Birthday time again!!

My birthday this year was perfect. The whole birthday weekend was perfect, actually (I'm ignoring the fact that I wasn't entirely well, because I wasn't sick enough to let it get in the way of my celebrations). 

You can't tell from this picture, but one of my nieces and
I both have Wonder Woman on our shirts -- LOVE IT!

The actual birthday was on a Friday. Awesome!! I took it off work, and Mom and I took my nephew and nieces to Hogle Zoo. Mom picked me up at my place, and she and the kids sang "Happy Birthday" to me, which was about the cutest thing I'd ever heard. I love those kids! The girls almost immediately noticed the tiny tiara I was wearing and both asked to try it on. I refused, because I knew if I let one wear it, the other would be upset, so it was easier to explain it was MY  birthday tiara, so I wanted to wear it; they were very understanding of my apparent selfishness. Trying to get a photo of the three kids and me with the giraffes was a lost cause -- Breezy was not interested and kept squirming out of my arms -- although the series of photos Mom took trying to get a good shot is pretty funny (you'll note we're missing the giraffes in the photo above, but it's the best of our faces). One of my favorite moments was over at the sea lion exhibit. Zonks and a bunch of other little kids kept running back and forth to chase after a sea lion that swam back and forth. She kept heralding its arrival like it was the greatest thing in the world... it kind of was :D I was glad the G-child liked the crocodiles and monkeys as much as I do, especially the golden lion tamarins, who have the same color hair he does -- ha ha!

That evening, I met with the surviving members of the "Dating Books Book Club", Larissa, Nichole, and Ann, so we could all go to the Utah State Fair! I’m so excited it was on my birthday for once! I didn’t have a very long list of things I wanted to do:

• take a picture in front of the butter cow sculpture:

Notice the Hunger Games theme

• eat something deep fried, and a funnel cake
• drink my first Diet Coke in a year

We saw the world’s longest alligator, which turned out not to be as long as we thought it would be (but worth $1), watched a demonstration on knives, and got free water bottles at a talk radio booth even though I didn’t want to jump in the dunking booth. We also spent a lot of time looking at the prize-winning crafts and laughed about how there’s a category for absolutely EVERYTHING. The “Best in Show” was a huge crab created out of car parts, and we all had to admit it was pretty cool. 

Oh, and I must say, the deep-fried Snickers was DELICIOUS (notice the use of all CAPS)!! I was afraid it would be too rich... turns out it's silly to fear something like this. Now I'm looking forward to next year when I can have another, and I will remember to bring a glass of milk with me!

After we'd had enough of the Fair, Nichole and I headed to the Quick Wits improv comedy show at the Midvale Main Street Theater. We got in for free even though neither Larissa’s or Nichole’s boyfriend were in the show that night. It was a funny show. A good end to a great day!

I had kind of wanted to perform on my birthday this year. Since my birthday was on a Friday, that didn't happen, but a ton of my friends came to the show on Saturday! Then a HUGE group of cast members from both casts went to Chili's after the show and sang “Happy Birthday” to me (I say huge, but remember that it's all relative, considering there were only 11 people in each cast). We all got along, but we weren't very social outside of the show, so it was nice to spend some "away" time with my Little Women family. They are such terrific people!!

My family was incredibly generous at the family dinner on Sunday. Mom made amazing tacos and German chocolate cupcakes (I ate the leftovers for a week -- yay!). Once again, I wore a tiara, and my nieces were a little jealous. It cracks me up when my nephew asks why I'm wearing one, because my nieces seem to think it's a fairly normal thing for a girl to do ;-) I was amazed by the awesome gifts everyone gave me. They were so thoughtful and kind. I love opening gifts, and I love that my family wanted me to have them!

It seemed the birthday celebrations were more or less winding down...after Besty Birthday it would all be over for another year...

And then... last Friday, while I was convalescing at home, the doorbell rang. It was my mom. She had brought over a gorgeous bunch of flowers, and a couple more gifts! She said, “I was doing errands today and thought of a few more things I wanted to give you for your birthday.” She didn’t expect me to be home, so she was just going to leave them on my table as a surprise! Of course, I cried. It was so incredibly sweet and lovely, especially since my birthday had been two weeks previous. My mom really is the best. She brought over a gift from Aaron (the Colin Firth Pride and Prejudice DVDs!!!!) that hadn’t arrived in time for the family party, and a few other little things! Just so cute and unexpected. I love her so much. Happy birthday to me, indeed!

