Au revoir

I haven't taken time to blog for the past week because...I've been too busy SHOPPING! I've been a shopping maniac.

Did I come into some money? No.

Win a mall spree? No.

Have a bunch of Christmas gift certificates to cash in? Yes, but that's not WHY I've been shopping.

Then, WHY, you ask?

Because, I'm leaving for Paris tomorrow! That's right, PARIS!

It took Brian twenty minutes to pack tonight; it's taken me two weeks.

But if you were to ask Brian if he had, say: a raincoat, waterproof shoes, umbrella, or could find his swim trunks for the European spa we may visit, he'd say no. Whereas I have had all these things carefully stowed away in my suitcase for quite some time. Of course, once again, we come back to the point that I typically spend twice the amount of vacation time preping and worrying about the vacation--perhaps defeating the point of vacation--while Brian simply jumps into the plane/car/boat and enjoys the vacation. Whatever. We both have our passports so we're both winners this time.

Brian's aunt and uncle have been living in Paris this past year, and half of the family is flying out to celebrate his uncle's 60th birthday on February 4th. The 4th just happens to be the same exact day as my 30th birthday. Thirty in Paris! Not bad, right?

We're bringing the wheelchair because my leg can only keep up for an hour or so of walking (I've been training it with mall-walking, ha!), and we'll have a lot of sightseeing and museum touring to do.

I do think it's pretty funny that of the two birthdays being celebrated it's not the 60-year-old, but the 30-year-old with the cane and wheelchair. But I bet the old guy doesn't have a "modern" new haircut and freshly manicured nails!!! Yeah!

Au revoir!

And they said it couldn't be done

I have some exciting news to share: for the first time in a year and one month, I did full Tree Pose, standing on my left leg! Woo hooooooo!

Other successes for the week:
1. I did two handstands today.
2. I started adding sun salutations back into my yoga practice, and am taking baby hops towards doing jump-backs.
3. I'm only a few inches away from being able to sit on my heels!!! Which I never thought I'd be able to do again.

They told me I would never be able to fully extend or straighten my leg again, and here I am, a year and a month later, with full rotation in my leg, and Tree Pose to boot.

Odd Globes

Did you watch the Golden Globes last night? Was that the weirdest awards night or what?

Maybe it was just that Tom Hanks kept saying "balls" while honoring Warren Beatty. I know he was trying to be funny, but every time he said "balls" I had to crinkle up my nose. Warren Beatty also seemed surprised about the amount of times the word "balls" was used to describe his career, so I thought he'd have an eloquent speech befitting of a award-winning actor-producer-writer-director. But no, it turns out he could hardly speak at all. I got uncomfortable and made Brian fast forward through the end of the speech. I mean, was he drunk?

Also, Jennifer Hudson was lovely, but I really don't find it appropriate to admit that you didn't consider yourself an actress BEFORE winning the Golden Globe. That's just awkward. Especially when she shared the category with Cate Blanchett. And WHY is Cate Blanchett always overlooked? Does she need a better publicist? She's always nominated, and rarely wins--okay, I guess she finally won for her portrayal of Katherine Hepburn in the Aviator, but this woman deserves an award for one of her juicier, power-house roles.

And what was with the Brits sweeping the awards? I didn't check on this, but is seemed to me if there was a Brit in the category s/he won. Which turned out to be okay, since they had the funniest speeches overall. I about died laughing when Sacha Baron Cohen accepted his award for Borat.

And why does Renee Zellweger only wear strapless, super-structured dresses?

Emerald Green was a popular color last night.

I was dissapointed in the TV categories because I don't watch Ugly Betty or House or The Closer. Not that they didn't deserve it--perhaps they did, I just couldn't get excited. Though, America Ferrara did have the loveliest speech of the evening.

What I REALLY didn't like was what a boys club it was! I wish I had kept count of how many times Jack Nicholson's and Clint Eastwood's names were mentioned--whatever the number, it was annoying and ridiculous. These men are talented, no doubt, but they don't need bigger egos.

I guess the other problem was I didn't watch Elizabeth I or The Queen, and since those won in practically every category they had a nomination for, again, I couldn't get excited. I will have to see Helen Mirren's performance in The Queen, because it must have been amazing to beat out Judi Dench's and Kate Winslet's performances.

I thought Little Children should have won for something.

At least Grey's Anatomy won for best TV drama--yeah! And you gotta love Meryl Streep--I enjoyed her line, "I think I've worked with everyone in this room."

On my Oscar to-watch list:
Dreamgirls
The Queen
Pan's Labyrinth
Babel
Volver
Blood Diamond (maybe)
The Painted Veil (maybe)
Letters from Iwo Jima
Freedom Writers (maybe)
Pursuit of Happyness (maybe)
Bobby (maybe)

Gosh, I have a lot of work ahead of me! I have NOT done a good job keeping up this year. Let me know if you have any suggestions for ones on my list I should DEFINITELY see, and ones I can wait to Netflix later in the year.

Me & "Men in Trees"

I got my haircut today. I didn't mean to end up with the same haircut as Justine Bateman in Men in Trees--I didn't ask for it, but it happened. Molly asked me if I'd like a "modern haircut" that "worked well for curly hair." I said "sure." Now my hair looks like Justine Bateman's. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the right photo, but in the show she wears her hair curly. Just like mine!

Oddly, my Nintendo Wii Mii looks like Anne Heche's character.

