ABT Weekend

Over the weekend I got to play for 4 warm-up classes for the American Ballet Theatre when they were in town. Conveniently, Case was on spring break so I was free in the mornings. I decided to walk to Playhouse Square on Thursday and Friday since it's not that far away (5.2-mile round trip). This gave me a nice light workout and saved me the hassle of finding parking.

This company is one of the premier ballet companies in the world. The dancers are extremely musical as well as technically breathtaking. It is an honor and pleasure to play for them. The ballet master was very easy to follow, clear and musical, and moved at a super-fast pace. I abstained from caffeine all weekend, knowing the slight adrenaline buzz would be plenty to keep me awake and alert. I played my best stuff, including original compositions, symphony excerpts, show tunes, etc.

Saturday was a master class for advanced-level area students (62 of them, it turned out!) taught by 22-year-old company member Craig Salstein. He was adorable--he looks a little like a young Matthew Broderick. He got very intense and passionate while teaching, never losing his charm. He would signal me to start with varying theatrical gestures that cracked me up.

On St. Patrick's Day, I started the class with "Danny Boy" (which I only play once a year). This turned out to be a big hit with some of the ABT dancers from South America. Turns out they know a pop song that uses the same melody, so on Sunday I got a request to play it again. When I did, a few of them burst into spontaneous applause. That made me feel great. I mean, these dancers have heard it all when it comes to accompanists.

On Saturday night, Paul & I went to see them perform Le Corsaire, a nineteenth-century story ballet about a pirate and his love for a harem girl. Paul and I giggled at the cheesy bodice-ripper plot idea. It sounds like fodder for a role-playing fantasy. ("You be the studly, well-endowed stable boy and I'll be the innocent, busty milkmaid.") In spite of that, the ballet really was gorgeous. Unlike, say, Swan Lake, there was a lot of action for the men in this one. Seeing the men jump and levitate in the air so effortlessly was really something to see.

I've Made Goal!!

Well, technically I am jumping the gun a tiny bit posting this, since I still have 1/4" left to lose on my waist, but I consider that a rounding error. If I were the type to go through life sucking my stomach in (I'm not), I would already be there and then some. At the rate I'm going, I will have lost it by this coming Monday---and then I will be done with this weight loss project!!

I have lost 40 pounds in 6 months! Here are some stats:

Bust: -7.0 inches
Waist: -7.5 inches
Hips: -6.75 inches
Thighs: -4.25 inches each
Total Body Volume: -5.26 gallons*
Percentage of original body weight lost: 21.74. (I'm only 78.26% of the woman I used to be!)

*I read somewhere that 7.6 pounds of fat=1 gallon. Weird thought.

________________________________________________________________
I have been looking forward to posting my Before and After pictures for months. Here I am Before:

August, 2005. Here's another from the same trip, and you can see better what I looked like without the big shirt. I was probably above what I think of as my starting weight of 184.

Mostly I felt I looked at least okay, although I tired easily and my feet often hurt. However, there were some views I almost never got to see that were a bit eye-opening. This pic of the back rolls was one of the catalysts that helped me decide I wanted to do something about it.

___________________________________________

And now (my favorite part!) the After photos, taken this afternoon. Here I am in new clothes I bought last week, still glowing from my workout:

I saved my biggest pair of jeans just for these next two pics--they are the same ones I was wearing in the Before pic above. (I always wanted to do the Cheesy Weight-Loss Product Ad pose.) They look a little different on me now:




I promise this is the last weight-loss post I'll make. Maintenance is just too uneventful to blog about. I'll still do the same amount of exercise, and I'll eat the same way, just a little more food, like having my sandwiches with 2 pieces of bread instead of one. I know, having learned the hard way, that if I want to keep this up, I'll have to stay mindful of what I eat (at least most of the time) for the rest of my life. But now that I've made the commitment for a lifestyle change, I plan to be successful at it. I'm even giving away all of my old clothes tomorrow, not keeping them "in case I gain." You read it here first.

I'm gonna need a new hobby now.

