J.P. and I returned from Minnesota on Sunday night, after two long days of driving. We had a good, relaxing vacation, and Maggie couldn't have been better with the kids, dogs, and birds, or as a passenger in the car.

I won't say I was looking forward to going back to work today—that would really be a stretch. But somehow it did seem almost like the first day of school and the fresh start it brings. After I got to the office, that feeling lasted for all of 20 minutes. It took me nearly all day to slog through my 200+ emails in between conference calls. So maybe tomorrow I can do some actual work!

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When I put away the Easter decorations three weeks ago (Shut up! They weren't still sitting out—they were in "temporary storage" in the butler's pantry.), I found an unopened bag of Starburst jellybeans. I threw them into my bag for a road trip treat.

As we drove and I munched, I realized that I have a Jellybean Consumption Method. In each handful, I separate them by color. I eat my least favorite flavor first, then proceed with the next least favorite, and so on. Here's my order, from least favorite to most favorite:

1. Yellow/lemon
2. Orange/orange (duh!)
3. Red/cherry
4. Green/apple(?)
5. Purple/grape
6. Pink/strawberry

Note: This list applies only to Starburst jellybeans. The order may differ for Brach's or other run-of-the-mill brands. However, when black beans are in the mix they always top the least-favorite list, and they never see the inside of my mouth.

What's your JCM?

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Wow, that butler's pantry pic (link above) really blew me away:

Can you believe how BAD the photo is??? Wow—my photography and Photoshop skills have really improved in the last year, if I do say so myself. My cleaning and organizational skills, however, have not. The pantry looks pretty much like this today. Hmm . . . maybe it just has a seasonal rotation . . . you know, like department store displays. This is its Summer Look.

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How's that for a random post? Please bear with me as I recover from our trip and too many 3:00 AM bedtimes. I hope to be back to my regular (1:00 AM) bedtime and schedule soon. Of course, that means I'll probably go back to once-a-week posts too. Hey, less frequent posts—something for you to look forward to! :)

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 05, 2006 at 10:48 PM.