One Hell of a Weekend.

Let's start with...

FRIDAY:
Boyfriend had the day off so we watched a lot of TV, ran some errands and made a fantastic dinner. In order to make our delish meal, we made a stop at the Wal-Mart to grab some steaks and a portable grill (ONLY $25!! and it works like a charm!) along with some veggies. Wal-Mart was packed, more-so than normal, but we figured this was due to a week of STL being snowed in. So didn't think much of it, went home, assembled the grill, and cooked away! After grilling and devouring, I made some cupcakes!

The box of cake mix turned out to be angel food mix (confetti, of course). I accepted the challenge and baked away. Making angel food cake/cupcakes is not a task I've ever done before, so I wasn't expecting perfection on the first try. I whipped up the batter, which was surprisingly fluffy and light (and definitely not as tasty as regular cake batter), filled the cupcake pan and popped them in the oven. They baked quickly - almost too quickly - and some of the bottoms burned (eek!), but all-in-all, they were not too shabby for a first time angel food baker, but I made so many that I couldn't possibly eat them by myself, so I took some with me to Jeff City on...

SATURDAY:

I woke up to see MORE SNOW falling. Last time I checked, the radar did not indicate snow for Saturday. This wasn't just an inch. It was at least 3 inches and more falling at 7:30 in the morning!

Never fear - 4 wheel drive did not delay boyfriend and me from getting to the train station on time. We hopped on the Amtrak and headed to Jeff City to visit the Stokes clan and welcome their newest addition: Elizabeth!

The train ride was beautiful and relaxing. Once we got to Jeff City, we grabbed some grub at Daisy Delight (and old school dairy queen-like place), and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon.

[The ketchup at Daisy Delight was exceptional]

I did get a call from Amtrak letting me know that they switched the train number we'd be on, but I didn't think much of it at the time. After making our own pizzas for dinner, we headed back to the train station to head home. Or so we thought.

We arrived to the station, but there was no Amtrak train. Just a cargo train sitting on the tracks - not moving at all. After talking with the volunteers manning the station, we realize that we won't be getting on a train at all. A cargo train derailed just east of Jefferson City and they were still cleaning up the mess. Meaning, no train :( We were told that a bus would be taking us back to STL, but they had NO idea when the bus would be arriving. So we waited....and waited....and waited. Finally, a bus arrived! But it wasn't our bus. It was a bus taking passengers to Kansas City. Shit. So once again we waited....and waited...and waited. After 3 hours of chit-chatting with other people waiting in the station, playing Oregon Trail, and staring at the floor, our bus arrived!!!! Hooray! It was a shaky old charter bus (the kind we used to take on school trips) but the ride took FOREVER and to top it all off, I was motion sick, on this shaky charter on the back roads on Missouri. Awesome. We had to stop in Herman and Washington, for other passengers so it took 3 hours to get back to our train station.

It wasn't in a terrible experience. It was more of a trying experience. A very long day with much time spent in a train station or on a bus - it can make anyone crabby. So when we got home, I start climbing out of the car and bashed the back of my head on the door frame. Don't ask me how I did it, cause I still don't know, but I decided that I was done with Saturday. I had some hot tea and passed out.

SUNDAY:
Today has been much better. My head still hurts a little, but I've got some Tylenol and some time to take a nap later. I've also got a Superbowl party to attend this evening and I'm going to a try an awesome Spinach and Artichoke dip recipe to bring with me :) And then I'll be getting some great shut-eye for my first day at my new job tomorrow. Hooray for Sundays!
Happy Superbowl Sunday everyone :)