March is Jam-Packed With Activities

So many things are going on this month. First of all, the Cleveland International Film Festival March 16-26. I love this event--people talk about film while waiting in line, you get to vote on the films, and you can see things you just don't see anywhere else, like shorts, foreign films, and documentaries, not to mention foreign documentaries. (You may think I'm kidding, but I have one in my lineup of films to see!) I received my 12 CIFF vouchers that I won at the church auction last fall, and spent much of today eagerly poring over the festival guide to make my picks. I've learned over the years that, at least for me, seeing more than 6 films in the 10-day period triggers the law of diminishing returns, and it just gets to be too much to digest, so I'll have a few vouchers left to give away.

In the midst of this, American Ballet Theatre will be performing (and I'll be playing for their warm-up classes). I'm not so sure we'll be going, because there is only so much culture one can digest in a week.

Tomorrow, Paul, Sharon and I will be playing some chamber music for the church service. It's a really great piece and we sound good together. Last night we had a rehearsal at our house, with the piano newly tuned, and we were really enjoying ourselves. It's kind of a loud piece and I didn't realize how late it was getting (10 pm) until our next door neighbor rang our doorbell and told us, "Please, please stop!" (This only happened once before and that was 6 months ago.)

Fortunately we were just about done anyway, but my mood deflated like a balloon. Most of the time they're not even in town (and therefore not around to complain) so it's easy to forget that it might bother them. I know it was a reasonable request, but still. When other people are loud, it just doesn't bother me, after spending 20 or so years in apartments next to fraternities and practicing conservatory students. Paul says it's moments like these that are the only thing that makes him consider moving some day. But I think, no matter where you live, there's always going to be something. If we lived in a traditional single-family home, we would have to do yardwork, which neither of us is into at all. I think we've got it pretty good.

"Rate My Life" Quiz

Just for fun, I took this online quiz. Some of these quizzes are off-the-wall ("What Kind of Fruit Are You?") but this one asks questions that actually make sense. My results were pretty much what I expected, except "Friends & Family" was lower than I would have thought:

This Is My Life, Rated
Life:	8.3
Mind:	7.9
Body:	8.2
Spirit:	7
Friends/Family:	5.6
Love:	9.1
Finance:	8.5
Take the Rate My Life Quiz

I guess that's because I answered "1 or 2" when it asked how many good friends I have. (Hi, Darce!) I guess it depends on your definition of "good." I have a lot of church friends who I really connect with, but we don't invest a ton of energy in getting closer. Some energy, yes--we go out to lunch, invite each other to our parties, are involved in covenant groups and church activities together, and have occasionally provided support for each other during hard times. But it's not like we call each other or hang out on a regular basis.

I've always been one to invest most of my relationship energy into my significant other. I think I've gotten better but that's still my default setting. Is that so terrible?

"I Thought He Brought Somebody Else!"

Paul and I have been able to consistently take our ballroom dance lessons every two weeks since New Years, and we're really making excellent progress. We always make an effort to go to the Saturday night dance party at the Cavana Ballroom the same day as our lesson so we can solidify and practice what we've just learned. Well, besides, it's really fun!

Tonight I wore my black stretch pants and one of my new tops that fits close to the body (it has some spandex). I must say, it sure is fun to dress like this--I feel like a different person. Since we're only there at most twice a month, we are always greeting people we haven't seen in a while. Four or five different people complemented me on my weight loss and said I look great!

I have to share the comments from one older couple that cracked us up.

She: You look like you've lost a lot of weight.
Me: I have.
She: You look great!
Me (beaming): Thank you!
He (to Paul): You know, I saw you here a couple of weeks ago, and (to his wife) I thought he brought somebody else!
She: We didn't recognize you.
He: But then I realized, That's his wife!
She (to Paul): And we knew you weren't that type.

A Rosy Day

I admit it--I love Valentine's Day. I enjoy holidays, including birthdays, as a chance to make a day special and different from all the rest. Paul and I are freakishly well-adjusted and take the time and energy make each other feel appreciated every day, so I don't need to read meanings into what he decides to give me, or even whether he gives me anything. I know that sounds smug, but it's really true. I think he's been traumatized in the past, having been "tested" and found wanting when it comes to symbolic gestures. And Lord knows I've been guilty in the past of investing all sorts of meaning, intentional or not, into what kind of thought went into a romantic gift.

