End of a LONG, LONG Week......

This week has been an EXTREMELY long one!

My office is usually open 4 days each week, but because we were closed for 2 days due to snow a couple of weeks ago, we were open 5 days this week to try to accommodate all the patients that had to be rescheduled. It is amazing how much more demanding working one additional day can be!  AND...we are scheduled to work 5 days NEXT week, too!  I think my boss is already rethinking his decision to add these two additional days! We are ALL "pooped"!

In addition to my "regular" job, I also work several nights a week as a hostess in a local restaurant.  I started working here about a year ago,  knowing that there would probably be an upcoming wedding in our family in the near future. Sure enough, on May 4th of 2010, I came home from working that evening to this romantic sight on my patio:

My daughter's fiance', Josh, had built a fire in the outdoor fireplace and he had spelled out "Will You Marry Me" on my patio - in tea lights! How sweet and romantic is that!

Now, their special day is FAST approaching!  On April 2, 2011, my daughter, Grace, and Josh, plan to be married and our family could not be more excited!

As for my second job...what started out as a means to earn extra money that would be designated for their upcoming wedding, has actually turned into something I really enjoy! I call it my "No-Brainer" job....meaning that after my more stressful "day job", my working in this fine dining restaurant is really enjoyable. I love people and since my love language is clearly Acts of Service, it is "right up my alley".

Since I have been working in this local area for the past 11 years, I know many of the guests that frequent our restaurant.  I sometimes say it is like a "Cheers" setting because we have so many "regulars" that come in every week...some of which have their "set" table that they sit at each time they come in.  Some even come several times a week!  Our atmosphere is a very "family" atmosphere which has definitely led to the great success that our restaurant has experienced over the past 7 years.

Last night was the first night of  Queens Feast  - a semi-annual event here in the Queen City.  It is an opportunity for the people of Charlotte to "dine like royalty" for thirty dollars a person over a 10-day period. Many of the upscale restaurants in our metropolitan area participate, giving guests an opportunity to choose an appetizer, entree and dessert -- all for the $30 fare. It also brings a great boost to our local economy in the process--with the July 2009 event serving over 80,000 dinners for an estimated local impact of $3.76 million.

The first night of Restaurant Week was a great success...with our restaurant being on an at least an hour wait most of the night. Unfortunately, we also had to turn away many disappointed guests who waited to the last minute to make their reservations.   ) :

Now that this LONG work week has finally come to a close...I am so excited to have today off!
I have lots of projects that NEED to be done around the house...i.e. mail to sort, bills to pay, 2010 tax "stuff" to be filed away...you know, "fun stuff" like that!

Now... whether or NOT I will DO anything of those things....remains to be seen!

How about you?  

Do you have any exciting plans for the weekend?