cleveland (but glad I'm not!).
+ Giada's learned to play Fetch, and it's the cutest thing! It works best with elastic hair bands -- I sit somewhere and toss it; she runs over, picks it up, and carries it back to me like a little dog. She usually drops it and starts to bat it around until I pick it up and throw it again. I'll have to make a video one of these days.
+ I'm growing in my relationship with God, slowly but surely. He's been showing me some awesome, interesting things lately.
+ In an effort to continue organizing my store's backroom, I spent a couple of hours on Monday banging on metro shelving with a rubber hammer to move things around. It actually made me feel better, all that moving around. And now I know how to release anger should I be having a bad day!
+ On Saturday, I'm attending a series of classes at The Well to learn more about the church. Looking forward to meeting more people.

All righty, time to peace out. It's been a boring entry -- really, all that's happened the past two weeks is: Erica hopefully made a new friend! Erica got sick! Erica replaced her car battery! There you have it. Have a great week.