For holidays, we "pre-decide" and discuss what we are going to do for gifts. Yes, it removes the elements of surprise and spontaneity, but it also removes the fallout that comes with poor communication. For Valentine's Day, he got chocolates and I made heart-shaped cookies. We both brought flowers (unexpected and sweet, and now we have two bouquets!). I had to work until 8:00, so Paul made dinner, easy poached salmon from Andrew Weil's book that was also the first meal he ever cooked for me. We ate at home by candlelight, had good wine, listened to Sinatra, and went to bed early. ;-)

Lift & Separate...Well, Certainly Lift!

I just couldn't put it off any longer. I've been wearing my old bras for over a year, and they would have been stretched out and useless even if I hadn't lost weight, but now they are truly sad, even a little deflated looking. So Monday night I hit the lingerie department at Dillard's (I'm too small for Lane Bryant anything now!) to buy 3 new bras and 10 pairs of new underwear. I've gone down two band sizes (to a 34) and back down to a regular large (size 7) underwear, and boy, does it feel great! (Yesterday I couldn't wait to get out of bed so I could wear my new bra--what a difference. I felt extra energized all day.)

While I was there, I checked out pants to replace my beige chinos that now gape horribly at the waist, and bought a pair of stone-colored linen pants by Calvin Klein at 75% off that fit me perfectly right now....and they're size 12! Yes, I know, insert vanity sizing/non-standardized women's clothing sizing disclaimer here, but still, that felt energizing. For good measure, I also got a pair of black slacks with purple pinstripes, different brand, also a size 12.

Monday and yesterday, I spent a lot of time sewing to alter my clothes, hemming both of my new pairs of pants and taking in 5 of my favorite Lane Bryant blouses that I love and don't want to have to get rid of. (God, I'm becoming such a girly-girl! But the health makeover has become my main hobby and now it's turning into a looks-makeover as well.)

At first I started this to improve my health. When I started out I was just over the obese threshhold (30.1 on the BMI calculator) and realized I had to do something about it or else be at high risk of diabetes, heart disease, etc. Now, at 32 pounds down, my BMI is 24.9, just under the overweight threshhold. I am now officially a minority, the 1 out of 3 American adults who is not overweight or obese! These last 12 pounds are completely for vanity, baby. And vanity as motivator is sure working for me these days.

This is What 30 Looks Like

...30 pounds, that is.


I celebrated by buying a few new tops. Here I am wearing one of them with the Muffin Top pants, which currently look great as long as I'm standing up. :-)

Good Karma

Wow. The Karma Fairies are really smiling down at me today. My stunt that saved the day at the BalletMet audition a couple of weeks ago moved them to send a thank-you note and a check that was more than the gig paid me in the first place!

Dear Karin,

Thank you so much for "going the extra mile" (literally) for us at our audition. You saved the day for us and we could not have done the audition without your quick thinking and extra effort.

Please use the enclosed gift to treat yourself.

Sincerely,

Chris Rogers
BalletMet

This is awesome! I am going to treat myself when I get a chance to go to Sephora and use my gift card Darcy gave me for my birthday, as I'm running low on several goodies at once.

On another ballet-related note, tonight was $5.00 noght at the Cedar Lee movie theatre, so I went to see Ballets Russes, a documentary on the 20th Century dance troupe that, as I learned, actually brought ballet to most of America. There were tons of stunning archival footage interspersed with interviews with some of the dancers, now in their 80s and 90s.

Also, a lot of the music, soundtracks to the pieces choreographed decades ago on the company, were pieces I play for class all the time, that I didn't even know were used in a ballet ever!

I actually owe a lot of what I do for a living to the Ballets Russes, when I think about it. They almost singlehandedly brought ballet to American conciousness.

I Look Like My Dog

These I Look Like My Dog contest winners are impressively hillarious!

Saturday's Windsong Concert

Last weekend, Windsong performed our winter concert to a capacity (240+) crowd. My hands never got warm the entire time, though I think that was due more to adrenaline than the coolness of the room, but we did an excellent job! Here a really cool review. (Only one quibble--she says I provided "occasional" accompaniment. I guess that's true if by "occasional," one means "only" 75% of the songs.)

Muffin Tops (Boring, Girly Weight-Loss/Body Size Post)

Our house is cold, I constantly wear sweaters, and my fingers and toes never get warm unless I'm exercising, but I keep reminding myself: body trying to keep warm=higher metabolism!

