Girls' Night Out

"Nobody puts Baby in a corner."

Yep. I'm watching Dirty Dancing - Ultimate Edition right now. (Thanks, Thor and B-Dubbs and everyone on my team at work for putting that in my care package!)

So I grew up in a house with girls. My mom, my two sisters, and even our pets (both dogs and cats). My dad was the only male in the household. I feel bad for him as I look back on the times when all of us girls were PMS'ing at the same time. Poor guy.

It's only fair and kind of a poetic karma that I'm the only girl in my house now. Yep, even the cats are boys. I bet the fish are too, just to spite me. But really, I don't mind. It's kind of fun being the only girl. At least I only have to deal with my own PMS...

Because I'm the only girl in my household, every once in a while, I need an environment with more estrogen in the way of a girls' night out. Usually I go out with my best friend of 21 years, Suzanne. But last night I went out some friends, one from work, and her roommate, Marilyn.

I've known this friend from work for almost a year and a half. She is great. She's nice, sweet, and super fun. And she's not opposed to a mid-afternoon chocolate run. She's posted in the comments on my blog as b-dubbs. Last night b-dubbs was wondering why in the heck she picked that name, because she didn't really like it. Well, I'm not sure that this name suits her either, so I'm going to dub her (haha - get it?) Bette, because she has huge beautiful eyes like Bette Davis.

So Bette, Marilyn, and I (is there a glamorous 40's film star named Julia?) had a girls' night out on the town last night. Marilyn drove her convertible silver Mercedes. (It's actually a Honda Civic - a really nice one at that - but really, would a Marilyn actually be driving a Honda?)

So there we were in the MerHonda, heading to a gourmet pizza place in Minneapolis called Pizza Luce. I had never been there before, but I knew the general direction we needed to go (well, mostly).

Because of traffic (which you know I hate), at my urging we took a different way than what Mapquest suggested. (Which was a good thing, because Mapquest was wrong.) Marilyn and I had fun driving around ("I wonder if this street will get us there? Let's find out!"), while Bette was getting kind of worried and a little out of sorts. Being the type-A personality of the three of us, she would have followed the directions to a tee, and been lost because they were wrong.

But with a plan in place (and a phone call to Pizza Luce from Bette which resulted in a subsequent reverse in direction from Marilyn) we made it to our first destination.

Pizza Luce has a great atmosphere, and even better pizza. I got a small one called, The Luce, which has homemade Italian sausage, cheese, garlic, and onions. YUMMY. That was so darn good. (OOH! I have two pieces left over in my fridge. Hang on - I'll be right back.)

The highlight of the night was our trip to the Riverview Theater (which we arrived at just fine, after getting very detailed directions from our server) to see the movie, The Devil Wears Prada. The Riverview is an old-fashioned theater which opened in 1948, I think, and looks the same now as it did then. The decor is quintessential 40's-50's, and in beautiful condition. The theater itself is huge and remodeled, but not so much that it loses its charm. The Ladies room has really fun vintage kitten wallpaper. And the popcorn has real butter.

We loved the movie! We had all read the book at one point, and had fun whispering and comparing the movie from the book. (I bet the people in front of us loved that.) Although I must say that it was surprisingly hard to get used to watching Anne Hathaway of Disney fame (think The Princess Diaries) drinking alcohol and kissing men. But Meryl Streep was deliciously evil in her role as Miranda Priestly. Her performance was well worth the $3 price of admission.

But alas, all good evenings must come to an end. So we all piled back into Marilyn's MerHonda and headed home. We knew exactly where we were going.

I'm FREE!

First of all:

Happy birthday to me! Happy birthday to me! Happy birthday dear me! Happy birthday to me!

Yep. It's my birthday today. Can you tell? I am now 33 years old and feel younger and better than I did on my 32nd birthday. And my 31st. And probably my 30th too.

I also graduated from cardiac rehab today. Wo-hoo! I'm free! I'm now officially on my own. I got a "diploma" and everything. I'm going to hang it in my cube at work.

And on this, my 33rd birthday (did I tell you it's my birthday?), I can do more physically than I could on my 32nd birthday. And my 31st. And probably my 30th too.

So I am celebrating with RobbieMax and Will tonight. We're going to the Olive Garden for dinner, where I am going to consume forbidden amounts of fat and sodium as I enjoy my birthday dinner. (Did I tell you it's my birthday?)

