This cold has really kicked my butt. I have been since since early Thursday morning, so I haven’t been doing any interesting cooking. I have been eating soup with doctored up chicken broth according to the directions in Julia Child’s cookbook. It definitely makes a better tasting soup. I went to both ballet and Tahitian practices. I nearly passed out in Tahitian class after 1 1/2 hours. In spite of being sick, I have kept the various appointments I have had. Recently I had a phone interview, which turned into an in-person interview on Monday. I have been certain that my cold would be gone by then, but so far that isn’t the case. These things usually last 3 days, but I’m on my fourth day and still not feeling better. The cough has started, and my throat isn’t much better compared to Thursday.

Tahitian dance class kicked my butt yesterday. For those of you who don’t know, I spend 2 1/2 hours every Saturday in Tahitian dance practice. The first hour is easier than the next 1 1/2 hour session–usually. This was a typical Saturday where the second class was harder. We worked on a specific move. I was lucky to walk out of the dance studio. I tried some similar movements today, and I’m still sore. Nothing like being barely able to move on my birthday. However, I didn’t make any plans this year. I wasn’t sure what to do, and then it got too late for my friends to be available. I was too tired after dance class on Saturday eto even consider going out.

I have had quite a few birthday wishes–more than I expected. Thanks to all!

How often when running errands are you privy to an interesting conversation? For me, it’s rare. I went to the post office today because it was a necessity. I had avoided the post office before the hectic mailing for the holidays.  I went early knowing that I would have to wait in line until they opened the doors. When I got in line, there was a black man, an Indian man and a Chinese woman talking about the differences in how their cultures treat women. It was rather brilliant, and for once, I was glad that I got somewhere early to stand in line.

On my way to the photographer this morning, I saw a large man with colorful tattoos on his bulging arms. He had very little hair–mostly shaved. He wore a white wife beater and jeans. Anyone know why they call those tank tops wife beaters? And…he was pushing a stroller. I had to laugh when I noticed the incongruency. Did I actually see a tattooed, body builder pushing a stroller? I didn’t see a child in the stroller. It’s too bad I didn’t have my camera and couldn’t have stopped to snap a photo if I had.

No, sadly, I won’t be taking the pictures today. I will be in front of the camera. I have a casting call for HP this morning. I touched up my eyebrows (absolutely necessary) and had a little accident. Hopefully it won’t show up in the photos. I don’t have Tahitian dance practice today, so I will have to find something else to do for the afternoon. Perhaps I should get out my camera and take photos. It’s a beautiful day here.

Okay, maybe you guys can’t relate, but I know the women can. I have been working on losing about 10 pounds that I gained earlier this year. Instead of buying new clothes, I thought it would be better to lose the weight to get into the clothes in my packed closet. I have beautiful clothes that I currently can’t wear. I have been frustrated with the weight loss because it’s not dropping off like it used to or the way I think it should.

I tried something different this time. I went to do a body wrap. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. After being mummified to the point where I could barely breathe, I had to walk (could hardly move) to another room with exercise equipment! I didn’t realize that I would be covered in wet, dripping bandages, covered with plastic bags at my hands and feet (you drip) and covered with a poncho and told to get on the “gazelle” machine for an hour. An hour? I had to attempt to move my legs and arms back and forth for an hour? How? I was lucky to be walking. After the hour, I had lost just over 11 inches. They promise 10-30 inches. Now, I can fit into my smaller jeans that I haven’t worn in more than six months. And…they don’t pinch at the waist. I lost most of my inches around my torso, butt and thighs. It’s a miracle.

It’s a great day when you can get into those skinny jeans!

For anyone who is interested:  the body wraps are from Simply Beautiful.

After some painful days without fast and reliable Internet, I finally have DSL, phone and TV in place and working smoothly. I’m particularly enjoying the new DVR. I never watched much television other than the movie channels because I never knew the times of the shows. If I wasn’t around one evening for my favorite show, then I missed it. Sometimes I could watch it on my computer. Now I’m happily setting my DVR to record anything even remotely interesting. I have found a few interesting shows already. I have also watched some On Demand shows from the movie channels that I had missed (I didn’t have all the movie channels before.)

