MMMBop

I just watched a child walk through my house wearing a pair of costume cat ears...

That is what I am dealing with right now...said child was not my own but rather the very beautiful daughter of a friend.

There is a whole group of teenagers in my backyard. More are arriving by the minute...I have bootcamp with Dimples in the morning and I have a terrible feeling that this is going to be a very long night.

And I am sitting on the computer typing this blog and whining about it...and I have not had enough wine tonight to deal with it!

I guess that is what my life has come to...my house is the teen hangout.

I've announced on more than one occasion that my refrigerator is open to one and all...they can consume whatever they like...

as long as it is NOT alcohol...

THAT is off limits...

Completely off limits!

I might be the "cool mom" and let them eat all the cheese and goodies...but no beer, no vodka, no nothing that will inebriate them.

(I've counted the beers and marked the booze...I know what I have...shhhhh...don't tell them)

More children are wandering in...I'm telling you, they are arriving like bees coming back to the hive.

They help themselves to whatever they want...except the booze...so far so good...

All in all, it's not a bad thing that my house is the chosen spot...it makes me somewhat nervous that I have so many kids here, but on the other hand I know where my child is and I know who she is with.

So I will put up with music blaring out by the pool and a host of kids hanging out in my backyard.

They clean up after themselves...

They are nice chldren...many of them are kids I truly love and adore...

The music is not so bad...

Although last night I did have to tell them to change the song on the iPod because it was Hanson's "MMmmBop" and there is absolutely no excuse for that song...

Because "MmmmBop" is one of the worst songs ever written...it goes on the list with:
Run Joey Run
The Pina Colada Song
Muskrat Love
Merry Christmas Darling

So I made them change the song...they laughed...I was cool with Arcade Fire (I happen to LOVE Arcade Fire) which was the next song they played, but I had to draw the line at listening to MmmmBop...

They are good kids...they are the children of my friends...

I'll have them here any day...

As long as I don't have to hear "MmmmBop"...

and no booze...no one gets to the booze...that is automatic grounds for banishment...

along with playing any of my 5 banned songs...

Inspiration Song: I can't believe I named a blog "MMMBop" but there you go...one of the 5 worst songs ever written...in my opinion...my blog/my opinion!

Bye Darlings...let the kids hang at your house...just ban bad music...and booze...

Love Hurts

So you are looking at that blog title and wondering...

"Is her divorce going badly?"

"Is she regretting her divorce?"

"Does she have someone new in her life that has already broken her heart?"

"Is she missing Oprah so badly that she is in pain?"

The answers are:
no
no
no
and yes...

But what I am REALLY referring to is not my past, present, or future love life or lack thereof, or my terrible sadness over the end of the Oprah show...

and thank goodness for once I am not talking about the great pain dished out by teenage children...

No, I'm talking about my other love life...

My fitness life

Because right now I am in some good old-fashioned I worked my behind off pain...and the scale is not making me happy.

I did spin class 3 days in a row so right now my left knee is letting me know that it is not exactly happy with me...too bad because I plan to spin tomorrow so I hope Advil takes care of it.

And my glutes...do you really want to hear about my glutes?

Well, your gonna...

Cause they hurt...

JayVee and J'taime Jamie dished out some awesome classes this weekend...lots of climbs, lots of jumps, and lots of speed work on the bike.

GOOD calorie burns...

GOOD glute burns...

I thought about sitting on ice packs but I'm not quite that bad off.

And I did body pump 2 days in a row...not recommended but I couldn't help myself...so my chest is in pain from all that pumping...too bad that I can't do enough chest presses to fix what the plastic surgeon is going to need to fix...

So Advil is my drug of choice...I think I will chase it with a bit of wine...you can't do that with Tylenol.

Now about that scale...I'm about ready to throw it out.

I started the week about where I have been living these days...and then it jumped down to a new low...and a real happy place for me...

But just as suddenly it jumped back up...to a not-so-happy place.

Damn...

I don't get it...

And I am terribly frustrated.

I think it is the carbs.

Because I have allowed myself to have a few more carbs...especially the forbidden ones like chips, etc. a little more often these days.

