Day 5 - "Leta Week" The Big Finish!

I cannot thank my friend enough for making this last week with them so special in many ways.  Yes, the food was incredible but all of the emails, cards, phone calls, gifts and well wishes meant so much.  It is not going to be easy to leave this group and move on with my life but I am forever grateful that I had this wonderful time with them.  We accomplised so much because of their hard work.

The Chefs for Day 5 - Amanda, Marie and Paula.  Not pictured is Zach

The lunch menu - Homemade chicken and dumplings, broccoli & rice casserold, chicken strips 3 ways (Hooter sauce, bbq sauce and plain), corn and strawberry cake.  Oh so yummy!

Paula spent three hours making the dumplings.  Holy cow!  I have so much admiration and respect for mothers who find/make the time for everyone other than themselves.

Lunch was just delicious!  The most difficult part was having to smell the yummy food all morning until lunch time.  OK, I confess, I sampled a little throughout the morning.  But when the dinner bell rang...

My lunch plate

And then there was desert.  The first round of desert.

Strawberry cake

Then at 3:00 we had an ice cream sundae bar. 

Ice cream and toppings

Blue Bell ice cream with fresh bananas, fresh strawberries, Hershey's syrup, hot fudge, Reese's topping, caramel topping, nuts and whipped cream.  OR you could go for the root beer float option.  A perfect ending to a very special week.

Here they come!

My sundae.  It was delicious.

The Operations and Service Center Team

Pam & Connie with a very special gift

I almost made it through the week without tears.  UNTIL Pam and Connie "stalked" me after everyone had left on Friday afternoon and I was packing up my office.  They presented me with the blanket in the photo above.  The two of them along with a friend of Pam's, Sharon, made the blanket for me.  I guess they know me all too well because they told me it was for me - to keep me warm - and that I'm not allowed to give it to a Soldier.  Ha ha ha ha ha.  I will keep that promise.

Again, my deepest gratitude to all of you for making my last week so special. And my sincere thanks to all of you for the great team work during my tenure with you. It has been a pleasure.

Day 4 - "Leta" Week

The food coma continues - in a GOOD WAY!

This morning I walked into the office to find a wonderfully delicious breakfast!

French toast, link sausages, breakfast casserole, chocolate muffins, pigs in a blanket, peanut butter chews and fruit pizza.

The chefs of the day:

Derek, Rose and April

Just like the team from day 2 these great chefs work for our Financial Services Division but with whom we share office space.  I'm touched and grateful that they wanted to participate in the festivities this week.

Second guy from right is Andrew.  His wife, Shaunda, was also one of the chefs.

I love how everyone was "encouraging" April to hurry up and cut the fruit pizza so we can EAT!

It was another incredible day.  The food was so delicious but the comraderie was even better.  As much as I've loved every minute of this week I'm going to be sad to see it end - not because there will be no more awesome food but, because I'll be saying goodbye to an wonderful group of people that I have really enjoyed working with.

Sigh

Day 3 - "Leta" Week

Well I guess a few people can't go to bed until I post about Day 3 of "Leta" Week.  Sorry to be so late in posting but I'm in a food coma - one that's probably not going to end for a couple more days.

Thank you to Heather Ostlund for calling me to tell me she's waiting for this post.  I may have just slept right through the night.

We started the morning with Sausage Bread (YUMMY) and about a bazillion donuts.  Sausage Bread is this amazing creation of sausage (DUH), peppers, cheese, etc., wrapped in fresh bread dough and baked.  Did I say YUMMY yet?  Man it is good.  Washed that down with a donut and some Starbucks coffee.

For lunch:

Homemade vegetable beef soup, chili (with cheese to put on top), homemade chicken salad sandwiches (3 kinds of bread), summer sausage and crackers, chips and dip, cookies, pink lemonade and iced tea.

My gratitude and compliments to the chefs - Suzanne, Sharon H., Sharon W. and Pam.  I appreciate all of the time and trouble you all went through to make today's breakfast and lunch so enjoyable.

But I really should digress.  After the huge breakfast Connie just wasn't sure she could make it to lunch on her own power.  Brandon helped her out in our office rickshaw.  Yeah, we've got it all here, folks!

Brandon and Connie - man I'm going to miss these two clowns!

Throughout the week "things" have been appearing on my desk.  For example:

A lone but very delicious chocolate truffle

And these, one per day:

Monday

Sorry for the poor quality of the photo.  They are tiny little guys.  About an inch tall.  This one is wearing a parachute.  Heck yeah!

Tuesday

Wednesday

This is the stamp on the bottom of them:

I think they are neat as heck and I'm very touched that someone knows how much "my" Soldiers mean to me.  I know, these are marked "Union of S Africa" but it's the thought that means so darn much.  And they are cool as heck.

