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!!!