I have decided that I'm ready to transition to a not-so-strict diet because at some point I'm going to need to live my life. And I plan to do so with tortilla chips...and pita chips...and vodka...and beer.

Now the vodka has always been a part of my "I'm having this no matter what you say, Dimples" plan...but I usually avoid beer.

Except for during the summer.

And I found a new beer, thanks to Trainer Girl, that is my new obsession.

It has the best name ever:

MOOSE DROOL

It's made in Montana. That explains the name.

It's a dark beer that has a faintly chocolate and coffee flavor to it.

Yummy...

There is a local bar/restaurant that has tons of beers on tap that serves it. And I found it bottled at Specs. I plan to have it around a lot...

Cause it's some good stuff...

Trainer Girl and I went out on Saturday to the place that serves it.

We decided to tick of Dimples by inviting his girlfriend to join us.

I thought about nicknaming her "Dimples Girl" but she truly deserves her own special name.

She is hot...I mean this girl is as gorgeous as my Dimples is. And she is an engineer.

Did I mention she is hot?

So I'm going to call her Hottie Girl...cause she is...

So me, Trainer Girl (who is also quite hot I might add) and Hottie Girl went out for some Moose Drool the other night and we dished about men...and about poor Dimples.

Bless his heart...all I can say is that he is very lucky to have 3 women who think he is the bomb...and at least one of us loves him at all times...it just depends on WHAT time it is that we do or do not love him.

I love him 23 hours a day...it's the hour that he trains me that the love is questionable.

Hottie Girl loves him all the time...but then again, she is supposed to...she's his girl...

And Trainer girl is on about the same schedule as me...

I was afraid he was going to kill me for corrupting his girlfriend but peace is reigning...

for now...

we'll see what he does when he trains me next time...I might get really punished...

I don't think it was the going out for Moose Drool that might make him mad...it was the shoe shopping BEFORE going out. We each walked out of DSW with a new pair of fierce heels...

and that, my friends, is how you start out an awesome night!

Some day I guess I will write a blog and tell you I have a new man in my life...some day...but not right now...

Right now I have a son, and ex, and a trainer...that's about all I can handle.

But if you want to hear about shoes...or glute pain...well, you have come to the right place.

Inspiration Song: "Love Hurts" by Nazareth...cause right now I hurt...and JayVee served up a wicked climb on the bike to it today...

Bye Darlings...get your hurt on...in a good way...go and exercise!

Redneck Girl

Quote from Ke$ha Barbie:
"this is the most redneck thing you have ever cooked"

Tonight I made beer-can-in-the-butt chicken...

And I gotta admit...it was pretty damn good stuff...even thought now I totally smell like smoke from the wood chips... (recipe at the bottom of the blog)

I guess that would be a redneck girl kind of thing...

So am I a redneck girl?

Sorta...

I mean, I did major in Agricultural Economics in college. It was me and all the cowgirls...I was the one in the back of the room wearing a skirt and Giorgio perfume while the most of the other girls were wearing jeans (and some in overalls...not joking) with their names on the back of their belts. Some of them even dipped Copenhagen...not joking...

I never put my name on my belt...

But I did wear my belt buckles I won at the cattle shows.

Because I did show cattle...

And I won...

And I was damn good at it...

But instead of wearing jeans (with a belt with my name on it) and a western cut plaid shirt, I would show my cattle in a fancy suit from Cutter Bill with a teal silk blouse and matching boots.

Urban Cowgirl was more my style than redneck girl...

I drove a suburban, not a truck...but I will confess I really wanted a truck...and I do live out that fantasy whenever I drive Ke$ha Barbie's big Ford F150 double cab.

I didn't look like a redneck girl, or a cowgirl, or any kind of country girl in college.

I wore things like:
skirts made from a Chinese flag
eel skin stilettos
colored skinny jeans so tight I needed a coathanger to pull them up
skinny jeans with zippers at the ankle worn with "flashdance" off the shoulder tops
Laura Ashley dresses (so I could look like a shepherdess...)
miniskirts with ankle socks and heels (like the girl in the ZZ Top "Legs" video)
preppy clothes

I did not wear cowgirl-style jeans and plaid...

And if I wore my boots it was with my suede skirt.

So I guess that is why I confused the TA who taught my animal science lab when I walked in...