I lost a freakish 3.0 more pounds between Jan. 2 and Jan. 9, which includes another 1/4" on all measurements, so I am now down 28.5 pounds! And this in a week that included no walking, short (1 job) workdays (except Sunday!), and cookies and/or chocolate every single day. I celebrated by wearing my new size 14 Target jeans Monday and Tuesday. They're still a bit snug--if they weren't stretch there's no way I could have done it--and I have serious "muffin tops" over the waistband, necessitating a strict "all shirts long and untucked" policy, but I bet they'll fit in a month. (I wish I had made up the term "muffin tops." But I actually learned it from one of those lists of Top 10 New Words of 2005. Here is an example of the word used in an article. It was the first Google result after a search for "muffin tops." Oh, here's a link that's even better--an entry from the Double-Tongued Word Wrester Dictionary, complete with word history!)

I just saw this article in Newsweek about the importance of core muscle strength for long-term health (yoga, pilates, etc.). My workout DVDs incorporate this training, and I already notice my back is a lot less sore. I gave Mouchie my ugly office chair and now use an exercise ball to sit at the computer, and sitting at a backless piano bench all day is a lot easier! Mouchie loves the chair, too--he sleeps on it, sheds on it, and uses it as a horizontal scratching post. At first I discouraged this behavior, but I've noticed it's saving wear and tear on the office futon. :-)

Surprisingly, I didn't gain any weight or girth over the Houston trip, despite lots of sitting, no exercise, meals out, and a party full of Texas-style entrees and an entire table full of homemade brownies, cakes, and cookies. I actually lost .5 pound that week, don't ask me how. That included the closest thing to a binge I've had since September--eating 24 oz of Jelly Bellies and saltwater taffy from a gift shop all by myself over 2 days. I guess that actually is a binge. :-S Strangely, we can have massive amounts of chocolate in the house and I won't do that. But I just can't handle the soft, chewy candies. Well, part of it was the "I'm on vacation/holiday" syndrome, which, mercifully, ended the day after we got home. Even that amount (I used to eat at least 24 oz of candy every day!) made me feel icky and gave me nasty gastrointestinal side effects. You'd think that would be a deterrent, but I still didn't stop. Oh well, my goal was just to maintain over the vacation, which I still managed to do.

Don't worry, I am not going to waste away! I started out with a 37.75" waist, and my goal is a 30" waist. (I have exactly 3" to go and I'll be there.) I don't even care what the other measurements are. Last time I was that size, I was at 140 pounds. I'm realizing as I get closer that my waist might not be that small at 140 this time (10 years older), so I might end up shooting for 135 or so. We'll see.

An Unintended Workout

I knew today was going to be jam-packed, but I had no idea just how much I would end up doing today. Here was my schedule:

9:30-10:30 UU Choir practice at chuch
10:45-12:00 Play for church service with choir singing
12:30-1:30 Potluck lunch, yak with friends
1:30-2:00 The first 1/2 hour of Worship Committee meeting, which I have to leave early from so I can get downtown in time for
2:30-4:00 Gig playing for audition class for BalletMet's Summer Intensive workshop. I then leave ASAP to arrive as soon as possible (though I will still be late) for
4:00-6:00 Windsong rehearsal (concert is this Saturday). Then I rush back to church for
6:30-8:30 Building Your Own Theology Class.

But how could anything else possibly fit into this schedule? you're probably thinking. Well, here's the story. Everything went great until I arrived downtown for the audition gig. It was held at the West Studio at the State Theatre (part of Playhouse Square). I have been gigging there intermittently for the past 18 years, and (other than it sometimes being chilly or the piano being out of tune) never have had any problems there. So I really didn't expect the scenario that awaited me.

I got there 10 minutes early (like a good little professional). I stuck my head inside the studio and noticed something unusual--the piano was gone. I glanced down the hallway and saw (what I thought was) the back of an upright piano against the wall. I introduced myself to the instructor and asked if there was someone who could help me move it back into the studio. She volunteered herself, and as we approached the "piano," we realized it was just a prop from the opera. The opera people were in the other studio, but there was only one piano in there and they were using it. Uh-oh.

I went down to the security guard, who first asked me if I had "ordered a piano" for the studio. He found the invoice, and, what do you know, there was the piano request in writing. He made a call to a worker, who was on break from 2:00-3:00. These are union guys, he explained. If he made them work during their break, they would charge double. They wouldn't be back until at least 3 and then they still had to "locate" a piano and then bring it up the freight elevator. I figured that, since the audition was over at 4 and it was now 2:30, by the time they got their act together it would be too late.

