"O" My Gosh.

Hubbs and I drove to Las Vegas last Sunday morning to get him settled for his three month internship with Cirque du Soleil on their show in the Bellagio. It is called "O" because that sounds like the french word for water, but I'm pretty sure it is called "O" because that is the shape my mouth was in almost the entire time.

I love him.

This is how she tried to keep us from leaving. By sitting on or in our luggage.

Our first sublet plan for Will fell through and we spent quite a bit of time searching for a healthy replacement. However, Sunday night we halted our search to see "O" from the booth of the theatre. It was seriously one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. Cirque definitely knows what it is doing with the mixture of performers and water. If you ever have the chance and the money, you need to see this. Apparently the show is at 99% capacity on a regular basis so it has been popular ever since it opened. I won't say much more because I feel like I can't do it justice without a million copyrighted pictures. Just know this: if you want to watch something powerful, graceful, beautiful, amazing, and technically challenging... this is the show for you. I am even more proud of Hubbs getting this internship now than I was before (is that possible?).

Raspberry White Chocolate Cheesecake that we shared. :) Delicious.

Me in the vintage dress that inspired my current healthy lifestyle.

The rest of Sunday night was spent walking around Vegas (my shoes earning me a 3/4" blister on my big toe) and enjoying the flashing lights before checking into our hotel. We booked our room through hotwire.com and paid about $30 for a pretty decent place. It wasn't glamorous, but it had the bonus of being named Arizona Charlie's. Yep. Arizona. I double-checked with Hubbs that we hadn't left the great desert state of Nevada. We're still not sure why the place is called Arizona Charlie's but hey, beggars can't be choosers, right?

Monday we found a good little place for Hubbs to stay for his Vegas time just down the street from a friend. We visited a Costco and a few of the other important places that he needed to go and then headed to the strip again. Can I just say that Vegas is HOT? I can see why their malls are indoors now. We walked around outside and inside and ate some food. The whole time I felt nervous because I knew I had to leave him there soon. We didn't even do any of the Vegas slots or anything because we just wanted to hang out together.

I'm not going to dwell on my feelings in this post because, to be honest, I feel like they aren't justified enough. There are women whose husbands get shipped off to Iraq (or any number of dangerous places) and here I'm crying about a lousy four-hour drive? I feel foolish, but I still feel. Does that make sense?

Enough of that.

I flew home safely. I greeted an angry kitty who yelled at me until I fell asleep. I went to work the rest of the week. That's how things work.

I've noticed that there are a few distinct disadvantages to not having my Hubbs around (besides missing him like crazy). Hubbs always made the coffee in the morning and now I have to. Hubbs makes the bed warmer faster, which I am a fan of. Hubbs holds the kitten in a special way that she now misses and I have to do it to stop her from crying now. Hubbs is strong and can open things (jars) or lift things (30 lb cat litter) that I struggle with. Hubbs is fun to look at because he is handsome. Hubbs likes doing fun things while I'm a bit of a homebody. Hubbs is funny and also laughs at my jokes. The Fluffy One is not so good at that. Hubbs will sing with me on car rides. I could go on, but I think you get the idea. Hubbs just makes my quality of life better. :)

I get to see Hubbs again in 20 days, 3 hours, and 45 minutes or so! I've already caught myself trying to plan what to pack. I know it is silly, but that is how very excited I am to see my best friend and husband again. To hug him and hear him sleeping next to me. :) Many thanks to my awesome Momma who gave him a visit from me for his birthday!

Maybe tomorrow I will blog about the awesome symphony I went to with my brother and friends last night. In case I don't, here is the breakdown: The Great Gatsby, Gershwin, and Rachmaninoff. Yep. Brilliant.

Au revoir!

Running is Evil

I went for a run today.

This temporary insanity was spurred by the fact that an adorable vintage dress that fit me on Monday barely zipped up on Tuesday. And by "barely zipped up" I mean I lost some of my skin to the zipper of the dress and made painful faces. Poor hubbs had to endure them. This is the dress, an adorable late '40s or early '50s bundle of cuteness.