I'm rocking the Chinese flag outfit with the stilettos and I walk into class and he informs me that this was the animal science lab class for people with experience...

and then he goes on to add: "and I'm not talking about dogs, and cats, and gerbils"

(I don't know why he added gerbils but all these years later I still think it was funny).

I told him: "I know"

Meanwhile a guy I knew who I showed cattle with started sliding down in his chair waiting for, as he put it later, "Hurricane Anice to make a direct hit in the direction of the TA".

(TA= Teaching Assistant).

First lab class...castrating pigs...

We were 30 seconds in when the first kid hit the deck (actually the cement floor)...he was going to be a veterinary student.

I asked the TA: "should I pick him up?"

TA said "no, don't bother"

That kid never returned to class.

Another person fainted too...thankfully it wasn't me...

Then we had a lab where steers were involved. The TA asked the boys to move the steers. None of them would. I got annoyed and marched over (in my eel skin stillettos) and moved the steers.

The professor was there that day. He didn't like my dad. My dad didn't like him. Two of the steers had our ranch brand on them.

Not a good sign...

We had to "judge" the steers...I did so...and yes, my Daddy's steers were #1 and #2...

The professor disagreed.

We argued about it...which was allowed because you had to give your "reasons"...

Then he looked at me and asked my name...

Damn...

I told him...slowly...

I think he mumbled something like "it figures..."

We also had to witness animals get slaughtered in one of the labs. I dreaded it all semester. It was very painful to watch.

Before we got started I begged the TA to make sure that when they killed a steer it wasn't a black one. My last and most favorite steer was a big black steer that AngelAmy had named "Monster". He weighed 1300 pounds but thought he was the size of a kitty cat.

I had to sell that steer to be slaughtered after my last stock show. It was traumatic. So I really didn't want to see a black steer killed.

So we watch them kill the lamb...and kill the pig...and it was really awful and I cried the whole time...but I didn't faint.

And then came the steer...and it was gonna be a black one...

I freaked...totally freaked...

The TA starts yelling at the people to NOT do it....something along the lines of "Dear God in Heaven DO NOT KILL THAT STEER"....(the TA was my hero that day).

They killed a yellow one instead...

I was ok with that...well, as ok as I could be watching an animal die.

So you see, I wasn't much of a real ranch girl...

And yes, among the "ranch girl" things I had to do was eat "mountain oysters" (calf testicles) among other unsavory parts of the cow...and yes I had to "work" cattle and ride a horse (which you loyal readers of this blog know I was absolutely a failure at), and I lived on a ranch.

But now this redneck girl likes the city and I"m really fond of my new Michael Kors brown leather stilettos and I don't even own a pair of cowboy boots anymore.

I did the rodeo committee thing for a while but after my mom died it wasn't any fun so now I almost never even go to the stock show much less the rodeo.

I don't listen to country music.

I don't eat mountain oysters or other unsavory parts of the cow...

But somewhere in my heart I am a redneck girl...albeit one who really prefers stilettos to cowboy boots...

Inspiration Song: "Redneck Girl" by the Bellamy Brothers...one of the very few country songs I have on my IPod...

Bye Darlings...what is your secret identity? Mine is stiletto wearing ranch girl...or redneck girl...

BEER CAN CHICKEN:

rub:
4 tablespoons smoked paprika
2 tablespoon salt (kosher or sea)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons pepper (I like 1/2 regular pepper and 1/2 smoked pepper)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon (more or less to taste) cayenne pepper

Rub a 4 pound chicken with some olive or vegetable oil.

Rub the chicken with the rub...gently rub some under the skin...put some in the cavity...rub it all over so it is nice and red.

Soak some wood chips in water for about 1/2 hour or so...put in smoker box or whatever you use to make smoke on your grill.

Take a can of beer...I used Shiner Bock...and drink or pour out about 1/4 to 1/3 of it...

Place the chicken over the can...so it is sitting on the can...put that on the grill over medium heat...

Cook until done...it took about a little over an hour...check it with a instant read thermometer because you don't want to overcook it and dry it out.

Let it rest 10 minutes before serving.

I served it with roasted potatoes...

It was delicious!