I'm starving right now and ready to go. I thought Will and I were going to meet RobbieMax at the Olive Garden right after he got done with work at 5. Nope. RobbieMax claims not to be hungry and wants to wait until 6 to meet. He said he had a late lunch. I am okay with that.

But of course, after we agreed on meeting at 6, I thought about it for a minute. This excuse seemed quite flimsy. I figured out why he wanted to meet later. And my suspicions were confirmed when Will asked me, "Do you want to know the real reason we're meeting at 6?"

RobbieMax has not gotten me a birthday present yet. And neither has Will. On the phone, RobbieMax had Will go into a different room, and I'm sure he asked Will what he wanted to get me. So the hubby is doing a bit of last-minute birthday shopping for me. (Did I say that it's my birthday today?)

I share my birthday with T. S. Eliot, George Gershwin, Olivia Newton-John, Linda Hamilton, Melissa Sue Anderson (she played Mary on Little House on the Prairie), Jim Caviezel (he played Jesus in Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ), tennis star Serena Williams, a guy from work named Chris, and the lady at the muffin/cookie shop in the skyway. I'm sure there are more, but that's all I could list at the moment. (Have I told you that it's my birthday?)

We celebrated birthdays on Sunday with my parents and my sister, Lynn. My mom's birthday was this past Thursday, the 21. And Will's was on the 7th as you know. RobbieMax and I could not resist getting Will one last present: in honor of this 11th birthday (and the Harry Potter movies, where kids get their Hogwarts letters on their 11 birthdays), we got him a black velvet magician's cape. He loves it. He wears it all of the time and swishes it around like Dracula, or Gerard Butler in The Phantom of the Opera.

Speaking of presents, for the past few years my mother-in-law has been sending us money in the amount of our age instead of presents. On Sunday she asked RobbieMax how old I was this year and he told her. Then she asked him to put me on the phone. The first thing she said when I got on the phone was, "I owe you a dollar." I told her I'd just take the extra dollar that she sent RobbieMax last year. She chuckled at that.

And I've decided that I'm not going to be one of those women who stays the same age for many, many years. My mom did that. She was 39 for so many years I lost track of how old she was. I'm still unsure of her age.

I love my birthday. I figure every year I'm alive and kicking is a reason to celebrate. I'm going to grow old gracefully and not hide the fact that I'm getting older. It helps that I've always looked young for my age. Of course, if I started looking my age, I may be 33 for many years.

Well, I'm off to grab Will from outside and head over to the Olive Garden for dinner. Hopefully RobbieMax will be successful in his shopping excursion and I'll have some presents to open...

Have I mentioned that it's my birthday?

Traffic Sucks

There's a reason I take the bus to work.

I loathe driving in rush hour traffic. I actually have a theory about this. Rush hour is caused by the one person who thinks that because it's between the hours of 7-9 AM and 3-6 PM, he/she has to drive slower. All it takes is that one idiot to slow down, and there's a needless traffic jam.

Of course, when I'm driving everyone else on the road is an idiot.

But that's not the reason I take the bus to work.

I take the bus to work because I get really crabby and hateful and worked up when I'm driving in rush hour traffic. If you look Road Rage up in the dictionary, my angry face will be right under the definition. I turn into "Swearin' Like A Sailor Julia." Yep. It's like an episode of Jerry Springer or Maury - if I were on TV there would be so many bleeps that you couldn't hear anyone else. This can't be good for my heart.

I'm actually very creative with my expletives. I've come up with new and inventive ways to say, "%$#@&*, get off the road!." My mom would be so proud.

So today I had to go from cardiac rehab in Burnsville to my hair appointment in Woodbury. Yes, I got my hair done today. It really needed it. The last time I had my hair done was in April. Open-heart surgery kinda got in the way.

I got done with cardiac rehab at about 3:45 and my hair appointment was at 4:45. Normally this drive takes about 30 minutes at the most. Today it took an hour and 20 minutes. I thought I'd take a road less traveled instead of the Interstate. Yeah - turns out everyone else had that same idea. It took me over 25 minutes to go even 1 mile.

