Mail Call!

I love mail. Sure, an email is pleasant, but you really can't beat the old fashioned kind. You know, the kind you put (an ever increasing in cost) stamp on. The kind that takes a few days to get where it's going? Yeah, you know, snail mail. Love it love it love it. I love to send it and I love to get it. It's so exciting to get something in the mail. I'm not talking junk mail (although sometimes that still excites me) or bills (never exciting), but mail from a friend or relative. It doesn't have to be anything special really but it can make a world of difference to how my day goes. I love mail so much that I get really excited before I check my mailbox, which I happen to do a lot lately. It can be kind of a let down when you check once (ok or twice) a day and nothing is in there, but when you open that box and see an envelope with your name on it, it's like Christmas!

I look forward to checking my mail and let myself do it after I work out. The gym is conveniently right next to the mailboxes. I sometimes get so obsessed with checking that when I do two-a-day workouts I forget that I already checked in the morning and do it again at night. I really hope the people who's window faces the mailboxes doesn't catch on to me. That might be embarassing, but hey I can't help it! It's genetics. As I was thinking about my love for mail and how integral checking for it has become to my life, I realized that I am already becoming my grandmother. Grandma Roberts will check her mail no matter what the circumstances. Long walk in knee deep snow during a blizzard? No problem, she'll put on her moon boots and parka and brave the weather to get her mail. And she'll tell you about it later too haha.

So maybe since we are so alike, she really gets me and my needs. I've had lots of nice and generous cards since I've moved, but my grandma has sent me 2 already. And the only thing better than getting an envelope in your mailbox? A note from UPS saying there is a package waiting for you.

This is what was waiting for me from my Grandma. A Green tub (similar to the one I used to own but accidentally got left in Michigan by family) plastic cups, plates, margarita glasses, cutlery, napkins, and most important of all supplies for smores!


I can't even begin to describe how huge my grin was when I opened this. It was just too cute and too perfect. My day and workout instantly got better. So thank you Grandma and everyone else who helps feed my addiction. And if you haven't used the snail mail system in awhile, I highly recommend it. You don't know what kind of impact you will have on someone with an addiction like me.

My Healthy Experiment

I've officially made it through one whole week of the Extreme Fat Smash Diet. I must pat myself on the back for that one. It definitely wasn't a walk in the park, but I didn't give up and I faced a lot of temptation along the way. With it being a 3 day weekend, I wanted to join everyone else in hanging out, eating yummy foods, and drinking beer, but I held strong. Instead I hung out but also worked out a lot and ate what I was supposed to (Which consists of small portions of brown rice, veggies, and some chicken, jealous?) Not only was it hard to ignore the little devil on my shoulder (the devil is a little chunky but sure knows how to have fun...) , but I also had to ignore the pleas of people around me to just "have a beer" etc. I just had to keep ignoring my fat little devil (and skinny skinny friends) and focus on the angel on my shoulder that told me to keep going. (The angel is working on being skinny but she can be a meanie drill Sargent when I want to quit).

I'm hoping that week 2 goes a little smoother as I won't have to defend myself and my choices to everyone, I am adjusted the the eating and lifestyle changes, and this week allows for a little more variety in food. I get to have my beloved cereal again, yay! Unfortunately, the working out part didn't go away, but I will just have to take that in exchange for cereal :)

So I just want to say thank you to everyone who understands what I'm trying to do and for encouraging me to keep going when I don't want to drag myself to the gym at night for my second workout of the day or when I want to eat the giant free cookies on the lunch table at work. It really does help! Oh and if you have ever tried to convince someone to cheat on their diet or to cave on any other goal they gave themselves, please know that you are making their life much harder. I know I'm guilty of it and I will definitely keep that in mind for the future.

And so here I go on week 2! I can do it! (say with a Spanish accent...right Patty? haha)

The Land of Skinny Bitches

I haven't been at my ideal weight for a long time, but I was alright with it when I lived in Ohio and there were normal sized people around. Then I decided to move to the land of superficial people and mountain climbers. At first I didn't notice the impact this had on my self esteem, but with time I've grown to see that what I thought was an average weight (what I considered myself) is not the case here in PHX. Everywhere I look there are really skinny girls. Even my friends are tiny. (And I apologize for calling you a bitch. Please forgive me it's a jealousy thing). I'm constantly surrounded by people who get up at 5:00 am to hike a mountain (who are these freaks?) women who get a daily dose of plastic surgery, naturally petite friends, and to top it off I work at a ballet company. My body image has morphed and I suddenly feel like the big girl in the room instead of the average girl. I'm not saying I'm obese so please don't start yelling at me, I'm just stating a fact. I'm larger than most people I'm around daily. And frankly, I'm sick of it.