Second Chance

The school year is coming to a close...I tend to measure my years not in calendar years anymore but rather school years. I've been doing that since Ke$ha Barbie started school.

So now my year is coming to a close...and summer vacation is ahead of me...

so I look back on this past year and I see what I have gained and lost...some of it pounds, some of it baggage...some of it...well some of it was a husband.

The school year started with me having to go to the school and do the day of first aid and CPR training...that was where the head of school announced I had lost 63 pounds to the entire faculty and staff.

EMBARRASSING....

Guess what...I have doubled that number...more than doubled it...yippeeeeeee.....

The school year also started with football.

Now I like football but don't love it...well, maybe I love it when my son plays but otherwise...

notsomuch...

I do love lacrosse...don't ask me why...I still can't figure out that game but there is something about how crazy it is that totally appeals to me...

I think my new ambition should be to become a lax bro...

anyhoo....

so the school year started with football...

That would not be really significant except that football gave me the greatest gift of all...

DIMPLES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You see, Dimples, the best trainer in the world and my personal therapist and adopted baby brother, is the bomb...and he was The Cutest Boy In the World's football coach.

A friend of mine who coached one of the other teams introduced me to Dimples. He (my friend) was afraid that we weren't going to get along all that well...

hahahahahahahahahaha....

we get along a little too well...he is not only my personal trainer and therapist but some day he needs to show up in a priest's collar because I confess ALL my sins to him...and some of them he figures out on his own.

We get along just fine...but my friend was afraid that I was going to kill a coach...be it him or his assistant...

all coaches were alive and well at the end of football season.

This same friend did the same thing with the lacrosse coaches...he introduced me and then warned one of them that I possessed witch powers. He warned the poor guy that if he didn't do my bidding I would "make the monkeys fly" (a reference to the Wicked Witch of the West and her flying monkeys). That coach never made me call out the flying monkeys but I did enjoy him fearing me for a bit...but now he loves me...

That's my talent...I get coaches to do my bidding or at least think I am awesome...

Not sure Dimples thinks I am awesome but he SOMETIMES does my bidding...and for some strange reason I do his bidding...

except for jumping jacks...still saying "no" to those...

But I digress...

So football season comes with the start of school and I discover that Dimples is not just the best football coach ever...he is a personal trainer.

So one day we have a conversation that goes like this:

Me: So, what do you do when you aren't coaching football to 7th grade boys?

Dimples: I am a personal trainer.

Me: So, do you train "real" people or just athletes?

Dimples: No, I train real people too...

Me: do you train housewives?

Dimples: yes

Me: Do you want a challenge?

he looked at me with a puzzled look...

Me: I am the challenge...you game?

Poor baby didn't stand a chance...he said yes and I think he regrets and loves it all at the same time...

School year rolled along...I lost weight, my son's football team went undefeated, Dimples started training me and I got fit and lost more weight.

After the holidays I decided to lose 260 more pounds...

in the form of a husband...

So I moved on from a husband but realized that I really had a second chance to live my life...

I have a second chance to find someone to spend my life with...

I have a second chance to keep my body in shape and stay fit and trim and more importantly, stay healthy...

I have a second chance at moving my life forward...

I wish I had a second chance to meet Oprah....but you know what, once might just be enough because it was a dream come true...

I spent the year moving toward my second chance...

So now I have my second chance...a second chance to live a new life...in a better body, with a better frame of mind, with all the good things about my life still intact.

I'm excited to see what next year brings me...because this year has been great!

I know some of you might wonder how I can say things have been great when I am getting divorced but I can assure you it is one of the best things I have ever done...along with Dimples...and I have the greatest kids ever that just keep amazing me day-by-day...

I"v been given a second chance to get it right this time...with my health...with my life...with my love...

And I am damn lucky...

And as for summer vacation...well, that is for laying in the sun and enjoying my kids...and keeping on the path of health and wellness I have maintained this year. I may take a vacation from being "super volunteer" but I won't take a vacation from the rest of it.

And next year...well, I'm not gonna worry about next year...I still have 3 months of fun in the sun to enjoy before that comes about....

So for now...I will be grateful for the second chance I have...and I thank God and all of you for it...