So after relaying this unwelcome information to the instructor, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I ran like a bat out of hell back to my car (3 minutes), drove home, making all the lights and only speeding a little bit (9 minutes), ran up the stairs to grab my little keyboard and accessories and back out to the car (2 minutes), and drove back downtown to my same parking spot (10 minutes). Fortunately, it was a nice, dry day. I then slung the 15-pound bag of accessories over my shoulder, tucked the 20-pound keyboard under one arm, and galumphed back to the studio and up the stairs (4 minutes). Smiling ballet moms greeted me and held doors for me. The instructor was beside herself with relief. "Oh, you're beautiful!" she exclaimed ecstatically.

She started showing an exercise when I entered the room, and by the time she'd finished I was all plugged in, set up, and ready to play (60 seconds).

Another example of how my regular workouts are paying off!
Total time spent saving the day: 25 minutes
Cardio minutes: 8
Strength training minutes: 6
Total minutes in target heart-rate zone: at least 25. Nothing like a beat-the-clock challenge to rev up the ol' metabolism!

Now my little keyboard is woefully inadequate for a ballet class. It only has 5 octaves. The touch is hard to control. I've banged it up over the past 13 years and some notes cause a rattling vibration or stick out too much or don't sound. But nobody cared. They were just so thrilled I was able to fix the problem.

The Great Purge of 2006

I did something today to celebrate my 25-pound weight loss milestone--I indulged in a huge purge. Oh no, you're thinking, don't tell me she's developing an EATING DISORDER?! Oh no, my little chickadees. Besides knowing that that's totally f****d up, I loathe vomiting and find the idea of doing it on purpose alien and vile.

On the contrary, I spent the morning purging my closet of unwearable clothes, something I haven't done in 4 years. Most of my pants and jeans are now swimmingly huge on me, to the point where even a belt doesn't work. All of my summer clothes from post-2002 look laughably dumpy, as they billow shapelessly around me with huge armpit holes and saggy waists.

A mood-booster: a little dark green dress and sweater set, labeled size 14 (not 14W, but Misses 14) fits me as well as it did in the summer of 2000! Can it be that I've now lost 5 1/2 years' worth of weight gain?!

I also put in the pile clothes I've had forever that now fit me, but didn't age well or just look too dowdy or out of style. I gave everything the benefit of the doubt, and tried everything on. Anything which inspired me to say, "You will never, ever wear this!" went in the pile.

I ended up with 2 kitchen garbage bags full of neatly folded clothes (about 50 pounds) and just got back from getting rid of them forever at the Goodwill. Boy, does that ever feel good!

On Monday, I went to Target to buy a "transitional" pair of jeans, as all of my denim is too big for me now. I got a pair of size 14 stretch jeans that almost fit me now. They still cause a bulge above the waistline so I probably won't wear them for another 3-4 weeks, but they already feel comfortable. I'm really, really getting there!

January Health Update Stats:

60% toward goal
Weight: -25.5 pounds
Bust: -4.0"
Waist: -4.5"
Hips: -3.75"
Thigh: -3.0"

Random Coincidence

I have morning off this week, and as usual, instead of doing something productive, I have been catching up on all my favorite web haunts I randomly came across this article about people who crash weddings. Imagine my surprise when, getting down to the last part of the article, "Todd" (in picture above) turns out to be Angus MacLane. Now he's an animator at Pixar, but once he was the 3-year-old down the street who was the first kid I ever babysat when I was 13. I babysat him and his little sister for the next five years. It's moments like this when the world just seems really small.

Birthday Weekend

My birthday was Friday and I'm 41 now. I love celebrating birthdays, no matter how old I get and I've never felt the need to be "discreet" about my age. So far every decade has been better than the last and I have no reason to expect the 40s to be any different. I like being this age--old enough to have some perspective on life and young enough to still feel pretty good physically.

Actually, I feel a lot better than I did on my 40th. It was nice this year, for one thing, for my entire family, Paul, and myself not to be violently ill with the flu.

I had a wonderful day Friday. After a workout, Paul took me to see Brokeback Mountain (which I highly recommend). An early dinner at Lopez followed, a heavenly chicken enchilada suiza with a kickass margarita--my favorite cuisine plus my favorite drink. It was so deliciously satisfying, I didn't need to eat for the rest of the day.

