and to my left you'll see....

Welcome to the small town of Herrington - the tour will now begin.

If you take a good look around, you'll notice no chain stores. That's right folks, one of the few remaining all-american towns with no fast food joints or mega drugstores. You may also find how very dependant you've become to chain-america living.

This town is proud of the railroad that runs through it. There is much excitement over the bridge that will cross over the railroad, which will eliminate future decades of waiting to get to the "other side of the tracks."

Tonight, let's peek into this high school graduation party award ceremony. What you might find is that your extended family isn't as standout as you expected (despite uncle M wearing the shortest shorts you've ever seen on a man), as you watch a woman with no undergarments tromping up and down the gym bleachers, running to and from the bathroom with or without her dirty 3 yr/old, sometimes talking in a loud whisper. If we stay here long enough tonight, you too can be mesmerized by the small town phenomenon of having the same classmates from kindergarten on. Let's listen as they share stories from the second grade. I think you'll see that Missy - the star student - will stand up at least a dozen times to receive awards and scholarships for her grades, performance and involvement in community activities. If you stay too long you might become secretly obsessed with her life and whether the other students love her or hate her and how she will do in college when she's one of thousands and not just 1 in 30.

Over to the right, you'll notice Ms. X - the cool teacher. The teacher who probably supplies all the kids with their alcohol. Let's listen as she presents an award. "This girl was my gossip girl! She always kept me up to date on the latest..... and this girl is the fastest text messager I know!!!" hug, hug

Look into the crowd to see the class's bad boy. He smirks and rolls his eyes. He is literally too cool for school... and his parents own the local real estate business.

If we take a stroll through this little town - you'll notice all of the closing warnings. That's right. Here, the whole place shuts down for the local high school's graduation. Barnes (the grocery store) will be closed. OMG (the local second hand store) will not open today because the grand-daughter is graduating.

If we take a drive outside of town, to the next largest city we can grab a bite to eat....or not. Oddly enough, the A&W has run out of meat. That's right. The hamburger restaurant has no hamburger. If you choose to stop at Denny's you may be overcome by the smoke floating throughout the entire restaurant and may be shocked to remember Colorado's smoking ban has only been in effect for a short time. If lucky, you will taste nicotine in the pancakes.

And if you're really lucky, you will see your grandfather cross the stage at 81 and watch as this sleepy, tiny town rises in a standing ovation.

I'm in the mood for...

So what road trip is complete without a gas store trinket? Christina spotted the mood rings and beckoned me over. "$1.95 for a mood ring? - what a steal!" I promptly bought one for each of us (Cadena - hate to ruin the surprise but give it time - you'll have your own mystical ring in no time). I haven't had such an interactive piece of jewelry in like, ever! I find myself gazing at it throughout the day and I get excited when I see extreme changes in the colors within minutes. I went from a calm dark blue to, wow, a pearly green - whatever could this mean?!

Herrington

Greetings from Kansas. This is a family road trip update. Mom, dad, Christina and myself have taken a trip to see 81 year old grandpa Trusty get his high school diploma (oldest student in the state of Kansas)! Cadena - we miss you! I mostly miss being forced to sit in the middle, only because I am the middle child, and being harassed by you both about my feet and legs being in your way.... and sharing a fun dip with you.

So, if all goes well there will be some photos to share.
So far we've just been driving (I've managed to log some quality shut eye). We stopped at the Russell Stover's factory today (don't believe the sign that beckons with free samples, it's mostly a lie) and we had a fatty chicken lunch - yum! Currently hanging out at gramp's place (he's got a much faster internet service than I have ever dreamed of) getting ready to go to a small town high school awards ceremony. The real excitement will begin tomorrow... rumor has it the news might be out here - smile for the cameras!

Thursday

Today's walk to work was a little crazy. It is cold and damp so I wore a sweater and two blocks into it, overheated. The wind was crazy; I saw my reflection in a tinted bank window and wondered why I had bothered doing my hair and spending so much time trying to get some volume, as I could see it was flying around my head.

I stopped into the Starbucks (I've officially stopped trying to make my own coffee in the mornings). This woman practically attacked me. "Oh my gosh! I just LOVE your bag! Where ever did you get your bag?!?!" I was taken aback. It is a nice bag - thanks to my friend Kristin for this birthday gift, but not the kind of bag people stop you to ask about. "oh, thanks" "WHERE did you get IT?!?!" "umm, it was a gift, maybe Old Navy or Target?" I was still smoothing out my crazy windblown hair.... and then I saw it, the button's gold sheen shining in the light of the Starbucks track lighting. Then it came, "WELL! I am with Mary Kay and I would just LOVE to give you a free facial!"

I felt dirty and used instantly. She didn't like my bag! A younger Jana would have felt obligated to give her my info, then get a facial, or avoid her phone calls. Not today - today I thought, you can't go around giving people false compliments, then trying to get their business. She didn't take my first "no" and I had to explain to her that I had already used her product, that it was no good for me and that I was not interested... that I would not be contributing toward her pink Cadillac.

Purple is the new green

In effort to save on gas, do my part to ward off the evils of global warming, and because the parking garage is closed downtown (which would result in me walking just as far if I drove and had to search for a parking spot on the street), I've been walking to work. It's been fabulous. I get some fresh air in morning, a little exercise and a chance to start my morning in a less hurried way (one can only walk so fast). So far, the weather has been accommodating. Some mornings I stop for coffee, some I listen to my ipod and others I take note of the new displays in the cute boutiques. I am okay being the lady in the sneakers with a skirt on, or in flip flops with my suit...
This morning was a little less glamorous... with the downpour I had to plan ahead. I shouldn't wear any dry clean only pants - they'd get soaked. I shouldn't wear a normal coat - it would be heavy and wet. I shouldn't wear my sneakers - they would get squeaky. I went for a skirt and my chacos, with a fashionable hoodie rain pull-over. It was a struggle to find a working umbrella and I was on my way. I will admit I was a little nervous to leave my umbrella at the door of Starbucks today - it was a rough crowd. Would one of them run off with my umbrella for their own protection? Thank goodness it was still sitting there after my conversation with some guys decked out in camouflage wanting to discuss their surprise at the price of a coffee maker, "for that much, that thing had better drive!"
My fault today was that I didn't account for the temperatures. It was cold and I could barely feel my toes by the time I arrived at the courthouse. I think I might look into some rain boots for this spring season.

Happy Birthday!

In honor of a close friend and faithful reader....

Happy 30th Birthday Schelau!



You are now 30, flirty and thriving!