I have been waiting to add the new shows to my recordings as the dates become available. I can only see two weeks in advance. And, I love that I can schedule TV through my computer.

Thus far, I’ve seen Glee. I’m not sure if I will like that one or not. It seems kind of stupid. And I’ve seen The Vampire Diaries, which I liked. I think it’s surprising well done, but I wonder what they will do in the future. It seemed like they gave away a lot of plot in the first episode. I’m used to True Blood, where they only give a little plot at a time and leave you hanging. I wish that the networks began their new season earlier. Right now, only Fox and CW have started their shows.

Considering all the shows I have recorded, I may have to monitor my TV viewing. I may start watching far more TV than usual. I’m not sure this is a good thing.

A friend asked me to take care of his cat while he was out of town for almost two weeks. I thought it seemed easy enough even though it takes 25 minutes to get to his house. I didn’t have to go every day. The first day I had to fill up the cat’s water bowl, but it was so dirty that it had to be cleaned. The sink was too dirty and full of dishes to clean the water bowl, so I had to wash the dishes and scrub the sink. The next time I checked on the cat it was quick and easy. The third time I had to use the bathroom… but the toilet and sink were so dirty I didn’t want to touch them, so they had to be cleaned. The bathroom was rather gross. It was so dirty that I didn’t think the toilet and sink would be clean, but guess what? They are nearly new, and the dirt hadn’t stained yet. Amazing! I had been to his house for parties (bathroom looked the same), so I thought the fixtures needed replaced. I have a couple more visits to make. At this rate, he will come home to a clean house. I think I should take bets to see if he notices.

Finally after a week of dealing with the free local wireless–it’s slow–I finally got DSL back and faster than I used to have it. I switched services. I hope I will like this one, but so far customer service has left me wishing I never changed. I spent an hour and half with them last night trying to figure out why I wasn’t getting phone service as well. By the time I spoke to more than seven people and got to the right department, they were closed. I’m still waiting for the phone service, but at least I have internet and TV.

I had several hours of panic since I thought my cat got out. The installer left doors open all over. I couldn’t follow him everywhere he went at one point. The only thing that is annoying now is that I can’t figure out how to make the remote change the TV to VIDEO so I don’t have to get out the TV remote.

I have been neglecting my few readers lately.

Here’s the latest (for those who care):

1. I spent 4 hours in a photo studio Sunday taking pictures of models. When I walked in, I had to inform them that I was a photographer–not a model. Apparently it’s not easy to tell. Now that I have almost 200 photos that need post work, I’ll be stuck to Lightroom for days.
2. My sister and her family returned unscathed from Southlands Mall in Aurora, CO where a tornado touched down Sunday–perhaps while I was blissfully taking photographs.
3. My novel has been edited. It may not be perfect (although I doubt there are errors), but I’m not going to spend years of my life perfecting every sentence. That’s just nuts.
4. My dog is still driving me crazy. Long ago, in a galaxy not far from here, he was trained. Now that training is mostly non-existent. Perhaps the dog was taken over by an alien dog being.
5. Had I been able to catch my black cat flying across my desk, I would have taught him a lesson too. After the flyby, I spent 20 minutes cleaning up the water the cat spilled from my full glass.
6. For some unknown reason, another cat continues to poop under my dining table. Sprays and carpet cleaning have not stopped him. Removing the dog has not stopped him.
7. My last job interview resulted in a rejection email a week later. No explanation. Phone calls have proven ineffective. NEXT!
8. Novel is being marketed. Now I wait.
9. I have editing to do on a friend’s autobiographical stories. I have avoided doing much for a couple of months. It’s not like I’m getting paid to edit. It’s major editing. The few stories I have edited are almost entirely red (editing feature is ON in Word). I spent an hour on it today with the author.
10. Against my better judgment, I lent my Indiana Jones (Crystal Skull) DVD to a friend. Any bets on when it comes back? How many times will I have to call to remind him?

That’s all for now. I think 10 is a nice round number. Not too many to read, and it looks like I have been up to something.