After dark, we went to see the holiday decorating and lighting display at Stan Hywet Hall, which, although it was cold and crowded, was beautiful and very fun. When I got home, I returned calls of all the family members who called to wish me a happy birthday. All in all, it was a great way to start my own personal new year.

Speaking of the New Year, we went out dancing at the Cavana Ballroom, where we take our lessons. Last time we did this, two years ago, my feet killed me for a whole day after dancing off and on for 4 hours. But now that I'm in better shape and weigh 25.5 pounds less (yay me!), the only discomfort I felt in my feet was not from the dancing, but from the fact that my dance shoes have a 1.5" heel and no arch support, and my toes kept jamming into the tip of the shoes from gravity, which I am not used to.

We had a catered dinner and met some new people, who took this pic of us:

I'm wearing my new jacket that Mom & Ron gave me for my birthday, and that I've been living in for the past 4 days. Took it off to dance, though!

At about 11 pm, we were treated to an exhibition dance by our instructor Jim and his wife Suzanne. She played the role of Jessica Rabbit, complete with bright orange wig and body-hugging dress with fake boobs, knocking the men dead with her wiles. It was cute and very entertaining.

We had a midnight countdown with champagne punch and a balloon drop, followed by more dancing. I have high hopes that 2006 will be a great year!

Texas Family Reunion

You know, I was expecting Texas to be more of a foreign country. Well, beautiful 70-80 degree weather right after Christmas was a pretty dramatic shift. And it is true, everything's bigger there. Even the traffic lights are 2-3 miles apart, and it takes at least 45 minutes to go anywhere there. We passed by signs pointing out Tom DeLay's district and the Halliburton headquarters--we were definitely in BushCroneyland.

Most of our time was spent near where Paul's brother David lived. All of us visiting family members stayed at the Holiday Inn about 2-3 miles from David's house, and spent most of our time hanging out together talking, eating, driving, and eating some more, having an overall good time.

We all first met, some of us straight from the airport, at a Sears portrait studio for family pictures. Paul's family always does this at reunions, as they tend to happen only once every decade or so. I think it's a great idea.

We decided to get some taken of the two of us, and I think they turned out pretty cute.

We ordered prints, including some wallet-sized ones, plus a CD of all of the images so if people want to make calendars, cards, extra prints, etc, just email me and I'll send you the original jpeg file. You can see them all here, along with the pics I took during the rest of our trip.

I really enjoyed meeting and hanging out with Paul's people. Everybody knew not to talk about inflammatory topics, so there was no weirdness on that issue. I loved seeing family resemblance here and there, and seeing family photo albums.

You have to see this pic. It's Paul's grandmother holding a tuba with Paul's father in it! :-)

That Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Well, one of them, anyway! Yesterday, Darcy came by to visit for a few hours. We spent the whole time just yakking, catching up on all the topics we miss in our phone conversations, exchanging fun presents, and indulging in our annual photo session--this is the third Christmas Eve we've done this. It was so good to see her. It meant a lot to me.

We thought we'd shoot some obligatory Cute Couple pics while we were at it. One of them might make our Christmas cards next year.


At about 6, we had to kick Darcy out because I had to get up to church to rehearse with Amy and Sharon for the service, which started at 7 pm. It as a lovely service--carols interspersed with readings, some humorous and some touching, and ending with several verses of Silent Night by candlelight. We hung around for another half hour socializing over cookies.

We had minestrone soup and a few more cookies for dinner while we watched our DVD of It's a Wonderful Life, a tradition that Dad started maybe 10-15 years ago (not from my childhood). Paul & I have watched it every Christmas Eve we've been together--this is our fourth--and I love this tradition. This time we didn't have to cram packing into our schedule because we didn't have to fly anywhere today, or leave the house at all, for that matter.

We slept in as late as Mouchie would let us (about 8:30) and then enjoyed our stockings filled with clementines, shelled mixed nuts and dark Malley's chocolate foil-wrapped bells. We had a few fun little gifts from mostly family, and laughed at Mouchie as he played with the wrapping paper.

