So much to say about my girls' weekend! And also: PONYBOY!!

You guys! I have SOOO much to say about my girls' weekend, but I really have to process it all first. Like, for real. It was amazing and I want to get it down right.

So I need to post when I'm not at work, because I have so little time to post in between calls and projects and email and meetings.

I promise I will post about it though, because it is good stuff. Good stuff that we all need!

BUT... you need to know two things.

One is that today I started a no-added-sugar challenge. I'm calling it Sugar-Free February and it's from now until the end of the month. By now, most of you know me pretty well, so you know how hard a no-sugar-challenge is going to be for me. Just today I had to throw away my cinnamon raisin bread and drink my coffee without French Vanilla creamer. (The horror!!) And I have likely overdosed on pistachios. If you have tips for getting through this insanity I've started, please pass them along. And I'll be sure to post updates periodically so you know that I have not jumped off the roof of my house in search of a chocolate lava cake.

The second thing you NEED to know is (I'm hyperventilating as I get ready to type this):
I MET PONYBOY CURTIS IN THE NEW ORLEANS AIRPORT!!

That is ME, standing with PONYBOY!! OH. EM. GEE!!!

I have a call in 7 minutes so I don't have time to type out how much I loved The Outsiders - every single one of those Greasers!!! -- and C. Thomas Howell in particular, or how completely NUTS I went (on the inside) to meet him. So I will just re-post a comment I made on my Facebook post about it, when someone asked me to detail how this historic and chance meeting happened.

Here's how it went down: I was standing behind him in line at a snack kiosk and I was like, "I know him. Have we dated?? Who is he?" So I said to him, "I feel like I know you. Are you from Baltimore?" And he smiles, kindly, and says, "No, but I'm an actor, maybe that's it?" So I go, "Hmm. What might I have seen you in?" (Meanwhile, I'm thinking ... if this is Ponyboy, I'm going to scream. I am going to scream right here in this airport.) So he says (I'm paraphrasing), "I played somebody or another in Criminal Minds and I also worked on a show called Southland." So then I'm a little bummed, right? Because I didn't watch those shows, so that's not why I know him. So, good journalist that I am, I ask the follow-up question: "And what's your name?" So he says, "C. Thomas Howell." And I said: "OHMYGOD!!!! You were in The OUTSIDERS!!!!!" (People were staring at me at this point.) And then he says, "Yes! I played..." And I cut him off and yelled (seriously, I hollered) "PONYBOY CURTIS!!!" And he looked a little bit flattered and also a little bit scared, because I was like, yelling. So then I started fanning myself and stammering like an idiot and I told him how The Outsiders was like my favorite movie and how much I loved him and his character and then I stopped mid-sentence and said, "YOU. LOOK. AMAZING!" And he was very nice about me gushing all over him. But the people behind us in line were a little annoyed, especially when I pulled out my phone and said, "Can I take your picture? Please! I have to post this on Facebook!" And he said, "Of course! Let's both be in the picture!" And he even stooped down a little bit to make it easier for me to get the photo because I am really short and a bad selfie taker to boot. And people behind us were harrumphing and whatnot and I was paying them absolutely no attention whatsoever because PONYBOY!! And then he said thank you and smiled at me and said "Nice meeting you" and walked away and I was so flustered I left all my change at the counter and the little woman yelled after me, "Mees! Mees! You forgot you change!" And I was like, OMG. My life. Is. Complete. The end.

My Facebook post has attracted lots of  SHUT-UP! FERREAL?! OMG! I'm SO JEALOUS! And also some baffling comments like, "Who?"

And I have now decided to divide my friends into two camps: 1) People who know and respect the awesomeness that is The Outsiders and 2) People who are wack.

I hope to keep all of you in the good camp. But if I have to cull my list of friends, so be it.

Because nothing gold can stay, y'all. Nothing gold can stay.

PONYBOY!!!

Girls' trip!!

Tomorrow morning, I leave to go on my first post-kids girls' trip. Whoo-hoo!

Here's a photo to give a hint as to where I am going:

That's right, y'all! I am headed to NOLA!

I'm going with four amazing, talented, beautiful women who all worked at The Baltimore Sun when I was there.

All of us are still writing, though none at newspapers. Four of us are married, one is divorced. Four of us have children, but only one of us is a bit of a nervous wreck about leaving her kids for three days. Bet you can guess who that one is.