I've tried so hard to be healthy for the past 2 years. I've cut out a lot of sweets (epic for me) and have tried to work out (I go in spurts but I must say I've managed to stay pretty active between workouts and dancing). Although I feel like I work so hard while other's don't have too, I have no results. So I've decided to go extreme. I'm going to push myself and get down to a "normal" size, at least in AZ standards.

I bought the book Extreme Fat Smash Diet from the Celebrity Fit club doctor. It's not the most fun thing to do, but he says it will work and so I'm going to trust him and give it a shot.

I'm currently on day 2 and day 1 proved to be a challenge. The challenge wasn't necessarily in my will power but in my stupidity. You know how when you move you have to buy everything? And you just tell yourself to only buy the essentials one by one? And you don't really think about some things as being essential until oh say you can only eat chickpeas for dinner and you have the can in front of you but do not own a can opener? Yeah, that was me last night at 9:30 after dance class. I tried stabbing it with a knife (was successfull in creating a tiny whole but that wasn't enough and I was afraid I'd lose a finger in the process). I even googled how to open a can without a can opener (lots of smar aleck responses such as go buy one!) with no avail. So I had to skip the chickpeas and just be contempt with my side of spinach. Today has gone better, so far. I did go buy that can opener on my lunch break and the only bad thing so far was when I flipped my salad onto my lap (after putting the dressing on of course). I think this is going to be a long process, but it sure seems to be an interesting one...

Big Drama

I have to admit, I'm a huge fan of those crazy things you aren't supposed to believe in like fortune cookies, horoscopes, and dream analysis. I'm actually addicted to reading my horoscope every day. Say what you will, but I don't see any harm in it. Most of them are just general information such as "watch your spending today" so why not focus on a piece of advice for a day? I do, however, choose to just disregard anything that doesn't make sense to me, but it's my life and I can be a hypocrite if I want to be :)

So lately I've been getting good horoscopes and dream analysis that are spot on. I love when that happens. I go through my day and realize what is going on or what I'm feeling but then when I read the horoscope and it says it in it's blunt concise wording it becomes much more clearer.

Last night I found out that someone I had grown to trust and someone I had considered a good friend was not who I thought they were. I found out they were nothing but a liar and frankly a scum bag. It was drama, like it's own lifetime movie. Now, I'm over that because I'm not a fan of drama. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy watching it on television, but for my own life? change the channel please. So when I found out all this "Big Drama" last night I decided to just brush it off and move on. But the best part was when I checked the yahoo headlines before going to bed. I randomly started reading an article on a filly winning the Preakness and these sentences seemed to jump out at me (what can I say I'm attracted to my own name). I just love when other people can describe what's going on for you when you can't, even if they don't even know it.
From the following article ( in case you feel like reading about a little horse racing)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090517/ap_on_sp_ot/rac_preakness

Rachel Alexandra stumbled slightly leaving the gate, then stuck her head in front at the first turn and refused to give way.
Her first challenge was to get rid of Big Drama, a persistent presence from inside down the backside and into the final turn. Once she shook him loose and opened up the four-length lead at the top of the stretch, Mine That Bird made a run at her. (And the part about the horse Mine That Bird I just ignore. It's how my mind works).

So you see it works! Coincidence? Yes, but I like to pretend it's not :)

Movin' on Up

This is it. Tonight is my last night in my teeny tiny room on Watson Drive. Tomorrow morning I will begin loading up the car with boxes (that I swear I'll start packing in a minute...) and I'll head North to my freedom. Word's cannot describe how excited I am to have my own place. Most people live on their own for a bit, then settle down in a house with a family and a baby. Nope, not me. I like to break tradition. I decide to graduate and move right in to the family lifestyle. Waking up at 6 am on the weekends to a screaming child, sharing small square footage with relatives, and sharing a bathroom just sounded so appealing to me that I decided to forgo the single lifestyle. I guess it was supposed to happen this way, just in case for a second I decided that maybe I was ready to settle down and start a family (and believe me, it would only be a chance of a single second of weakness). Now I know for sure that there is no way I want that anywhere in the near future. Now I will truly value every second of silence, t.v. time, sleeping in or every inch of kitchen, my own bathroom, or closet space. Oh how glorious it will be!