We roasted a 10-lb ham (my first ever). Wow, was that ever good. We got it yesterday morning at the West side market. It was a bone-in, non-precooked one, and super high quality. We coated it with a sugar rub with ginger, cloves, mustard and lime zest with pecan halves all over it--delicious, and not that hard. I managed to fit in a workout and we did our Christmas cards together while listening to David Sedaris's Santaland Diaries, one of our "sentimental" holiday favorites. We got to talk to Dad, Becky & Hannah, Eric, and Mom on the phone.

The rest of the evening's plans include watching A Christmas Story and packing for our trip to Houston tomorrow. Paul's family is having a huge reunion there from the 26-29th. I checked the weather and it's supposed to be in the 70s the whole time we're there! Whoo hoo!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

I Hate Being Late

Being late is one of the things that stresses me out. I've noticed that peole fall into one of two types: the Time Concious and the Time Oblivious, and I am firmly in the former camp. Other people have nightmares about being chased, falling off a cliff, or being naked in public. I have those, too, but my worst ones are about missing an important flight or being hours late for work with no way of communicating to the person waiting for me.

This morning, I woke up in the dark worrying about the Christmas packages (non-calendar stuff and kids' gifts) that I sent last Monday by Priority Mail (Guaranteed 2-3 Days Delivery Most Locations!) Surely they should have made it by Friday (yesterday), and actually should have made it by Wednesday or Thursday.

Yesterday Paul brought home a box of all nine of our calendars that had been sent to our box at the UPS Store. I had asked the company, Digi-Labs, to send them individually to the intended recipients, they emailed me back saying they said they would, but it looks like they all got sent to me. Oh well, they're here, so I won't complain.

I sent an email to you all, asking if any of you had received one individually, and since everyone who replied back said no, I wrapped them and sent them off today. There was absolutely no line at the Post Office today, as people are aware that it's Just Too Late for Christmas delivery, so there was no stress at all, and I am happy that you all will get them before New Years'.

So why the early morning stress? you ask. Well, Becky said she hadn't gotten my package for Hannah Jo, either. This is upsetting to me, because late Christmas presents for adults, especially when warned about, are really no big deal. But to a kid, it can be really disappointing. Flaky as I can sometimes be, I've never let kids down with late Christmas or birthday presents, and I don't want to start now.

I can't help but wonder what other of my Monday packages still haven't made it. I know Mom & Ron's did because she emailed me Thursday. Eric & Rusty? Alec? And it's not even my fault! Stupid Post Office.

Christmas Present Disaster

Warning to loved ones: Spoiler Alert Re: Your Christmas Gift

I was all excited that, after tracking the package all week, the calendars I had ordered were delivered today. We have a crazy weekend hosting a party tomorrow, then overnight guests Sunday, so the earliest I could lovingly wrap and mail our gifts out would be Monday, cutting it close but not so close that I would have to pay premium postage.

When Paul picked up the box and brought it home, he was suspicious of its lightness. Shouldn't 9 calendars weigh more than 1.0 pounds? I opened it--and it was only one calendar--somebody else's! I was SOOO PISSED!

No customer service contact info was in the paperwork, so I went to turn on the computer and find it online. While waiting for it to start up, I noticed the paperwork had a different order#, 2 digits away from mine, plus the rightful recipient's contact info, including email and phone number. She lives in El Cajon, CA! I was just flabbergasted that they could fail to notice the completely non-matching zip codes, at least!

So I call the number, wait on hold for a few minutes, and.........eventually get directed to an answering machine! This really didn't look good. I didn't know what else to do so I left my number along with a request to either fix it and send it overnight or give me my money back. Not trusting they would get the message, I also sent them an email.

Then I thought, hmmm, maybe Lisa in California got my calendars, and we can just send them to each other and be done with it. I should call. As it turns out, she got 10 calendars that should have gone to yet another family, in Maryland! Who, by the way, she has tried to contact via email and hasn't heard back from. Arrrrgh. Did I mention I was pissed? Ain't no way my family members and other loved ones are gonna get these in time for Christmas.

The tech guy did call back half and hour later, though, offered to reprint them and send them directly to my recipients if I just email him their addresses. So I did that and requested that they reply and confirm that they're really going to do this.

I still feel very uneasy, given that this is the beginning of the weekend, and the last weekend before Christmas, as it happens, and I won't even know they got the message until at least Monday. And if they don't get it together, your presents won't be there in time.