I called RobbieMax twice during that time, the 2nd time to cry a little because I was so upset. Then I called Suzanne, to see if she knew about a quicker way to get to Woodbury. And of course she did. So I got to my appointment at about 5:05.

I was crabby and angry and mad. But my hair looks great!

I love taking the bus to work. I don't have to deal with any of the crappy rush hour stuff. My bus driver drives on the shoulder. And I read my trashy romance novels.

I am very antisocial when I'm on the bus. I'd rather read than talk to anyone. But some people can't take a hint. Today some foreign guy sat next to me (I think he was either British or an Aussie) and he kept talking about this pot luck lunch his work was having. He was very nice and his accent was kind of sweet, but all I wanted to do was read my book. And he kept talking. And talking. Despite the fact that he was quite charming, I wanted to yell at him to shut up. I was reading. I needed to know if the guardian was going to seduce his new (but 19 year-old and fully of age) ward or if he was going to leave her alone. Alas, I didn't get to find that out.

So anyway, I take the bus to work (for obvious reasons). And I read. And I don't talk to anyone. And I like it.

Only 1 more session of cardiac rehab...

Shoes, Glorious Shoes!

Man, I should never make promises. I promised y'all a funny post on Monday and I haven't posted anything yet. Sorry.

So as you know, I spent the day with my sisters on Sunday. We went shopping and had a lot of fun. One place we went was one of my favorite stores, Payless Shoes! There, I found the cutest pair of loafers. They were dark olive green corduroy. Oh, were they cute. They were on sale for $10.99. I tried them on with those little, icky nylon footie thingies. The shoes were loose, but with socks they would be okay.

I stood there debating about getting them for a while. Lynn offered to buy them for me for my birthday (which is Tuesday). Aaawww...she is so sweet! But (GASP!) I declined her offer of shoes. (She got me a few puzzles instead. I've already started on one.)

I thought again about buying them for myself, but I never know what RobbieMax will have to say. Sometimes I feel embarrassed to buy shoes because of the reaction I can get from him. So I decided not to get the shoes.

When I got home, RobbieMax was in the best mood that he could be. And why shouldn't he be? The Vikings won. He asked how my day was (naturally), and I told him how much fun we sisters had.

I also told him about the shoes. Imagine my surprise when he said, "You should have bought them."

What? Um, did I hear him correctly? He was actually saying that I should have bought a pair of shoes? Who was this shoe-loving alien life form that had taken over my husband? Then I remembered. The Vikings won. RobbieMax is ALWAYS very agreeable when his team has fought hard and scored a victory.

I need to remember that for future purchases...

Anyway, he encouraged me to go to Payless on Monday and get the shoes. So that's what I did after CARDIAC rehab. And I ended up getting a half size smaller, because size 7 was too big, even with my thick socks on. So it's a good thing I didn't let Lynn buy them for me for my birthday.

So I have a new pair of dark olive green corduroy loafers. I'm wearing them on Friday. I've already planned Friday's outfit around my new shoes.

OH! And I have a new countdown. I have two more sessions left of cardiac rehab (Friday and Monday). And then on Tuesday I have my exit session.

So, 2 (and a half) more sessions until I'm done with cardiac rehab...

Hug Your Moms, Sisters, Dads, Brothers, Friends

I am an avid watcher of The Amazing Race. The 10th season premiered tonight. I was going to title my post, "Conversations with Doornobs" and then tell you about this team of cheerleaders who said about themselves (and I kid you not), "We have the type of personalities where we can have conversations with doornobs." Then I got online to post and first read an article on the Minneapolis newspaper's website, startribune.com.

I spent the day with my sisters today. (My older sister, Lynn, is here with my sweet nephew from LA, and my younger sister, Melanie was here from Wisconsin.) This makes what I'm going to type all the more tragic and terrifying. The article was about an accident that happened on the Stillwater Lift Bridge. For those of you not familiar with Minnesota, the St. Croix River separates Stillwater, MN from Hudson, Wisconsin. On one of the ways across the river, there is a bridge that lifts up when boats need to get under/past the bridge.

This afternoon, the lift bridge was up and a charter boat was passing underneath. A car (the brakes had failed, authorities found out later) drove by all of the cars that had stopped and drove right off the bridge into the river. One woman made it out of the car and was rescued by a man who had jumped from the charter boat to help. Her mother and sister were still in the car. Their bodies were found at 5:05 PM.