Yes, I've seen the menu for tomorrow.  Holy smokes!  I'm so very touched by the kindness and generosity of all of the people in our building and from around the region, too.  The emails I've been getting are incredibly thoughtful.  Sure, there are a few who won't miss me (is what it is) but to know so many will really makes me feel like I've made a difference here.  I couldn't have done it without so many of them pulling their weight and then some.

Speaking of weight...anyone have the number for Weight Watchers?

Day 2 - "Leta Week"

Well, it seems they meant it when they put up the sign for "Leta Week".  I punched in my security code, opened the door to the Operations Center this morning and found this:

Prepared by these ladies:

Janelle, Elizabeth & Donna

These ladies don't even work in our division.  But...my office is on their side of the building so they see me more than our division staff does.  Despite the fact that they probably listen to me growling and yelling at people all day they still wanted to be a part of "Leta Week".  That's pretty darn special to me.

Not pictured above is Libbie, the wife of our EVP/COO.  She sent a delicious oriental salad.  I could have eaten the whole bowl.

So anyway...by lunch time the entire building smelled DEELICIOUS and looked like this:

Pulled pork, a humongous crock pot full of homemade mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, ribs & kraut and the oriental salad.  Off to the right side are onions, pickles, bread, cream puff cake and beautifully decorated cookies.  What a wonderful midday feast!

Then the vultures showed up:

Shoo!  Go away!

Here's a shot of the cookies.  Believe me when I tell you that ALL of the food was just delicious but the cookies seemed to be deserving of their own shot - especially given the theme.

You know I was lovin' that!

Towards the end of the day I received an email with this pic:

And this text:

It’s going to hard to beat the treats we’ve enjoyed the last two days – but we’re gonna try.


Tomorrow we will be serving:

     Breakfast Menu: Donuts and Sausage Bread

     Lunch Menu:  Soups - Chili and Vegetable, Summer Sausage and crackers, chips, Chicken Salad and dessert

I think I'm going to need a "to go" box before this is all over.  What an amazing team of people to work with.  I'm so thankful!

I'll Bet You Didn't Know That It's "Leta Week"

Yep, here's the proof:

OK, a little explanation here.  I've been working on contract for a client for the past 23 months.  The initial contract was for 4 months.  I guess they liked me, well maybe not all of them.  We did accomplish a lot of great things together.  I stayed around so long they decided to name me Operations Manager.  Not too shabby, huh?

Some of my AWESOME team members working on a problemo.

Pam, Brandon and Connie - man I'm gonna miss you guys like heck

So I walked into work this morning and this is what I found:

French Toast Casserole, Pigs in a Blanket, Breakfast Casserole, Fruit Salad, Cranberry-Orange Muffins and Cinnamon Rolls all laid out on a beautifully decorated table.

I loaded up my plate and headed into the Monday Morning Management Meeting.  Oops...none of the other Managers brought in food.  Oh, well.  I thoroughly enjoyed the meeting.

This afternoon "the boys" kept with tradition:

Butch & Sundance aka Brandon and Zach, making my EVERY afternoon Starbucks one Splenda latte.  How spoiled am I?

And then there was tonight.  Tonight they had a dinner in my honor at the Chicken Ranch.  Ok, ok, the name is really the Chicken Place but I've always called it the Chicken Ranch.  I've written about the Chicken Ranch, uh, Place here and here.  I was touched that team members and management from each of our six offices around the region took the time to come tonight.  We had the BEST crowd. 

Annette, Amanda, Janet, Tom, Joe and Tony

(Tony is a fellow pig wrestler)

Marie, Sharon W, Martha, Sharon H, Bonnie & Paula

Corporate Accounting - in the house!

Vicki, Quintin & Annette

Bonnie, Paula, Tim, Marie, Pam

Dana (sorry about this shot of you), Lori, Loretta & Brenda

Sarah (in jacket), Brittany (in purple) and Sandy (standing near the door talking - NO! Sandy talking?  LOL)

Christi, Vicki, Quintin, Kim L and Kathy

And they even had a cake made for me.  Can you tell they know what my passion is?

LOVE IT!

Along with the breakfast, dinner and cake they presented me with a very generous check made out to Defenders of Freedom.  When Joe presented it to me he commented that they thought I would prefer that to a present.  I told him he was right - the check was a gift - a gift that would go towards helping some combat Veteran.  Nothing gets any better than that.  THANK YOU SO MUCH!

My major "partners in crime"

Brandon (Systems Administrator) and Connie (Service Manager)

No, "thank YOU" everyone!

If it's Leta "week" I can't imagine what is in store after the amazing day today.  I am beyond grateful for the opportunity to get to work with so many incredible people.  As for the rest of the week - just spending it with you all is more than enough.

I do know one thing about tomorrow.  I have a massage scheduled after work.  YAY!