Thank you everybody for your birthday wishes and generosity. I am so very blessed. I can't think of any way my birthday week/month could have been better. I am looking forward to whatever may happen this year and hope all of you will be a part of it!

Medieval IT

Sometimes I take my computer skills for granted. Then I talk with someone who doesn't know how to use a search engine, upload photos, attach them to an e-mail, or pay their bills online (this was more common 10 years ago when I was teaching middle-aged building inspectors how to turn in reports using an online program), and I realize how cool it is that I know this stuff. Plus, it's nice to help others out once in awhile. It's nice to have a bit of service experience. I feel useful AND I develop empathy!! My mom is just happy I was able to turn all those hours goofing off on the internet during college into a viable job :D

If you've ever worked in IT (information technology), or just taught someone how to send an e-mail (Hi Mom!), this video is for you.

And even if you haven't, you might get a kick out of it.


Happy Friday! Enjoy the weekend :)

September tybbling

• So far, I've already completed twelve performances of Little Women. It's hard to wrap my brain around the fact I've done so many. That's the equivalent of a full run for most CenterPoint shows, but I'm so lucky I still get to do another four :) (To put it in perspective, the total is twice the number of performances I had for The Marvelous Wonderettes!) This really is one of the best-quality plays I've ever been a part of, and I have loved hearing how much my friends have liked it. Even a lot of men who don't like chick flicks have enjoyed it. Only one week left. Don't miss it. You won't regret coming!

Yes, I am the troll! Yes, it
is the coolest (and most
stifling) costume ever!

• Starting to worry about what I'm going to do after the show closes. Then again, I've never had much trouble filling my time before. I am going to take a theater break. Larissa said it'll be tempting not to jump into something else right away and she's already right. But I will resist because I have so many neglected friends to see and activities to pursue. Life won't be dull. It'll be nice to recharge and live the life of a regular person for awhile, instead of playing at someone else's, much as I love it and hate to miss performing opportunities.

• The nice thing about the timing of my show closing is that most of the network television shows start up again next week. Woo-hoo! I'll finally learn the fate of the plane crash survivors on Grey's Anatomy, get reacquainted with the quirky Community bunch, and see how Leslie manages her new job on Parks and Recreation. Also been watching Doctor Who and Buffy the Vampire Slayer on Netflix. Took me awhile to get into them, but Holy Cow, I'm hooked now!

• The doctor told me today that I've been dealing with bronchitis for the last few weeks. Boo. If I hadn't put off going to the doc, I might have known this and been treated before the horrific on-stage coughing fit last Tuesday. Then again, how was I supposed to know it would be this bad? Lucky that my part in the play isn't more singing-intensive. I've managed to muddle through without too many problems or false notes. Thank goodness for antibiotics. They'll get me well again in no time. Wish it could have waited three weeks to show up, though. Oh, well :P 
• Meanwhile, I miss my previous doctor. I loved her. She was never too busy to listen to what I had to say and answer all of my questions. She left her practice in order to spend more time with her family. The guy I saw today mumbled the diagnosis while practically running out of the room and barely answered the one question I managed to ask before he closed the door behind him. Won't be going to him again...

My birthday tiara :D
My nieces were sooo jealous!

• My birthday week was perfect. I didn't even mind (much) being sick for it. Everything I did was brilliant. I didn't feel sad or lonely, and got to do and eat almost everything I wanted. Hoping to write up a post about all of the fun, though it won't include "Besty Birthday" 'cause that date is yet to be determined. That's what happens when you and your best friend are both crazy-busy during your close-together birthdays. Just prolongs the celebration a bit longer. You should give it a try :D

• Was surprised to hear that the BYU/University of Utah game happened on Saturday. If not for a few (billion) posts on Friday and Saturday I might have missed it entirely... which would have been fine. I really don't care about the rivalry except that it seems to bring out the ugliness of my partisan friends in the same way the election does. I'm glad the whole thing only lasted three days on Facebook (including the day after when the U fans gloated about their victory), and sad that my Cougars apparently deserved their loss. *Shrug* Thank goodness that's over for another year!

C'est tout. Happy Monday!

LOTR in 90 seconds

I'm reading The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien right now, to get ready for the movies coming out, and while surfing online one day, found this little LOTR gem. Hope it makes you laugh as much as I did!



Happy Friday!

A year without Diet Coke

If you'll recall, I was sick last year during my birthday, and the 6-8 weeks afterwards. On the birthday, I had a Diet Coke, but it didn't really sound good the rest of the time I was sick. Well, I got well again, and then sick, and then other stuff happened. Then, in January, I started that South Beach Diet I mentioned in the last post, and went on a soft drink fast.