Sure it might take me a million (and one) trips from Tempe to Scottsdale tomorrow to get my belongings in my freedom, but it will be completely worth it. And it will only be a million (and one) trips thanks to Veronica letting me borrow the mom van. If it was just me and Roxie it would at least be 2 million (and three) trips.



Well I suppose I should start the packing since I only have a total of 7 boxes packed at the moment and the moving day will be here before I know it.

Masters of Movement

Ballet Arizona's show Master of Movement is this weekend at the Orpheum downtown. Since it's a show weekend, that means I'm working overtime. I actually don't mind it because I get to spend my extra hours at the theatre (the Orpheum is beautiful by the way). I get to chat with everyone and see some friends . The best part though, is getting to watch the show. Last night was opening night and it was amazing (So amazing that it didn't bother me the heel of my red high heels broke as I was walking in). Christopher Wheeldon is New York City Ballet's resident choreographer and he's a pretty up and coming big name in ballet. We performed one of his pieces for the first time and he flew in to see it. He's only 36 and he seems like a really nice guy. I got to see him around the studio a bit and he seems really cool. He's good looking too...too bad he's not into girls haha. I really hope to see some of his other ballets sometime. Anyone want to pay for me to make an NYC trip? If you are interested in dance at all I highly recommend you check him out...or better yet, come watch Ballet AZ perform this weekend :)
I have to miss the matinee today so I can man the box office at our studios, but I'll be back there tonight.

It's a Wooster Thing

As the class of '09 joins in the Wooster tradition of I.S. Monday, I had to take a walk down memory lane. Looking back through the pictures, it's hard to believe that it was already 2 years ago. It's such a special day and you can only grasp the importance if you too were a Fighting Scot. Sure on the outside it is just a drunken debauchery at the end of senior year, but if you graduated with the sweet sound of bagpipes, you know it's much much more...but yes there is still drunken debauchery.

Me and my "Family" at Leroy's about 9:00 am

Although it is an all day party, it is well deserved. As a senior you spend your entire year coming up with a thesis, asking questions, diving into the stacks for your literature review, and you collect data whether it be samples in a lab or in my case interviews with square dancers. The recording and analyzing of the data is still just the beginning. Many many hours are spent in the library, your room, java hut or anywhere you can sit down at a computer for a bit to type up your thoughts, your questions and hopefully compile a few chapters before your next adviser meeting. The worst thing ever would be if your adviser asks you to rewrite or revisit a chapter. How are you ever supposed to finish in time? But you have to, and somehow we all did by 5:00 on that Monday following Spring Break. (well most everyone)

Thetas at Leroy's

And when you hand in that thick thesis that took away all your sleep sweat and tears, you get a tootsie roll and I.S. button. It may may seem like a small gesture, but to you at that moment it's like gold. You finally have the coveted prize that all Wooster students work towards in their 4 years as students. Now comes the big question, do you eat it? (I ate mine and kept the wrapper just in case you were wondering).

Tres Amigas at Tumbleweed around noonish

The goal is to turn your I.S. in before 5:00pm because then you can fully utilize the entire I.S. Monday. The festivities start around 8:00 am as the hole in the wall bars (aka Leroys and the market) open for the special occasion. All groups of friends and classmates don their special I.S. t-shirts, costumes or drinking gear and head out to celebrate. It really is a magical day. No matter where you go, no matter how well you know everyone you are all suddenly best friends. Everyone is so excited to finally have the burden of writing a large thesis off their shoulders and can suddenly enjoy their senior year like students at other schools. You might ask what someone's title or topic was and then share a pitcher of beer...or two.

Thetas heading to Kauke Arch with our adviser right before 5:00

And when that clock strikes 5:00 the students are gathered and cheering on the steps of Kauke Arch and as the bagpipe band strikes up their is a loud cheer. The Dean leads the line of students in one of the most amusing parades across the campus. Students and Professors line the sidewalks to cheer on the senior class as they march (or stumble) to Kitt for dinner and a night of dancing at the UG. Everyone is hugging and cheering and celebrating the entire day. Underclassmen sometimes feel the need to participate but they will never get the full experience until they are handed their own button. I wish that I could relive my I.S. Monday, but it is truly a once in a lifetime experience. So here's to the Wooster class of 2009 and their passage into a great Wooster tradition.

The pipers getting started...

The start of the parade through arch!