Ten on Tuesday

1. Here ends his career as a Rockette. Dad's knee surgery was last Wednesday, and he got sprung from the hospital on Saturday. He's tired, but happy to have the painkillers leave his system. When he falls asleep in the middle of a conversation, you know he's had a little too much of the happy drugs. Now it's therapy and TLC to get him back to normal ... or at least the way he used to be, only with a happier knee.
2. Important lesson that cannot be repeated enough: do not get married on your birthday. When you're "happy" with the guy you married, you're not special because he gets anniversary goodies on your birthday. And if it ends, well, your birthday has the potential to suck. Thankfully, mine did not. No, what sucked was the fact that he chose my birthday/our anniversary to e-mail me and ask for his brother's address. If you were looking for proof that I married a toad, there it is.
3. Birthday food tastes really good, especially when shared with wonderful friends. Tapas with Patrick and Ed, seafood with Amber, breakfast with Cute Brian ... it's the best! And remember: I celebrate all month long, so there are three more weeks of birthday goodness for us to share!
4. Sometimes, stuff just doesn't make sense. A woman I work with was shown the door last week. I admired her professionalism, graciousness and talents, and I may never understand what caused her departure. I miss her very much.
5. What's with the weather? Last Monday, it was in the 90s. Tonight, we're supposed to get down to 47. There's nothing like a 40-degree temperature drop to remind you you're in Chicagoland. I am not ready for sweaters and boots, but I think I'm gonna have to get ready really fast.
6. The birthday celebration continues this weekend. I'm going to Lake Geneva for karaoke Friday night, where Dale and I will celebrate our birthdays - we're a week apart. Then Saturday is Game Night at Chez Rathunde North, and we've been promised a good time. Wanna come along?
7. I've got moves you've never seen. Me, either. Last night I had a rocking-awesome night of workouts. Plural. At 5:30 I did spinning with Joe. He is just an amazing instructor, encouraging, kind and careful. The hour passes before you know it. Then, John, Jessica, Justice and I headed in for Salsa/Funk with Donna. WOW, what a workout! It was like an hour dancing with friends. Awesome ... truly, awesome. Then at 8, I unleashed my inner goddess and took Belly Dancing. My friend Linda loaned me a hip scarf (not a scarf that is hip, but a scarf that ties around your hips) and I had an absolute blast. The instructor, Kim, is amazing and encouraging and makes everyone feel like they are beautiful. I won't kid you - all that shimmying and shaking is hard work! But seriously big fun. By the time I took my heartrate monitor off at the end of the night, I had burned 1,438 calories. Not a bad night at the gym, eh?
8. I smell really good. Bath & Body Works has a new fragrance, Black Amethyst, and it's really quite lovely. A bit dramatic, a bit earthy, a whole lot me. You should smell it.
9. Never miss a good chance to shut up. I'm learning this every day. Sometimes, the thoughts in my head don't have to come out. Sometimes when they do come out, they're hurtful. A closed mouth gathers no foot.
10. People actually love me. No, really. I'm 42 years old and this is just starting to sink in. I am just beginning to accept it and not analyze why. It's tough sometimes, because as many of you know, I've battled the whole self-image thing my whole life. But really, who hasn't? Who among us can stand up and say "I have a great self-image, all the time"? That's what I thought. So I'm slowly coming to the conclusion that when people say things to me like "You're beautiful, inside and out--even down to your pinky toe," they (in this case, the amazing Racheal) are serious. And who could blame them, really. Have you seen my pinky toe?