After spending last night hanging with my mom and Melanie, and today with both Lynn and Melanie (we went out to eat and shopping), this hit me particularly hard.

Lynn, Melanie, and I have been waiting since the Sunday before my surgery to have this "Sister Day." (If you recall, I got sick and could not go.) We had a blast hanging out together today. (Let me just say, my nephew, DJ, made out like a bandit with all the new clothes that Lynn got him.) I can't remember the last time we sisters have just had a day to be together and have fun. It was truly a special day.

The accident today really puts things in perspective for me. I knew that I would always think of today as special. But now I'm really cherishing the time I had with my sisters (and my mom, last night) all the more. I have always appreciated my sisters. Well, maybe not ALWAYS. Lynn had a habit of not letting anyone else talk on the phone when we were teenagers, and Melanie could be quite the tattletale. (As if I would have ever done anything that needed tattling on.) But they're my sisters. I have always loved them. I always will. They're my best friends.

After reading the article, I called Lynn, Melanie, and my mom to tell them how much I love and appreciate them.

So tonight instead of laughing at my most hilarious recent post (and I AM funny, most of the time), please call your family members and friends (and hug them if you live with them) and tell them how much you love and appreciate them. Cherish them as you never have before.

I'll post something funny tomorrow night. I promise.

Heart Pills

Wow. I'm having a really hard time blogging frequently. I didn't think it would take me this long to adjust to my work schedule. After spending all day on the computer at work, it's hard for me to find the motivation to get on the computer after I get home. All I wanna do is throw on my comfy pjs and veg (or would it be vege?) out.
How the heck did I do that before my surgery?

I've been feeling so good lately that it seems I needed to be reminded that I'm a heart patient recovering from surgery. I woke up just exhausted and my chest was unusually sore. So I worked from home today.

It sucks being a heart patient sometimes.

On Monday morning I forgot to take my heart medication. I'm on Metropolol to keep my heart rate down, which will help my heart heal. Apparently after open-heart surgery it takes 3-6 months for the heart rate to get back to normal.

So anyway, I forgot to take it with my breakfast on Monday morning. I went through my day like normal. Got to cardiac rehab and hooked myself up to the heart monitor. They had me doing the same things as Friday, spastic legs and all.

While I was on the treadmill, I heard the rehab nurses talking about me in hushed tones. And not being one who ignores conversations about me, I had to ask what they were talking about.

Well, it turns out my heart rate was getting sky high - over 150 beats per minute. They were really worried about it. And that's when they asked me if I had taken my medications that day.

Crap.

I had to admit that I'd forgotten to take my heart pill. (What can I say? I can't be perfect ALL of the time.) That's why my heart rate was so high.

I learned my lesson. Never exercise when I forget to take my heart pills.

Aaaahhh, Sunday

I love Sundays. So does RobbieMax, especially during football season.

Here is how we've spent our day so far (in Will's absense - he spent the night at his grandparents' house):

RobbieMax: Awake before 7:30 AM, excited for all the pre-game football stuff to start.

Me: Slept blissfully until 9.

RobbieMax: Went to the store to get ingredients for chili. (YUM!) Listened to pre-game stuff on KFAN on the radio.

Me: Still in my jammies, started to watch the movie Hitch. It was pretty cute. And I'm not a huge Will Smith fan.

RobbieMax: Got home, prepared the chili and left it to simmer in the crock pot, listening to pre-game stuff on KFAN the whole time.

Me: Finished watching the movie.

RobbieMax: Came downstairs and turned on the Seahawks/Lions game. Turned on the computer. Watched the game and checked scores of other football games online during the game.

Me: Stayed downstairs. Talked to RobbieMax. Finished reading my book. Took a nap. (There's nothing like taking a nap on Sunday afternoon with football in the background...)

RobbieMax: Went out on our screened-in porch to watch the later games. Had to put on extra layers because it's only 51 degeres outside. Stirred chili.

Me: Woke up. Smelled chili. (YUM!) Turned on the men's championship match at the US Open tennis grand slam.

RobbieMax: Freezing his butt off outside while watching football games.

Me: Still watching tennis toasty warm in the house.


Here's how we will spend our evening:

RobbieMax: Eat chili. He'll watch the Sunday night football game and get online after to check his pics.