Inspiration Song: "Second Chance" by Peter Bjorn and John...very very very cool song...I have to listen to it every day...really...

Bye Darlings...go and find your second chance...at whatever...

So Into You

Hmmmm...I'm a lazy blogger...I've been so tied up that I have ignored writing and I find I have missed it...

but when you don't have time, you don't have time...

I find myself meeting myself coming and going sometimes...and I wonder how I got there...to the place where I keep finding myself coming and going...

So this got me to thinking...do I spend too much time taking care of others?

The answer...

maybe...

I've given myself enough time in the day to get myself a new body...so I do carve out the time so I can feel better...so, yeah, I got that...I pretty much don't let anything get in the way of me working out if I can help it...I hold my Dimples time and my spin classes pretty dear. I had to give up a spin class last week...it hurt...

And I have made time to handle my divorce...so yeah, I got that...since it is time to move on to the next chapter of my life and let my sweet soon-to-be-ex husband move on to his I have to attend to things like dealing with my wonderful (and I mean that in the best sense of the word) lawyer and what I need to do to move the divorce forward. I'm lucky that we can move on with love and peace and not at war...not going there...don't want to do that to him or me...so I do what I can to keep that peace and make it work.

but the meeting myself coming and going...well, that needs to change because I feel I am missing things in my life because I don't have time to breathe...

and I am finding that I'm so busy taking care of everyone else that sometimes I ignore myself except for the little time I take to work out and shower...

Now according to Ke$ha Barbie I only think about myself and I am totally self absorbed and I don't do anything except take care of myself.

Have I mentioned that she is a 17 year old girl?

Yeah...that explains a lot...really, no seriously...I mean it...

Please, oh please someone tell me that I am not crazy and that is how all 17 year old girls view their mother...or at least some of them...

I chalk it up to her being a teenage girl and like most teenage girls, she thinks her mother is lame and stupid...I know I did when I was 17...

little did I know that my mother was the smartest and greatest person in the world...I discovered that about, oh...18 years old...maybe 19...

So Ke$ha Barbie thinks I am only "in" to myself but nothing could be further from the truth...because I spend 90% of my time taking care of others...

For example...today I played "therapist" to 2 girlfriends and did some shopping for a friend who didn't have time to breathe much less go to the store...so I did the shopping.

After all, I have a 2nd degree black belt in shopping...

and I never met a mall I didn't like...

and it gave me a great excuse to look at the Dillards shoe department....and self-absorbed and "all about myself" as I am I walked out of there with...

not one pair of shoes...

not one handbag...

not one cute dress...

not one lipstick.

But I did get my son some polo shirts (on sale...remember that black belt I have) and what my friend needed.

And about that shopping for a friend...you know, you can shop online...and you can shop in real life...but shopping via text is not recommended.

Every time I texted my friend about a choice in what was needed I had to run outside the store because I had no cell service inside the store. 5 texted photos later I finally got what was needed. There are better ways to shop for someone...next time it will all be a surprise because texting back and forth to discuss the color of a pair of shorts is not an efficient way to shop...

Like I said I have that 2nd degree black belt in shopping...and to get that you don't spend a lot of time doing the shopping...one of the requirements for black belt shopping is quick decision making...

you can't do that when you are texting someone who is working...

So I helped my friends today...

that was very self-absorbed and "all about me" I would say...

Last night I cooked dinner for a friend...and cleaned the kitchen after...very self-absorbed of me...

the night before I cooked dinner for Dimples and his girlfriend and my dear long-time friend Tiersatastic (yes that is a hard nickname). We had a blast...I cooked a full meal...very self absorbed of me....and it was a damn good dinner. I served Dimples a Fred Flintstone sized ribeye while we girls had nice dainty filets. We were celebrating Dimples winning a big state football game and the end of his select football season. My Dimples has many talents---trainer, football coach, therapist...so he deserved the kudos...

And I spent all day Friday and all day Saturday costuming children for the 8th grade musical...and no, I don't have an 8th grade child...I do it for GOTT and the love of the children....I don't do it because I am self-absorbed..

I guess I am pouting a bit about my daughter thinking I only take care of myself but I really take care of myself for only about 2 hours a day (unless you count sleeping and then that number goes up to about 8...). I spend an hour working out and about an hour grooming myself...

that's it...