Before I knew it, nine months had gone by and I hadn't had a Diet Coke.

Drinking a DC at the Shakespearean Festival last summer

Now, I say this like it's a big deal, and it kind of is, but it's not like I was addicted to Diet Coke before my birthday (and, yes, I know all addicts say that). We have free soft drinks at work (they even have caffeine free!), and I'd have one every couple of days and when I'd go out to restaurants, but I still managed to to drink about 64 oz. or more of water every day. My rule was: if I didn't drink at least 32 oz. of water by lunch, I didn't get a Diet Coke that afternoon, because for some reason I'm less interested in water after the Diet Coke. It makes sense in my head.

In May I decided since it had been that long already, I might as well see if I can finish out the year.

It's been hard!

Before, I wasn't really thinking about it, and now I think about it all the time. Go out to dinner? I want a DC. Eating pizza? I want a DC. Eating carrots (don't ask)? I want... well, you see how this is going.

I've been substituting other things, like chocolate milk (which is awesome, if not necessarily healthier) and sometimes other soft drinks, like Root Beer or Orange Crush. It's been okay to switch things up, but they just aren't the same.

Wish I could say that I have had some existential experience during my deprivation, or that I've been cured of my craving, but that's just not the case. I did it partially by accident and then just because I thought it would be cool and not for loftier reasons. They say that in any learning experience you only get out what you put in, right? I didn't put much into this. There was no goal in mind except to see if I could do it. With the weight loss, I saw a difference. With this one, I'm just really looking forward to getting a Diet Coke at the State Fair tomorrow!

Maybe I am addicted...

What about you? A fan of Diet Coke? Is there anything you tried to give up but quit because it wasn't for a good enough reason?

Why yes, I HAVE lost weight!

I've become a little obsessed with this photo lately:

I simply adore the women in it... but I admit, that's not the only reason I love this photo.

It's because I look so gloriously, wonderfully skinny.

(I choose to embrace the vanity, 'cause I worked darn hard for it!)

This is how I looked in this same dress last year:

Okay, so I'm not in the same position, so maybe the difference isn't readily evident, but it's there.

I've lost 20 pounds since January! Actually, I lost it by the end of April and have been maintaining ever since. Feels darn good to know that I can! I really want to keep it off this time.

My main motivation was this photo:

Wow. I am practically spilling out of this dress and I couldn't get the gloves to stay up for more than a few minutes at a time. I really hate the way I look here, in spite of the good hair and make-up. I felt so uncomfortable with that cleavage all night.

I decided to finally stop whining about feeling fat and do something about it.

Since I have never been a fan of the gym, and am not a consistent exerciser, I went the lazy route: controlling my diet. This is not to say I starved myself. Far from it! I went the South Beach Diet route which is mostly portion control and paying attention to which foods I'm eating. I did the two week no sugar/no carb cleanse, but they say when you're hungry you should eat something like a handful of almonds or some string cheese. It was hard -- I love chocolate and it was sometimes difficult finding something satisfying when I went out to dinner -- but I was always able to find something that was health(ish) and usually tasty. I did NOT starve.

I admit, now that I've reached the goal I'm not quite as careful, but I'm being better. It's nice not to feel so out of control.

The funny thing is, I look back at the photos of when I thought I was so fat, and, sure, my face and figure were wider... but I really didn't look that bad. I was not as fat as I thought I was. I generally try to dress in a way that flatters my figure anyway, so I rarely wore things that made me look terrible. My perceived large size didn't even deter boys from asking me out. Losing weight was something I wanted to do for me, and I'm thrilled, but it's nice to know that I can still flaunt my figure if I fluctuate a bit. (Do I use that as an excuse to eat a brownie once in awhile? You bet! I'm so weak!) Losing weight doesn't change who I am. It just gave me a bit of extra confidence in myself. I set a goal and I reached it! It's awesome!

You'll notice also that losing the weight didn't make me automatically toned and flat-stomached. It's a little disappointing to realize that even if I lose another 15 pounds (which I don't plan to do because that seems extreme) I'll still have flabby arms and a pocket on my stomach. I'll have to exercise to achieve optimum toning... and I'm not quite ready to do that, yet. But I am a little curious what I might look like if I tried... we'll see.

Anyway, people who haven't seen me in awhile have been asking, so I thought I'd just set the record straight :)

And, since I'm on the record, here's a photo of me from last night in that same polka-dot dress:

Quite the difference, eh?