For when people stop being polite

and start getting real.

I heart this show. I longed to be on it. I feel secure in this because Am's wanted to be on it, too. Whatever.

SO, I leave for Italy today. Today today. I've just spent the last bagillion hours schmoozing way above my pay grade (Which was great and impressive and really nice to meet people) but it makes me tired. It is amazing how much schmoozing can take out of a person when they do it from 8 am-9pm. I think this ensures I will never run for public office or be the senior pastor of a large congregation. I'm sure you are now thinking, "well hells bells, wtf is she going to do then? These are the exact jobs I had picked out for her." Sorry to confuse you and change your opinion of me.

In other news I've had a very good friend recently diagnosed with breast cancer. It turns out that life has stopped being polite and started getting real. I think that when we're thrown into these situations it definitely means that we're grown ups. I mean, not that I didn't know this before (the 8-5 job did that, and the marriage, and the paying our own bills, etc etc etc), but this part. Sucks. I suppose that "on the edge" is where we meet people in life. IT's where we recognize one anothers humanity. It's where we can understand someone despite our backgrounds because we understand the emotion and the confusion. Without this "edge" we would fail to know lifes great hope. SO here I sit... on the edge of hope, on the edge of anger, on the edge of confusion, and on the edge of vacation.

With all of this edge-ness, I sure could use a big fluffy couch--one where you sit on it and your feet don't hit the ground.

Defient and agressive.

FINALLY, my husband has come home--but much later than expected. First, one of the trolley's of luggage got lost (How does this happen?) Then Ben got stopped by the customs agent and missed his flight. Get this... because he looked defiant and aggressive and they're supposed to look for things like that. Um, what? Has anyone met my husband? Yes, he goes off on rants (though I think he's trying to get this under control), but he's not one of those guys who you look at and think. Dude, that guys about to lose it and probably go ape shiz (totally appropriate to use now that we have the Travis incident) on that person and stick her in the arm with our plastic ware that we're allowed to use at the airport. No one thinks that B had created a shank out of a straw from the food court. SO. Because of said missed flight, B spent EXTRA time at the LAX airport, then had to fly to Dallas and THEN to Austin and got in at 11 pm last night. Luckily, he was in a much better mood and we got to hang out with my sis and BIL last night and all giggle over JT's amazing performances on SNL (whilst having a drink or 2). Fun times!

Also fun times? We had our first run yesterday with TNT. It went well. I didn't get much of a workout in because I was hanging with some new people, but that's ok. We will all get to the finish line somehow! I also made some fantastic (read non-returnable impulse buys) at the Bettysport sale. Delightful! 2 sports bras, 50% off (so basically, I'm saving money), some sandals that I have been eyeing for quite sometime (regularly 130 and I got them for 50), and.....some yoga pants? Keep in mind that I do not do yoga. Perhaps I will take it up so as to use my very cute pants. Oops. They cost too much, but seriously. So darn cute. I deem them, "travel" pants. I will wear them on the plain and people will stare and think, "what a good purchase. I bet that had nothing to do with impulse and shopping highs." Cleverly, I'll pretend I don't hear them, but secretly, I do and I revel in the fact that I have mastered the art of buying only necessity items that will create a wardrobe that Stacie London will envy. OR... hate. Because I'm wearing Yoga (I mean, Travel) pants at an airport.

Whatever, Stacie. I'm going to Italy and these pants are perfect for 3 reasons.
1. They are adorable and have a ruffle.
2. They will not wrinkle and allow for much comfortable movement and plane sleeping
3. They are expandable.

I leave in 5 days. I will workout at least 2 of them. I will work for 4 of them. I will probably not have my head in the game because my eye is on the prize.

a system of rewards

So, I was just thinking about this... deep thinking... but I work on a system of rewards. I know it's weird, (or so I hear from the BB), but I do not check the mail. Ever. Should I live alone I'd probably only check it once a week. I've checked it 2x this week AND remembered to mail our mortgage check! (I also do not pay bills because of my ocd about finances. You may think this is odd that I would obsess bout such things given my "spending habits." however, I've decided that I spend because I'm unaware. If I were to be super aware we'd stay home and leave the lights off and warm ourselves by candles. Or, in our case, because we're in Texas, we'd cool ourselves by sitting on our ice block that we would also use to cool our items that needed the frigid air.)

I will also clean and then quit for a minute and do something enjoyable. I also used to run to a set point (in my mind) and then get to walk a few feet. I apparently run my life based on a need for rewards. WHICH is why I love presents. I have not analyzed where this comes from... that will be another post.

Just fyi.

Makin' a way in the world today takes everything you've got!

Takin' a break from all your worries sure would help a lot! Wouldn't you like to get away?

Yes.
I would.
I would like a break from all of my worries so that my old lady skin disease goes away. I would also like to inform you that we leave for ITALY in 8 days. 8 days a week... I luh-uh-uh-uhve you. Again, though i know my husband loves me, we are not destitutely poor, and he does not leave me at home (please see previous post) he will be staying in Italy for an ADDITIONAL week for work. Yes folks, that's 2 weeks in the land of food and wine (and greasy man hair.)