22 other hours...

ok, minus the 6 hours I sleep...

so I spend about 16 hours a day taking care of everyone else.

That is very self-absorbed of me.

The funny thing is...

I don't mind that I spend so much time taking care of others.

I really enjoy it.

I truly had a blast today helping out my friend with the shopping.

I really loved helping my friends out today by listening to their problems and just telling them that I loved them.

I really and truly loved working with GOTT and TTG on the musical and I loved being with the kids and I had a blast doing it. I got paid in hugs and kisses and as I have said before that is a salary that is more precious than gold.

So will I change?

Maybe I should become more self-absorbed and spend more time on taking care of me...

nah...

that would just make me crazy...

but maybe, just maybe I can find a little time to sleep...

how very self-absorbed of me...

Inspiration Song: "So Into You" by the Atlanta Rhythm Section...great song...always has been...

Bye Darlings...let me know what I can do for you...

It's Amazing

It's amazing to me that I am about to write about getting to meet the queen of all things...OPRAH!

It's amazing that I got to do it...I got to meet Oprah!

It's amazing that I went to Chicago to be in the audience...

It's amazing that I got to be a part of her show...

It's amazing that a producer from her show (the amazing Brad) even called and talked to me...

It's amazing that I got to meet that producer and that one of the other producers said "Brad loves you! Your his girl!" and she (the other producer) knew who I was and what my story was...

It's amazing that AngelAmy saw that Oprah was having a weight loss show...

It's amazing that I applied...because at first I told AngelAmy I wasn't doing it...

It's amazing that I got to share the experience with my Aunt Jane...

It's amazing that God told me to stand still so I would get to touch and meet Oprah and I did...

It's amazing that I fit into a size 8 dress for the show...

It's amazing that Dimples hasn't killed me yet...

It's amazing that I haven't killed Dimples yet...

It's amazing that any of you read this blog...

It's amazing that I watched myself on national television...even if it was just seconds...

It's amazing that I lost 136 pounds and qualified for the show...

It's amazing that over 1000 people applied for the show and I was chosen...

It's amazing that my story about the Vera Wang dress hooked them...

It's amazing that I fit into that Vera Wang dress...

It's amazing that I didn't get stuck in the Oprah store for 3 hours because of the president...

It's amazing that my brain didn't explode from the excitement of it all...

So what can I say...it was...AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So if you saw the show you saw a brief glimpse of me...that was enough...I think now that I went through it all I would have been a mess on that stage...so it all worked out for the best.

We got to Harpo Studios at the appointed hour (6:00 am) and there was some confusion as to who was supposed to be where. It all got sorted out and eventually they let us into the building. They put us all into a large holding room where the "100 pounders" as she called us began to exchange war stories.

It was amazing...and inspirational...and really great to hear others talk about their experience losing so much weight.

We cheered each other on as they called us one-by-one down to the studio...amazing...

Once they got us into the studio and seated we were given our "fat clothes" we sent...mine was a lovely (not really...being facetious here) ombre blue gown.

Ugh...I forgot how huge and ugly it was until I saw it on the hanger.

It's amazing that I thought I actually looked good in the damn thing when I wore it...

After that the director had us practice the "drop your clothes' moment...

And then the producers started to come around and talk to us...I was very excited when I saw Brad, the producer who had called and emailed me.

Another producer came around and several women in my section asked to talk to different producers. She looked at me and I said "I would like to see Brad"...and then she started to laugh...

She said "I know you...you are Brad's girl! He loves you!" and then she said...

"Vera Wang dress"...

now that was amazing...I guess they shared stories....

She told me I looked amazing...she had seen my photos...

I was flattered...

Brad came round and I got to meet him...meeting him was ALMOST as good as meeting the mighty O!

So Oprah comes out...she looks gorgeous...and her shoes are the bomb. She announces her shoes are only good for the length of the show...that was funny.

The show started...I hope you all got to see it...great and inspirational stories...

Oprah visited with the audience between segments. She was very warm and gracious.

When the taping was done she took photo with us in groups. I was in the last group.