(On the show, Anne's and Justine's characters are fighting for the same man.)

Also noteworthy: the woman who plays Annie went to my high school (1 year older than me).

AND, my one celebrity crush is JASON Bateman:

So there you go.

Do you see my point? (Me either.)

I Am Wonder Woman

Okay, so I'm digging this stealing-other-people's-blogs-while-I-don't-have-ideas-of-my-own idea. Are you with me? Today I'm "borrowing" from my friend Randy's blog Think, Thank, Thought.

He posted the results of his Super Hero Personality Quiz on Monday. Well, I just took the quiz today, and found this to be a fun little diversion (and really, there are SO many of them out there, aren't there? Let me tell you: it is so dangerous to work from home!).

The quiz said I am Wonder Woman. I am a "beautiful princess with great strength of character." Cool. Though, I think it's only because I have long hair and wear a push-up bra on rare occasion. But I'll take it. I mean, I did have Wonder Woman underoos when I was little, and I did do a monologue in college about wearing those Wonder Woman underoos. So, of all the heroes, it's fitting. Oh yeah, and I'm a woman, and the only other choices for female heroes are Supergirl (and what did she ever do?) and Catwoman (and clearly I don't have the acrobatic capabilities or the oversexed nature to be like her).

Take the quiz and let me know which hero YOU are!

Here are my full results:
You are Wonder Woman
You are a beautiful princess with great strength of character

Wonder Woman 70%
Supergirl 65%
Superman 60%
Spider-Man 55%
Robin 45%
Hulk 45%
Green Lantern 45%
Iron Man 45%
The Flash 35%
Catwoman 25%
Batman 20%

Good blog

Hey Everyone,

I'm going to redirect you today to Let's Make a Snack's blog entry reflecting on 2006. She said it so well, and plus, that means I get off blogging easy today! No really, it's a good one:

click here: Welcome to 2007

Pics of my own

I don't know why it took me so long to figure out how to take pictures with Brian's digital camera and immediately upload them. But I finally figured it out today. Hoorah! Now I can take my own, less professional photos, instead of stealing from Google images all the time.

I thought I'd take the opportunity to share some pics of the cool, bone-a-fide related Christmas presents I received.

#1. My friend Beth got me a totally funky new cane! I don't think you can tell from this photo (because I chose to take my pictures in terrible light, and not do anything to correct it), but it has all sorts of colorful designs all over the cane. It's my "going out" cane.

#2. Again, here is the zen meditation chair my mom got me. I thought I'd put it up so you could see how cool my new meditation corner is! Behind the chair is a room divider I got off Craigslist for $10. I got a Buddhist calendar and cut out the pictures for an easy and inexpensive, but inspiring decor. Above that, is the angel mobile I made after getting diagnosed. I wrote the names of everyone who inspired me and supported me through the proccess. It still brings me great comfort to look at!

#3. This is so special. (Though, the photo is terribly blurry. I'll get better.) Brian's mom gave me handmade notecards, on which she painted the pink ribbon and wrote out "Bone-a-fide Blogger." How cool is that? I LOVE them.

I got lots of other wonderful gifts (and will send out proper thank you cards soon), but these seemed to be the ones that best fit in with the theme of my blog. Thank you everyone!

Gold star day!

Has anyone seen NOTES ON A SCANDAL yet? It's so good. Cate Blanchett and Judi Dench are exquisite, the writing is phenomenal, and the whole thing is delightfully dark. Every word Ms. Dench says rolls out of her mouth perfectly, like when she calls Cate's character's lover a “pubescent paramour." Ha. Love that description. Judi Dench's character also journals every day and puts gold stars on the days that she particularly enjoyed.

Today is a gold star day for me.

Why? Because I went to the gym and noticed while I was doing the stationary bike that there wasn't any crunching in my knee! A first! Also, I practiced walking without my cane in front of the mirror in the gym, like I usually do, and my limp is much less severe then it was even a week ago. Of course I still notice it, but I suspect others wouldn't unless they were paying attention. Another first! I also did the leg press machines, practiced walking in the pool, and swam a bit. When I was done I even went to Wild Oats and got a fresh apple/carrot/celery/parsley drink. My will power is back today! Hoorah!

And I give you a gold star for reading my blog today. Doesn't everyone feel better?

Now. Who needs a nap?

Props in the HOUSE!

Ohmygosh. I'm so excited. I finally have the yoga props I've been wanting 4-F-R. Since I went through my teacher training a few years ago and learned the pleasure of props (like being swaddled like a baby!) I've been wanting blocks, balls, bolsters...all of it, but felt like I shouldn't buy them because yoga is the opposite of consumerism. But now that I have space in our house, and will start teaching a restorative yoga class in a week--a class that depends largely on props, I thought f*#k it, I'm buying props. And I'm soooo glad I caved.

I bought:

A junior bolster in sage green--all the better to do Supta Baddha Konasana and Svasana with.



A big ball--oh so helpul in easing back into backbends after a year of walking around stiffly on crutches.



Bamboo blocks--peaceful and supportive in a variety of delightful poses, my favorite being legs-up-the-wall.




And finally, a strap. A real, eight-foot strap, after fussing around with the short piece of crappy strap I've been using for two years. It was only $10, why did I wait for so long for a real strap? Silly.


Here's to a peaceful, more flexibile, supported, propped-out me!