Fair? Only if I get some presents. (and no, my clothes I have purchased pre-trip do not count because those fall in the "necessities" category. I just need to be prepared to ensure a safe and efficient traveling experience. Which reminds me... I need one more thing.)

In 7 days (because we'll drive to ft. worth on Thurs) I need to have deep cleaned my house (happening tonight/tomorrow because my sis, BIL and nephew are coming tomorrow night), I need to do laundry, run, pack, hold a very important event for work. YIKES. And some how make it out sane, healthy and ready for wine consumption and history looking. I'm going to put a call into Tom Cruise a little later today.

Sometimes you want to go--where NO ONE knows your name.

It has been brought to my attention...

that in my musings that it makes it sound as if B is an unloving man, we are destitutely poor, and I never get to go anywhere.

I tried to explain to the love of my life, that I'm a fiction writer who likes to enhance situations to create them to be one sided. He should get this. I mean, how many other people claim that they have ebola when really, they're allergic to rag weed? How many people do you know who have meningitis and SARS at the same time and have a miraculous recovery? I also had west nile one summer--I had a lot of mosquito bites and saw a dead bird (next to a window.)

SO--because he was in Japan, and due to jet lag, B was up at 5:30 AM yesterday (their time 7:30 PM our time) and actually ready my biased blog. Oops. SO here it is everyone...

My husband loves me (enough to read my blog when he's bored.) He does encourage me to seek medical attention when necessary (even though he once disabled WebMD from our internet access). We are not destitutely poor (though I will attribute some of this to my inability to not purchase things when they are a good deal.) We leave for Italy in 10 DAYS! (for which we are destitutely poor because I need new travel clothes and travel sized items... like hair wax--an amazing find, btw, deodorant, laundry detergent, shampoo, sunscreen, lotion, new shorts, dress... ok, apparently I got distracted.)

My husband loves me SO much that he let me know that my obsession of froyo (that's frozen yogurt for you slowskies out there) has swept the nation and moved to Japan (where he is currently--without me.)

Also new items... I start training again on Saturday with TNT! You can look back and read my many posts about WHY I'm running with them and you can check out my fundraising website. Help me help YOU find a cure for cancer :)

You can keep up with my training here

Where is my trip to Fiji?

Seriously? I hear that once you start valtrex you get some sort of tropical vacay in some remote destination.

Because I have herpes.
And I don't.
And we want to keep it that way.
Smile and run off into a waterfall together before jumping in your very cool car.

Perhaps I should back up a bit. So, I think I've mentioned that I've been crazy tiredstown lately. Maybe not? Either way, I've noticed--I thought it was simply due to my being on the road for 2 weeks, going into work at 5:30 etc. Well, all of those things lead to a "weakened immune" system that has now given me... the herp. Ok, not really. But "Herpes Zoster" aka Shingles. Yah, I'm 29 and have a viral outbreak of something that people over 60 normally get. I went to the doctor yesterday after waking up with a small rash on my back and stomach (which Ben told me to forget about and see what happens when asked if I should seek medical care.) Anywho, I called the docs office they said yes, I should def come in, and luckily I did. I mean, who would have known? I thought I had spinal meningitis, but nope just neck pain from a normal old virus that has been lying dormant in my system for the last 14 years.

So, you guys can stop learning the Thriller dance to be preformed at my funeral. It looks like I'll pull through now that I have my valtrex. Which, I thought I remembered them claiming it as a little purple pill--maybe that's something else? Seriously, because these are horse sized pills.

Yah... so when I went to pick up my valtrex and sleeping pills at the pharmacy (the same store where, you may recall I passed out and had to be cared for by the emt) I considered also buying a pregnancy test, a bottle of wine, and maybe some tampons--just to keep people guessing (or thinking that I'm a crazy whore who has genital herps, drinks so much she passes out at 2 pm, may be knocked up, still drinkin' and can't sleep at night so she's taking ambien.) You choose. it was great when I had my "consultation" with the pharmacist.

Awesome. I have shingles. I feel like poo and my husband is in Japan.

the epidemic stops here..

or at least the bacterials stop here. I have some new hand sanitizer on my desk (given to me at work) that I find the smell to be delightful. I put it on 8 times a day. It's the walgreens version, but I can "compare to purell."

quien es esa chica?

SO, maybe I have called a hotline like... 20 times today. I saw in our newspaper that you could call in and take a quiz about Abba and Mama Mia to enter to win tickets to see mama mia. AWESOME. The questions were kind of hard and beyond my knowledge--and google was not moving fast enough for me to get the answers quickly. So I had to call back. 20 times. And do some serious research between calls. And then, once I knew all of the answers I called back and registered 4x. With 4 different numbers.

I've become "that" girl. The one that says these things aloud and people smile and nod and act like you're normal and then make fun of you to their friends--because you're not normal.

Did you know the name "ABBA" is taken from the first letter of each of their names? Did you know that one couple got divorced in 1979 and the other in 1981? Did you know that the A-Teens have done some remakes of their songs? (I did not as I have not ever heard of the A Teens which is why I picked the pussy cat dolls as that answer.) Did you know that Phil Collins did something or another on one of their songs? Did you know that their music is also featured in Muriel's Wedding?