As we were leaving the stage I heard a voice (GOD) tell me not to move...that if I stood right where I was I would get to meet Oprah. She wasn't doing a formal meet and greet but she was shaking hands with people as they passed or where next to her.

So I stood and planted my feet in my very cute shoes and prayed she would turn around and look at me.

And she did...

And I said "Hello" and held out my hand...

She took my hand into both of hers.

She has very soft hands...

And then I said "thank you so very very much!"

And she said...

"you are so very welcome"...

and then we just stared at each other for a few seconds.

I think I squeaked out another thank you and then she let go of my hands and smiled and walked off.

Amazing...

I met Oprah...

I MET OPRAH!!!!!!!!

Amazing...just amazing...

So after that we had to leave the studio because they had another taping...the President and First Lady.

So I stood outside in the drizzle and cold and waited for poor Jane to get through the coat check and purse check line...

We headed to the Oprah store.

It's amazing...she has a store dedicated to all things about and loved by Oprah...

I could have stayed there for a while but I overheard the store manager telling some employees that after about 20 minutes they were going to have to lock the doors and everyone inside the store had to stay locked in for the next 3 hours.

It's amazing that I was lucky enough to hear that...

because there was no way no how I was staying in the Oprah store for 3 hours...not when I had other shopping to do...

So I grabbed my stuff and warned Jane to hurry up...and then I got in line and it's amazing that I was lucky enough to do so quickly because by the time I got up to the register the line was 50 people long.

I got up to the register and yelled for Jane to hurry up and come over...because I was not staying in that store!

We paid, raced outside and grabbed a cab.

I've told you the rest of it...pizza, cupcakes, Nordstrom Rack and H&M...so I wont' rehash...

But I will say that the entire trip was amazing and I still can't believe it happened.

I went to the Oprah show...as an invited guest...and I saw myself on national television.

My mother is smiling down from heaven...because she is not amazed...because she knew all along I could do it...

Inspiration Song: "It's Amazing" by Jem...great song...one to relax or romance by...right now I'm just relaxing to it...but some day maybe the romance...and that too would be amazing...

Bye Darlings...thank you for sharing my amazing experience with me! Oprah is amazing...

What the Hell?

Sorry for the 4 letter word in my blog title but that is literally how I feel...

Now I know you are all waiting for the OPRAH BLOG...but you are going to have to wait.

You see, they made me sign some sort of agreement that said I wouldn't blog about the show...it was prefaced by saying that I was not a reporter so I might be exempt but I don't want to face the wrath of Oprah so I will wait until AFTER the air date and then blog about it...I think I am safe then.

I will tell you that the show will air:

MAY 10

set your DVR now.

I did NOT get interviewed by her nor was I on stage.

I was in the special audience section with other people who had lost 100 pounds or more...so look for me in Section 5 (you will hear her say Section 5 or Group 5) and I am on the front row and wearing a turquoise dress.

You can't see the adorable shoes but you can totally see the amazing necklace my friend Joei made...it really completes the outfit...I think Oprah liked it!

So...no Oprah blog.

And yes, I said "what the hell?" when I read the confidientiality agreement.

What I can tell you is that my aunt Jane and I had the most amazing time in Chicago even though we were only there a little over 24 hours.

First...my hotel...

I totally recommend the Elysian Hotel if you are staying in Chicago.

Great location near the Mag Mile.

Very nice rooms...the bathrooms are great...tv behind the mirror in the bathroom...

photos:

But as nice as the rooms are...the staff was even nicer. We didn't encounter one staff member at the Elysian that wasn't nicer than nice and soooooo helpful.

So if you go to Chicago...stay there! It is rated #1 on trip advisor for a reason...

We were lucky enough to have some friends in Chicago so they came and picked us up and we went to eat at Bubba Gumps on the Navy Pier. We had a great time...I had a great Stoli dirty martini...

what the hell...I was on vaca...

The waiter said "someone at this table smells good...and is wearing my favorite perfume"...it was me and my Thierry Mugler Angel...I highly recommend it to...men seem to like it...had another cute guy recently tell me that I "smelled better than anyone he knows"...that was sweet...Thierry Mugler Angel....good stuff...

I"m single now...I can smell good...what the hell...