Nevertheless, I know it will be fine -- better than fine, actually. The kids will have a great time hanging out with their Dad, who has made lots of fun plans for them, and my sides are already prepping for the soreness I'm sure to have after all the laughing that will take place this weekend.

Also, Erin (who owns the house we're staying in) already has reservations for us at crazy-good restaurants, like this one on Saturday night. So my tastebuds (and waistline) are prepping for three days of non-stop phantasmagoria.

I am excited about catching up with my friend Candice, too, who lives in LaPlace - about 35 minutes outside New Orleans. (I met her at the Kansas City Star. She left to become a lawyer, and then a full-time SAHM. It's interesting to me how almost none of my journalist friends [save a few] stayed in the business. Hmmm.)

So this should be a great weekend of eating, drinking, talking, laughing and, mostly, feeding my soul.

I can't wait!

Clair's 18-month-check-up and other tidbits

Clair had her 18-month check-up yesterday.
Checkups with her are such a breeze; I almost feel like we should just phone them in to save time. She's such an easy kid (in this area, anyway) with no issues or concerns, we just kinda sail through the whole appointment bing bang boom and done.

Here are her stats:

She weighs 22 lbs., 14 oz.
She's 31 and 3/4 inches tall.
She has 8 teeth.

As usual, Dr. Bodnar was impressed with her verbal ability and amused by her opinionated personality.

She got her shots, cried a little, and we don't have to come back until she's 2! Yikes!

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Speaking of Clair turning 2, I am freaking out just a little bit. You see, a group of my girlfriends sorta stumbled into making a plan for a girls' weekend in New Orleans. At first, it all seemed hypothetical. You know, the whole, "We should all get together!" thing that everyone says and sorta means but never actually does anything about.

But it only takes one earnest and reliable, whip-everyone-else-into-shape-friend to take that whole train from the station to the open road. That friend is Erika Peterman. And so now, she, Lisa Respers, Erin Texeira, Jill Hudson and I are slated to go to NOLA over Presidents' Day weekend. We planned for three nights of no husbands/no kids, eating great food, drinking wine, lounging around reminiscing about our days working at The Baltimore Sun, and cracking up about any and everything.

I admit, I was hesitant a little. I want to go, boy do I want to go. But I felt guilty. Three nights and almost three days of leaving Lester with the kids? It seemed so decadent! And he's never left us for that long! I felt like a bad wife and Mom.

But my girls convinced me (sent me virtual slaps in the face is more like it) that I had nothing to feel guilty about and that all would be fine. I started to get excited.

And THEN,  I realized that President's Day weekend is Clair's BIRTHDAY weekend. In fact, if I stayed until Monday (the holiday), I'd actually MISS her 2nd birthday.

Oh hells no.

I'm all for Tanika time, but I'm sorry. I just can't do it.

I think I am still going...no...I AM still going. But I am only going to stay two nights instead of three, and come back on an early flight on Sunday (Clair's birthday).

I know she won't remember her 2nd birthday, but I don't want to miss it. I won't miss it. (I might be a little hungover on the plane, but having buzzed Mommy is better than having no Mommy on your birthday, right? I'm pretty sure I read that in a parenting handbook somewhere.)

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In other news, after fits and starts and long lapses, Lester and I FINALLY found a church we like!

We went to visit it Sunday and I really loved it. I laughed, I cried. The kids had a good time and BONUS! There were free bagels and coffee afterward! My kind of church!

We have to go back  this Sunday and test the waters again, but I have to say, I'm really excited about the prospect of having a church home again. I've really missed it. And I KNOW we need it. Lordhavemercy -- do we need it!

The church is 20 minutes away in Timonium, but that's better than the 40 minutes it took to get to the church I liked in Columbia. Also, when we daydream about moving and search the web for houses we like, a lot of them are in the Timonium area. So if we decide to join this church (or at least, regularly attend) that's more reason for us to consider moving to a neighborhood in Timonium (some day).


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And in still other news, Cary and Dean's first soccer game was hilarious! Here's a photo recap:

Dean was a soccer machine. Cary was less than enthused. And Clair declared herself a part of the game (or a fashionista) by wearing a boundary-marking cone as a hat.

Lester was really great wrangling the kids and keeping a modicum of order! He's sorta a natural at this. Who knew?!

And I'm proud of all my loves -- my athlete, my grass-sitter, my cone-wearer and Coach! You guys are all perfection in my eyes.