Me: Eat chili. I will finish watching tennis, help Will with a school project after he comes home, and make my Survivor pics (we have a Survivor pool at work). I'll also check my pedometer and write down the steps I've taken today. (I have to wear it for rehab - CARDIAC rehab. A subject for another post.)

RobbieMax: He'll go to bed late and sleep very restlessly, nervous about tomorrow night's Vikings game.

Me: I'll go to bed early and sleep blissfully until my alarm goes off in the morning.

A Smorgasbord of Incidents

I miss being a woman of leisure...

During my convalescence (I still love that word) I got hooked on ER. Again. I haven't watched it in years (I love the original cast and Kellie Martin and Goran Visnjic) but there's something about those old episode reruns. I'm so pathetic, I taped a few of those episodes this week on my DVR. I'm watching one right now.

Work has been exhausting, along with cardiac rehab. But it's good to see everyone again, and to get back into normal life. Whatever that is.

Cardiac rehab is going well. I'm "just one of the guys" now. Cezar's last day was Wednesday. And after I said good-bye to him as I left, Randy called out, "Bye Julia!" Yeah, I'm in. These guys even give me a hard time now. I give as well as I take.

So they've been increasing my exercise at cardiac rehab. Today they had me on the treadmill at 1.5 grade (the grade makes it steeper, like a hill), and 3.3 MPH. Let me just say that I'm short. I'm 5' 4". All jeans and pants that are regular and not short or petite are too long for me. And this speed wasn't difficult in the exercise level. It was difficult in that I was practically running a marathon while "walking" the treadmill. I looked like Shaggy or Scooby-Doo running in place with their legs going 150 MPH until they take off. Yep. That was me today. Being short sucks sometimes.

And then I move to the stationary bike. I love the bike. I envision myself as one of those cool kids cruising around the neighborhood on their curved-handlebarred Schwinn 10-speeds, their hands behind their backs because they're too cool to hold onto the handlebars, leaning into the turns, hair flowing wildly.

But I was never cool like that. The coolest I could get was riding one-handed because I was too chicken to ride with no hands. And I would have looked ridiculous riding with no hands on the the hand-me-down "Star Spangler" (my older sister, Lynn, always got the new things), painted red, white, and blue, complete with banana seat, front basket, and streamers flowing from the handlebars.

Yeah. I was cool. Right.

Wanna know something scary? I am now the mother of an 11 year-old. Will turned 11 yesterday. We made pizza, he opened his bongos and his new DVDs, and we went out to Dairy Queen for a treat. We had a great time.

I'm a bad mom because I got him 2 rated-R movies: Alien and Aliens. He's wanted to see them for years, and I have kept saying no. But after allowing him to watch Gladiator and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, I figure he can handle it. And he loved both.

So I didn't get a chance to bug any American Idol hopefuls. I was too busy at work. I thought about writing up a fake interview, but decided that I'm not about that. I can't fabricate an interview or story just for a good blog and more readers. I'm not the National Enquirer. I did see a girl with a wristband yesterday. I was tempted to ask her how registering went. But she was taking pictures of the downtown buildings, and I decided not to break her concentration. I guess we'll all see the auditions when American Idol premieres.

OH - gotta go. Carter and Lucy just got stabbed...

Back in the Office Again

Today I headed back to the office for the first time since July 7. I had a hard time sleeping last night. My mind was racing with things I would have to do while at work today.

So it was a little difficult for me to get up at the ungodly hour of 6 AM. But I got ready on time and caught my normal bus. So far the day seemed to be going just fine. That is, until my bus broke down.

Yep. That's right. My bus broke down. We had to wait for two other buses to come and get us, while cars were zooming by our dumb bus on the highway. Could this be an omen? I wondered to myself. Am I meant to just be a woman of leisure?

But before I had even finished that thought, we were picked up and I made it to work just fine.

Coming back to work after something like open heart surgery is quite the event. I had friends and colleagues coming by to say hi and see how I'm doing. I got many comments on my scar and how good it looks. (It's easy for them to say - they don't have a bright pinkish-red scar dissecting their chests.)

I actually don't mind the scar. I show it off with pride. And because it bothers me to have anything rubbing it, so I'm stuck with lower cut or crew neck shirts.

