Diary of a Staycation~Day 2

Day 2~Ah sleep. Thanks to our busy day on Friday Zeus was tired and slept in until 9:00 am on Saturday. I was one VERY happy dog owner!!!! The rest of the day was filled with naps, movies and a short walk before I began getting ready for my birthday party.

Now I will be honest and admit that after weeks of anticipation, I was more than a little nervous, mostly because I find it so awkward to be the center of attention. Gives me the heebie-geebies. So as dorky as it was I actually prayed that I could relax and enjoy the night. And I was able to, with the help of three of Lane's lemon drops! ☺

But I really had no reason to worry because FOR THE RECORD: I have the BEST friends in the entire world. Stephanie and Serina poured their hearts and souls into throwing me a small, intimate 40th birthday party that I would never forget. I was humbled by all of the time, energy and money they spent on me!

Persian food, gorgeous flower arrangements, an Eiffel Tower cake (well, sort of!), a DVD chronicling my life, a surprise phone call with Laurie who got up at 2:00 am German time to talk to me (!), an "Archeology Game" geared to see how well everyone knew me, and a phone-a-friend call to Rhonda to verify the answer. It was special, it was fun and I was overwhelmed with love from people who have known me 20 years to those who have only known me a few.

Thank you to ALL of my friends, even those who were not at my party. My life is richer because of my friendships. I've learned how to love better, judge less and enjoy more because of you. Thank you, thank you, thank you for allowing me to be a part of your lives!!! I LOVE YOU!!!

Diary of a Staycation~Day 1

I always thought I'd celebrate my 40th birthday in Europe, but as is the case with most of my dreams, it was not meant to be. No exotic vacation in a foreign locale. Nope, instead last Friday I began an extended "staycation" with the goal of resting, relaxing and healing this suddenly old body!

So here are some of the things that have been keeping me busy:

Day 1 ~ I did not accomplish any of my stated goals. I was on the move early and after dropping Zeus off at my parents' house I took my car in for a 4-hour oil change/recall repair. The dealer rented a car for me so I could run my errands, but would only rent another Toyota. Would you believe that the Enterprise Rental Car next door was fresh out of Toyotas? ☺ But not to worry, the chatty clerk located a Toyota on WW White and proceeded to drive me to that location to pick up the car.

As I drove off in my rented Corolla I promptly.........got lost. Surprise, surprise! For those of you as unfamiliar with the area as I, let's just say that it's not exactly welcoming. In fact, it can be downright scary, especially if you get lost. I was almost downtown before I realized that I was headed the wrong way. But I didn't panic, I'm so used to getting lost that I've trained myself to laugh, turn up the radio and turn the car around!

After finding my way I refinanced my car before paying the nice lady at Forum Nails to change my toenail polish. Next I ended up at the mall, purchased some new clothes and spontaneously decided to get my face "threaded". If you've never seen it, check out this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jnd83vwhUA0 To be honest it hurt terribly, but my face is now as smooth as a baby's bottom and my eyebrows look smokin' hot. Okay, not really, but they do look groomed, which is better than how they looked before!

I wrapped up my day by eating some pretty bad Chinese food at the mall and picking up my newly serviced and repaired Camry. (So happy I bought the Camry instead of the Corolla!) I arrived at my parents' house to a very excited puppy and hung out with my nephews before we made a dinner delivery to my dad who was working late at the park.

It was after dark when I arrived home and although I didn't exactly rest or relax, I did accomplish a lot of "business" which freed me up to enjoy the next 11 days. It was fun to see my family and hang out with my talkative nephew (the older one is too cool to talk to me for long), all in all it was a productive day and my dog was so tired he went right to sleep when we got home!

My Inner Hippie

I found my inner hippie last night. I didn't know she was lost until my boss gave me concert tickets to Rain: The Beatles Experience. And for those of you who don't know, my boss does everything in style.

• The Majestic Theater
• Box seats
• Private lounge
• Valet parking

It started with I Wanna Hold Your Hand and ended with my favorite, Hey Jude. The other 2 hours were filled with songs like Yesterday, Come Together, Let It Be, Hello Goodbye, A Hard Day's Night, Eleanor Rigby, Girl, Across The Universe, I Am A Walrus. As much as I enjoyed the concert, can I be honest and say that I've always hated the walrus song? Last night didn't change my mind. It's still awful.

But, otherwise the night was AMAZING. I feel like I saw the REAL Beatles live in concert. It was an unbelievable show. Psychedelic lights, a multi-media presentation, musicians who almost perfectly imitated the real stars in look and sound. It made me wish I had seen the real deal. If you appreciate music at all then walk, don't run to the nearest show!

Now if I can just finagle a way to see U2 and Coldplay live in concert before I die.....


http://www.raintribute.com/

American Idol Addict

Yes. I admit it, I LOVE it. It's my guilty pleasure. ***GO DAVID COOK*** And even though I attend a home group on Tuesdays and a prayer study on Wednesdays I am able to enjoy it thanks to the inventor of TIVO, whose face I will gladly kiss if I ever see it!

I love it the early stages when all of the terrible singers audition. I find myself laughing until I cry at their antics. Of course I also cry for real when some of them are heartbroken because no one has been honest enough to tell them that, no, they really should not sing in public, EVER. I get mad at Simon sometimes, especially when I think he has been unfair, but I have to admit that I prefer his approach to Paula's "nicey-nice" one. At least you know where you stand with him! ***GO DAVID COOK***

Once Hollywood Week begins I lose interest pretty fast, I don't think it's possible for me to care any less about the silly dramas that unfold between highly emotional contestants. I just want to see and hear people sing! ***GO DAVID COOK*** Ah, but once they narrow down the playing field to 24 I find myself drawn back into the frenzy. I watch every performance and listen to every note as if my personal future is at stake. This year I chose my favorite early. ***GO DAVID COOK*** A young rocker with the ability to make me like a Dolly Parton song about a sparrow - THAT takes talent. When he sang "Music of the Night" and "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" I was swooning. And, when he redid "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson, and made it amazingly cool, I nearly wept.

This week will mark the finale, and since it begins on Tuesday I will be conspicuously absent from home group (sorry HG, some things just need to be seen live!) ***GO DAVID COOK*** And, thanks to some scheduling conflicts my prayer group will meet on Thursday relieving me of the guilt I would feel when choosing to watch a television show over devoting myself to prayer... ***GO DAVID COOK***

In case you're not sure who I'm voting for, I will close with the following:

GO DAVID COOK!

DAVID COOK ROCKS!

GO DAVID COOK!

DAVID COOK ROCKS!

Check out these performances if you don't believe me!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dMZ97pNilI - "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_aiawC-9aM - "Billie Jean"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHo5I811n0k - "Hello"