No Lake Geneva trip...

As I awoke from my slumber this morning, I discovered that the little weatherman was right.  DRAT!  The 50% chance of rain was 100% accurate this morning.  Rainy and drizzly all morning put the kabotch-keys to my fun day at the lake.  I must confess this broke my little vacationing heart because I have tried for 2 days to get to the lake...and both days have been rainy and chilly.  *Sigh*  I'm not complaining about the weather because I remember January!!!  And let's face it, I prefer "chilly" to humid.

In lieu of going to the lake, I poured myself a second and third (please don't judge!) cup of coffee.  I topped off my mug with French Vanilla Coconut Milk Coffee Creamer.

You see, I had 2 big projects on my vacation to do list.  I actually set the bar kind of low because I usually set a goal-per-day.  

My bar setting low projects were...  
Clean out Rosie.  My car gets neglected.  I'm not even going to try to sugar coat this and label my sweet Rosie as "lived in" - A) I do not live in her and B) she's just a hot mess.  And it's not like I'm driving the FILTH-MOBILE...but she was in need of some interior loving.  I grabbed my Mrs. Meyers' Clean Day Lilac cleaning spray, a roll of paper towel, and a bottle of glass cleaner and set off to cleaning out Rosie.  Thirty minutes later, she looked & smelled fantastic.

My 2nd project took some time.  I went through and tried on every single skirt and dress in my closet.  I had read a PIN that said, "Take all the garments out of your closet.  If you do not love the article of clothing, donate it!  If you would not purchase the article of clothing, donate it!"  These two tips helped me purge several items.  I ended up cleaning out and donating 24 tops / sweaters, 18 skirts, 6 dresses, 2 pairs of capris, 3 pairs of pants, 3 pairs of shoes, and 2 jacket / coats.  I piled all the items in a large laundry basket and donated them to the soon-to-be-opened Salvation Army Store by Cherryvale Mall.  I had considered pricing all these items and placing them in Trudy's garage sale, but I wanted them out of my apartment TODAY!!!!

While I was working on these two projects, I patiently awaited word if my lake-going friend was feeling better and able to go on an adventure with me.  After finishing these projects and getting groceries, she informed me that she still wasn't feeling so hot and an adventure was not to be had.  

Too say I'm bummed might be an understatement as this particular friend is going to be moving to Montana next Saturday.  Our shenanigan moments are numbered...and the clock is tick-tick-ticking by quickly.  I'm hoping we are able to do something fabulous this upcoming week before we are forced to part ways.

Last night - I digress - we went to the Rockford City Market where we did enjoy white chocolate mochas.  Regular white chocolate mochas at 7 p.m.  As the Javamania guy was making our drinks, I said to the other mocha-consumer (Rhonda), "You do realize we did NOT say decaf?"  Our other 2 com padres nervous laughed.  They know.  They know that the SHOW is about to begin.  The rest of the market goers should've been equally nervous and full of that scared kind of laughter...you know what I'm talking about, right?  The laughter that bubbles up when you aren't sure if you should be delighted or slightly fearful.  

After mochas - which shout out to Javamania, they were DEEEELISH and totally gluten-free - we used my handy-dandy Find Me Gluten-Free app to discover that a cute little Italian place downtown, Capris, has gluten-free options.  {Just a note - Italian places with gluten-free items do make my little heart go pitter-patter...in a nervous sort of way...just think...someone mixes us and gives us gluten.  For those of you who don't know -- it causes my body to pretty much stop functioning and I spend days - yes, DAYS, in bed unable to function.  It ain't pretty.  At the very least, it gives me a migraine.  Ick!}  Capris was amazing.  Our host was super cute and we made his night when we told him he looked like some famous dude from some famous show - which I don't watch but the other gals are fans. He said, "I've been told I look like that guy but no one has ever asked for my picture."  

We ate way too much and we laughed way too loudly.  This just means that our evening at Capris was amazing and our time was spent in good company.

We, then, attempted to go to the movie in the park which we realized had been moved from the park to the MetroCenter.  {I refuse to call it by its new name.  Same with the Sears Tower. I'm not calling it by its new name.}  Due to the Capris restaurant shenanigans, we were 45 minutes late to the movie so we skipped heading to the MetroCenter and went to a Walgreens' Red Box and rented the movie, Big Hero 6.  What a cute movie.  

The movie ended at circa midnight and we parted ways.  The girls were nervous about sending me out on to the roads after the mocha-at-7 consumption...but I'm happy to say I arrived at home and was able to fall asleep at 1ish.  Not too bad for drinking a large mocha at 7 p.m.  I half-expected to be up until sunrise.  {I don't drink regular coffee or anything caffeinated after 12'noon.  It's my personal policy.  It's for the best.  I've seen me hopped up on an accidental caffeination.  It's not pretty.  It's funny for the other people in my party...but for me, it's not soo much fun.}

Soooo back to my no lake subject...It's ok that I did not manage to get to Lake Geneva this week.  Even after I deduct my 40 hours of vacation time, I will still be left with nearly 3 days of vacation.  There's always time for a mental health Lake Geneva trip between now and September.

Tootles!!!