But we also celebrated Mother’s Day! My mom didn’t want to go to dinner, but also said, “I am not cleaning, cooking, or doing a single dish.” So we got takeout from Brown’s Chicken and used disposable everything. (Sorry, Mother Nature.)
My favorite part of this lovely afternoon is that it all came together in my mind on the drive to her house. I had picked up the napkins and plates at a Merchandise Mart sample sale in March, scored some kick-ass tulips in her favorite colors at Jewel after I dropped Andy off at his aunt’s house, and then stopped at Target for the vase on the way to her house. I snuck into the house and decorated the table before she even knew I was there.
The one thing that I *did* plan ahead was the Halloween cake from The Sugar Syndicate. My mother had been craving the red velvet cake served at our wedding. Although my request for a Halloween Mother’s Day Cake was met with suspicion from the baker, it thrilled my mother to the core.
I’m so happy that we had one last chance to enjoy a cake from the Sugar Syndicate before they closed for business.
I was also lucky enough to be chosen by my employer to attend the American Society for Training & Development's Annual Conference here in Chicago in May. The conference was eye-opening for me, as I tend to think of my work as a job, not a "career" or a "field." But being around so many people doing the same thing and seeing the cool things on the marketplace was the first time that I've ever felt part of a "group" since college. So naturally I used the opportunity to make a fool of myself and run from kiosk to kiosk for iPad raffle drawings while wearing this t-shirt in an attempt to win a free HP Mini Book, which I totally would have sold to buy an iPad.
At the raffle for $5,000, my co-worker said, "I hope that you win after you've been trying so hard to win stuff all week." I think that means he thought that I am a tool.