I would have gone for a run last night but by the time I was in and out of the dress it was too late. And I think hubbs would have laughed at me. Before I fell asleep I resolved to myself that I would begin running multiple times per week and eating healthy.

Darn.

I spoke with a friend at work today who recommended that I start with 15 minutes of running and build up to 30. Doesn't sound like long until your chest is burning, your lungs are bursting, and you have a strange cramp in the arch of your left foot. And all of the music on your current playlist is in Spanish. Also, I might not have run the whole entire time. I might have done spurts of power walking.

(PS How humiliating is exercising in public? All that huffing and puffing and sweating... Where's the Big Bad Wolf? Oh wait, it's just that little blond girl jogging by...)

I've never really been a fan of that whole running phenomenon that seems to have hit the youth who live around me. It seems to me that running was created for getting somewhere fast or getting away from a threat like a charging T-Rex. I suppose my threat could be the extra marriage weight, cholesterol, or heart problems, but right now running makes me feel like I'm going to die instead of like I'm going to fight death. Go figure. Oh... figure. Punny. Not intentional, I promise.

I'm going to try to continue this whole exercise thing in the hope that I do it often enough to delude myself into thinking that I actually like it. I used to play tennis in high school and I really enjoyed that. I also took dance lessons and delighted in those. Somewhere along the line I got a degree and a desk job and lost my oomph. For those of you who don't know, Kristi's Official Dictionary sometimes defines "oomph" as "the irrational willingness to exert oneself physically, not to save one's life, but for enjoyment." Sometimes "oomph" is alternately defined as "the noise a Kristi makes when she falls." So if you were confused at first I can understand why.

And can I insert a disclaimer here? I understand that weight gain can be natural and sometimes healthy. However, I find myself noticing that what I do or do not do in regards to food and exercise is affecting my physical shape. I could do with being healthy and toned. Notice that I did not say skinny. Ok?

Don't hate me for this post. No haters here unless you want to post about how you also hate running. I would like to encourage that type of hate. Well, not really, but it would make me feel like less of a fluffy wimp.

Anyhow, perhaps while hubbs is in Vegas I will get into shape and eat well. That sounds like something I should do. Maybe I even want to do it? Gasp! We shall see.

Is anyone else feeling this way? Is this an age thing? A female thing? A "change is coming in my life and I'm working on dealing with it" thing? Sheesh. I need to go cuddle a kitten.

See you later!

Making a List

Hubbs leaves for his Vegas internship in 11 days and counting. I'm so excited for him and for what he will be experiencing. I can't help but be a bit jealous and proud at the same time. He's just so good at what he does!

I was talking/texting with a dear friend a short while back about how to make the time pass faster with my best friend in another state for three months. She suggested that I make a list of things to do that he wouldn't necessarily be keen on. I thought that perhaps I could post the beginnings of my list here and just add to it as the summer goes on or as I think of new things. Here goes...

1. Watch Dirty Dancing frequently. This is my favorite live action movie and hubbs actually refuses to watch it. Perhaps because of my crush on Patrick S. I can't help it.

2. Watch any movies on our giant DVD shelf that I've never seen. There are at least three: Capote, First Knight, and Airplane.

3. Watch all of my seasons of Pushing Daisies again. Such a good show!!!

4. Sew another dress from a vintage 1950s pattern.

5. Craft an apothocary chest into something I can use as a jewelry box.

6. Have my mom come visit me. Hubbs totally enjoys her so this doesn't follow all of the rules, but this is something I'm looking forward to this summer. I'm sure The Fluffy One will enjoy having another cuddle victim buddy.

7. Yoga. Do it.

I'm not sure what else will show up on this list. Maybe a lot of window shopping (Anthro, anyone?) and craft nights with the girls. I'm sure I'll be counting down the days until I get to see him each month, so perhaps some paper chain action, too. I love a good paper chain. I made one two or three months before our wedding and it was so fun ripping another link off of it every day and watching the chain grow smaller and smaller. :) Can you tell I'm a goals and list type?

Well, perhaps it is time to get ready for bed... I took a "short nap" this evening that turned into a 1.5 hour nap so I think I'm probably needing to put some more sleeping in my repertoire. Such is life. Good night, folks!