So we had a fun dinner and then went back to the hotel. My nerves were getting the best of me so I talked Jane into going to the bar...full well knowing I had to get up at 4 am...but what the hell...

So here we are in the bar...we are so cute!

After another Stoli dirty martini (or was it 2...what the hell...) we went to bed...I was texting Dimples because I was nervous...he calmed me down...

So I got up at 4 am and got as dolled up as I could and off we went to Harpo Studios. Jane looked gorgeous...look for her in a yellow dress sitting in the main audience!

I can't say anymore about it yet...but I will say it was an amazing and surreal experience and I love AngelAmy all the more for making me apply to the show and I love Dimples for telling me I was a fool if I didn't go...

After the show we went to eat some real-honest-to-God Chicago deep dish pizza at Giordanos. It was really good but it doesn't hold a candle to my uncle Steve's pizza he makes at the Pizza Parlor in KIngsville...it is the best pizza ever.

But we were in Chicago and I decided to break my diet.

what the hell...I WAS IN CHICAGO!!!!!!

So we ate pizza...here it is:

The cheese was oozing out like lava...and like lava it was hot and I burned my tongue...

what the hell...it was worth it.

So we had our pizza and then decided to work it off by shopping.

I hit Nordstrom Rack...and I did some credit card damage. But I figure I deserved it...

Then I decided what the hell...I need a cupcake...so we went to Sprinkles...I had a dark chocolate marshmallow filled cupcake...it was incredible.

Then, while in Sprinkles, I saw a girl with an H&M bag and decided that I needed to do more credit card damage.

H&M was a big success...

credit card...damaged...

oh what the hell...

After shopping we headed to the airport and got back to Houston...quick trip but oh so amazing.

I had to get up the next day and handle things at my son's school...things being lacrosse gear and uniforms...I got it done but when I saw the bit of a mess things were (thanks so some adorable and cute but not-as-organized-as-me male coaches) I had a "what the hell" moment. The 8th grade coach does get my undying love and affection as he actually did hang his uniforms up...I'm buying that man a bottle of Stoli...

Friday meant...choir day!

It was the middle school choir's annual trip to New Braunfels for the Schlitterbahn Sound Waves State competition.

We loaded the buses and headed down I-10.

And then I had a real "what the hell?" moment because we stopped at Buc-ees.

With 60 something 13 and 14 year olds...

what the hell...


Now for those of you who don't know what Buc-ees is...well, Buc-ees is the absolute very best place to stop, shop, and go to the restroom....none better...it is like the most amazing truck stop ever...minus the truckers...

NEVER pass a Buc-ees...stop even if you don't have to...

The kids were amazing there...they all got their food and got back on the bus with nary a problem.

We got to New Braunfels, checked into the hotel and headed to Gruene for some fun and then on to a river house that belongs to the family of some former students. It was a lovely way to spend the afternoon...

I ate bad things...pizza, a big rib, bar-b-que, cookie cake...

what the hell...

and I watched GOTT play football for an hour and work off his bad food...I burned calories watching him...

The kids were great at the hotel...we headed to bed...woke up the next morning and headed to the competition.

The kids were amazing...all 3 choirs performed incredibly...treble (girls) choir sang like angels, the boy's choir blew me away, and the mixed choir made me cry.

And that, yes that...just hearing the kids...is why I chaperoned the trip.

That and getting to hang with GOTT and Coach Sweetness (or have I named him Cuteness? I forget...).

We took the kids to Schlitterbahn water park after that and waited for results.

We smoked 'em...

swept all 3 catagories...

state champs for the 8th year in a row...

I don't know why anyone wants to compete against us...and I'm sure they all say "what the hell" when they hear us sing...because they can't do it like we do...GOTT is the best choir director in the world...

So there you go...that is what the hell is happening in my world.

Dimples punished me but good for my sins...and yes, he was saying "what the hell?" when I texted him the pizza photo and told him how bad I was being.

And what the hell?

I gained like 3 pounds...

what the hell...it was worth it...

Inspiration Song: "What the Hell?" by Avril Lavigne...great song...what the hell...

Bye Darlings...sometimes you just need to raise a little hell...or give yourself a little hell...what the hell, you only live once...