Stats for 15 Weeks of Travel:

Gap - FL

# of flights = 44

# of nights spent in a hotel = 43

# of nights spent at the Hampton Inn = 21

Target - MS

# of days in the office = 15

# of books/magazines read = 11

States visited = Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, North Carolina, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, Missouri, Florida, Iowa (10)

Shirt: Gap - FL, Skirt: Heritage - IA

 # of hospitals visited = 9

# of trips that originally belonged to someone else (who either quit, were promoted, or couldn't travel that week) = 8 (that's more than half in case anyone was wondering...)

Shirts: NY & Co., Jeans: AE - NC

# of canceled flights = 4



 Seasons of MadMen watched = 3.5

# of ideas for my September blog = 0 
Any suggestions?

...and because I love shoes

Shirt: Kohl's - WV, Pants: Converse - PA

So I am now in my 14th out of 15 weeks of travel.  I literally traveled all summer.  I'm in Miami right now and this time it's not raining (thankfully).  I'm still not enjoying it here all that much though.  It's very hot and there's tons of traffic.  This afternoon it took me 45 minutes to go 7 miles and this was at like 7pm (not during rush hour or anything!).  I wish it had worked out for me to come here in the winter.

 Random note: I think Converse and Ugg outlets are my all time favorite stores.

The shoes featured to the right are from CA, PA, FL, and NC.  Personally I think it's pretty impressive that I got so many pairs of shoes home with me in my carry-on suitcase.  (Not all at the same time of course, but it was still a challenge).  You can also see the corner of my suitcase in this picture.  It's never far away and never empty.

...because I go shopping too often

 Pictured to the left is the pink sweater I mentioned in my last entry (I had several inquiries about it...).  I'm also wearing black Gap pants that I got in Miami.  Coincidentally I am heading back to Miami tomorrow for week 14 in my insane block of travel.  This trip and my next one are only 3 days long (instead of the usual 4) which should be nice.  Last time I was in Miami it rained.  Every. Single. Day.  Hopefully by now the sun is out down there; although, I looked at the weather forecast, and my hopes aren't very high.

 My adorable cousins came to visit last week, it was great to see them! Even though they're all getting taller than me and the oldest is 13 :-(  I normally don't think I look 12 and think people are seriously mistaken when they say I look 12, but if I were in this group picture I don't think anyone would think I were older than my cousins by 12 years...

Random fact: Phil used a butcher knife to cut his birthday custard.  #unnecessary

Shop Around!

Shirt: Gap Outlet - MI, Jeans: Gap Outlet - OH

When I travel, often there is NOTHING to do in the towns I work in, so I usually have plenty of time to drive to a nicer place for dinner.  (Un)fortunately, there are often places to shop in the areas I drive to.  I have found so many great deals at stores in the Midwest that I never would've found in Boston where everything is ridiculously expensive.

I've also learned something very interesting about chain clothing stores: different locations sell the same merchandise at drastically different prices.  Example: I found this pink sweater I loved at the Gap in Miami, but did not buy it because it was expensive ($60), and not on sale.  The next week I found the same sweater at a Gap in Jackson, Mississippi on sale for only $14.95 (I bought it at this price of course).  The next week I saw the same sweater again in Des Moines, Iowa, on sale for $45.00 (and by the way, in Boston, it's still full price).  Note to self - NEVER buy anything  for full price at the Gap.

Another interesting thing I've learned is that stores with a price matching policy (i.e. Walmart) will only price match for OTHER STORES.  One Walmart will not price match the price from another Walmart. I find it so strange that the same store could sell the same product at a different price.  Non-clothing example: I'm really into Madmen right now and I've been buying the DVD's of each season (since I don't have a TV...).  The first two seasons sell at full price for about $30 each and the second two seasons for about $40 each (at Target, Walmart, and BestBuy).  When I was in Miami, there were two Targets within a few miles of each other.  One Target had the first two seasons on sale for $19.99 each and the other had them at full price (both had the second two seasons at full price).  I then went to BestBuy and found the third season on sale for only $14.  (Unfortunately I have yet to find the 4th season on sale, it must be too new.)  Just to make sure I got a good deal  I went to both Target and BestBuy in Ohio last week and at Target the first two seasons were on sale for $25 each and at BestBuy none were on sale.

This is the path we take.

 I was in Mississippi last week and I rented a yellow car.  It made me happy every time I drove.  As it turns out I am in the market for a new car...

 I got a picture of the graffiti I mentioned in my last post about Mississippi.  I think the placement is super impressive.  Also it would be so much fun to climb one of those signs!

A picture of my Peach Bellini - taken (and ordered) especially for my Grandmother.  Delicious, but not quite the same as ordering one in Venice.









I got to go to Iowa on my trip to Missouri this week.  Training was a complete disaster and I ended up working for 3 hours each on Tuesday and Thursday and 9 hours on Wednesday.  That meant that I had abundant time for a road trip to Des Moines so I could cross Iowa off my 'states left to visit' list.  This is a picture of the mall I went to.  It was gorgeous



It even had a waterfalls and a huge fountain that served as a lovely walk before I had to drive the 90 miles back to my hotel in the middle of no where.






Stay tuned to find out the reason for this month's title (in case you can't guess...)

P.S. I finally made it to 25,00 points in facebook tetris.  A goal that I have been trying to reach for many months.  Hurray!