But the food today was awesome. I had forbidden amounts of sodium at my favorite skyway restaurant - ZexBox, cookies, cake, dark chocolate...It was great. My triumphant return. I felt like the theme music from Gladiator should have been playing in the background the whole day. ("Are you not entertained?!")

But I did manage to get some work done. Which is a good thing. That's why I'm there, anyway.

Here's an interesting side note in light of Will's comment yesterday: American Idol auditions are in Minneapolis starting on Friday. People can start registering at 6 AM tomorrow. This should make working downtown very interesting over the next couple of days. I'm going to go over there and bug the people standing in line. I'll see if I can "interview" a hopeful.

ALMOST YAWN. I'm exhausted. I need to sleep...

Crikey! Steve Irwin

Many of you have heard about the "Crocodile Hunter's" death today. He was pierced in the heart by a barb from a bull ray. An unfortunate freak accident.

Will and I have been avid watchers and followers of Steve and Terri Irwin. I took Will to see Steve's movie, Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course back in 2002. We have marveled and laughed with Steve and Terri, and have enjoyed watching his programs and learning about all the reptiles and animals that Steve loved.

Because of Steve Irwin, Will wants to be a herpetologist (a herpetologist studies and provides information about reptiles and amphibians).

Will was understandably upset when I told him about the Crocodile Hunter's untimely demise this morning. His response was, "Why Steve? Why couldn't it have been someone else, like Kelly Clarkson?" (No offense to Kelly.)

After talking with Will about how it wasn't nice to wish death upon anyone, even Kelly Clarkson, he seemed to be more accepting of the fact that it WAS Steve Irwin, and not Kelly Clarkson who died today.

Steve did so much for reptiles, especially crocodiles, and other wildlife. Because of him, we know so much more about these misunderstood animals.

Please keep Steve Irwin's family and friends in your thoughts and/or prayers.

And also keep Kelly Clarkson in your thoughts, just in case Will jinxed her.

Weekend Whirlwind

Man, my feet are tired. Come to think of it, so is the rest of me.

It has been quite the weekend. I saw The Illusionist on Friday night. Besides the fact that Edward Norton and Paul Giamatti are in it (I love them both), and despite the fact that Jessica Biel (Jessica Biel?!) is in it, it was a wonderful movie. Actually, Jessica Biel was pretty good and held her own with Edward Norton. And she was born in Minnesota, so she gets extra points from me. The movie was great and the plot was intriguing and the acting was excellent. I highly recommend it.

We spent yesterday shopping for school clothes & supplies for Will. Man, that kid grows faster than a weed. He needed all new pants and some sweatshirts. We got him 11 pairs of pants and 2 sweatshirts. Kohls had great sales and Steve and Barry's is always well-priced.

Then we went to Target to get school supplies. And of course, on Labor Day weekend, the school supplies were pretty much picked over. Can you believe that we couldn't even find an 8-count package of Crayola markers? So we ended up going to CVS by our house and finding the supplies that we couldn't get at Target. Will still needs a whiteboard eraser. There's nothing like waiting for the last minute to go school shopping, huh?

Then we met my mom, dad, and sister at the OG. (That's the Olive Garden for those of you not familiar with my oh so clever abbreviation.) After good food and great conversation, we headed home.

This morning we headed to the "great Minnesota get-together." (That's the Minnesota State Fair for you non-Midwesterners.) There's nothing like eating a bunch of cheese curds in the morning. I also indulged in a Fudge Puppy. What's that, you ask? Well, it's a Belgian waffle on a stick, covered with chocolate and topped with a little whipped cream. NUMMY. That is my new favorite fair food. Oh, the Pronto Pups and mini donuts were delicious too. Can you tell that I'm watching my sodium intake? Because I can't.

Now we're home. And I'm watching tennis - the US Open. I missed Agassi's match today and I'm sad that I did. I should have set the DVR. He lost and he's now retired. I've been an Agassi fan since I was a teenager. Back in the early 90's, my older sister, Lynn, dated a guy for 6 years. He was really nice to me. And he kind of looked like Andre Agassi. He had the same hairstyle. That's why I started watching Agassi. Now I'll never see him play in another tournament. Sigh.

Well, I'm gonna put my feet up in the recliner and recover from the weekend. It's a good thing that I have tomorrow off...