--82 days.

--I'm sleepy. I don't know what's with me lately, but I've gotten sleepy early each night...like, I was so tempted to go to bed around 9:30 tonight. But, I had some things to check up on here...but I think I'll get to bed soon. As I said, I'm sleepy.

--Valentine's Day is always easy when you know how to cook and like to do it, as I do. But, for Valentine's Day, I prefer not to make the same old, same old. It's an evening to try a challenging dish or something new. Last year, I made beef wellington and steamed raw shrimp en pappillote (sp?) with some veggies, and it turned out great. I even made the beef wellington for my parents once. So, I've set a precedent, and now I had to come up with something this year. With the guidance of my favorite Italian chef on TV, Giada De Laurentiis, I had wasted my "new dish" weeks ago. So, I searched all over...this year, I decided to keep it simple, because it's been a rough week or two for me at work, and I've been, as I mentioned, quite tired.

So I picked up some beef tenderloin filets, seared and then broiled them, and whipped up a sour cream and whipping cream based sauce to go over them. That, with rice, was perfect, and more than enough, with no leftovers. Always great in a house that doesn't love leftovers as much as others. :) Gina liked it, so that's all that matters...then, we stumbled upon ol' Giada traveling through Italy on the Food Network, so we watched that and just bummed around. Nice and relaxing, which is good.

--OK then...I'm trying to sort out seating arrangements in my spare time, so that I don't have to figure it all out after RSVPs come back, once invites are sent. Spreadsheets rock, I should mention...it will allow me to cut and paste people around as folks RSVP "no," making sorting out seating a breeze...

--Ah well, that's about it for now...

--83 days.

--Either I'm watching too much "24," or I'm on to something...
So, I'm sitting there at work, trying to bust through as much stuff as possible (three issues trying to get out the door at the same time--wonderful planning), feeling somewhat woozy and just not feeling well, although not nearly bad enough to be in pain or really bad. Just off. I'm sure you've all felt like that at some time. Anyway, so I just chalked it up to the high stress I was under, until I overheard my cubicle neighbor talking on her phone about how her head and stomach were bothering her, but not hurting, and that she felt tired and her eyelids felt heavy. When she got off the phone, we compared symptoms...and they matched. Strange that we'd both be feeling the same way at the same time...even if there's this really, really vicious flu bug going around the office. Pretty brutal too. So we'll see...I took a couple Advils when I got home, just in case...hopefully that will stave anything off. But I definitely do feel tired still, even though I got a good night's sleep. I guess we'll see...

--I'll be going to my first b e e f plant next week, apparently. Cows, apparently, are the worst. So we'll see how it goes. I'm actually more concerned about my reaction to flying in the little corporate jet that they're going to take us in from the HQ to the plant than I am about my reaction to the cows. I avoid little jets like the plague when I have to fly anywhere. Flying's tough enough for me in a 737 or an MD-80, and I'm totally finally used to it. The bigger the plane, the better for me, though the biggest I've actually flown in is a 757. Not that I don't like flying, it's just the whole taking off and turbulence that gets me, when there is turbulence, of course. I like being able to see everything from a plane, so long as it's smooth. But we'll see, I guess. It'll be sweet to fly in a corporate jet though, if it's smooth. :)

--84 days.

--Well, today is my little brother's 21st birthday, making him not so little anymore, I guess. So, anyway, happy birthday, Eddie, if you're reading this...

--Lucky me gets to go to Vegas for a few days for a conference toward the end of March. I'm trying to keep myself from thinking I'll have any time to do anything, since work, work, work has been what these conferences have been about for some time now, unfortunately. But who knows for sure, right? I mean, the conferences have to end each day at some point, leaving "plenty" of time to sit down and gamble a bit. And all this possibly in the midst of the Tournament? Not too shabby. :)

--Today, however, I have to work on a story that's due Monday morning, upon arrival at work. So, let the fun begin! :)

--How's everybody? :)