You know what the best thing in the whole world is?

It's when your five year-old goddaughter runs across a room, jumps into your arms, and says, "Auntie Lexis! I misted you!"

Big Daddy Diesel is making me do this

OK, so BDD picked me, and now I have to write seven random things about myself and then pick other bloggers to do the same. Thanks my my chronic diarrhea of the mouth, there's not much new/different stuff to tell... but I'll give it a shot.

1. I didn't realize my hair was naturally wavy until I was in my early 30s. Until that time, I just thought it was frizzy and uncooperative. As a result, I tried to blow it into submission every day, only to get frustrated. Finally, I realized I could wear it wavy/curly and not fuss with hot styling every day.

2. A famous dancer and actor (I won't say names, but it rhymes with Rikale Marishnikov) once checked out my butt. No lie.

3. I would adopt 20 pets if D would let me I could. I would totally be a crazy pet lady.

4. My biggest regret is that I never lived in NYC.

5. My biggest fear is fire.

6. I have freakishly long toes. They look like ET. Sad but true.

7. If I weren't scared of losing my teeth, I would play on a women's ice hockey team.

OK, now I pick other people to do this. (You guys have to!) Plus, everyone should check out their blogs.

Jess at Pushing My Limits
Jill at Sneakersister
Maria at All That Matters Is What Makes You Happy
Randy at 400 Beers
Jamie at Project IM Arizona
Joe at Beyond the Two-Zero
Mandy at Dr. Err's House
Julie at Julie's Triathlon Journal
Sage at Random Misadventures
Heather at Saucon Runner

And of course, I would be remiss if I didn't link to BDD, who started this whole thing. Blame him, not me. :)

Leave me a note with any comments/reactions to my randomness and also to let me know when you've posted your own random tidbits.

Recipe for a great day

Ingredients:
1 pool
1 yoga class
1 unexpected, last-minute breakfast with an adoring husband, a great friend, and his 4 kids that you don't see nearly enough
a dash of pampering
1 fundraising party

Swim 2,000 yards and immediately go to yoga. Feel arms shake but know you're doing wonderful things for your body.

Meet friends and hubby for breakfast. Eat decadent, bad-for-you-but-oh-so-yummy things like french toast and huge sticky bun (with a candle in it). Enjoy the slightly off-tune rendition of Happy Birthday as sung by two grown men and 4 children.

Indulge in a manicure and pedicure.

Take a 90-minute nap without ruining said manicure and pedicure.

Check Facebook and see more than 150 good wishes from friends and family.

Get dressed and go to fundraiser, where many, many friends are in attendance. Laugh a lot. Say "thank you" a lot as all of them wish you a happy day. Laugh some more. Ride a tricycle (there were tricycle races at the event... hilarious!).

Talk to a good friend that you've never met (yet!!!) and wish her good luck in her first Half Ironman the next day. Send lots of good vibes to her.

Laugh some more with friends and go home feeling happy and loved.

Yup. It was a good birthday.

At exactly 2:22 p.m. tomorrow

I will be 45 years old.

Here's what I expect my birthday party to look like.

Seriously. 45?? Already? How did this happen??

Money sucks

More accurately, lack of money sucks.

After years of working at it, I finally paid off my high interest credit card and chopped it into little pieces (take THAT, stupid bank!). That's the good news.

The bad news is that I am now using my debit card for everything, which means I'm totally cash poor.

Ugh. It has to get better at some point, right? I mean, I'll be 45 on Saturday (don't even get me started on that one!), and I feel as stressed about money as I did at 25 when I was making less than half of what I make now. WTF? And I know I'm not alone. I know several people who also are cutting way back, counting every penny, and generally losing sleep at night because they are unemployed, underemployed, in debt up to their eyeballs, unable to afford their lives, or some combination of factors.

Would you go back?

Yesterday I went to a 9th grade assembly at one of our schools (I work for the public school system). The speaker was an alumnus who is now a molecular biologist. A self-proclaimed nerd, he goes around to schools to speak to students, in a funny and self-deprecating way, about how hard it is to be an adolescent.

Listening to his stories made me flash back to my own gangly, awkward teen years. The themes of his stories -- loneliness, quest for acceptance, unrequited crushes -- were all too familiar to me.

When I got back to work, I told my boss' secretary about the presentation and said in an offhanded way, "I wouldn't go back to high school for a million dollars." It was a silly little comment at the time, a throw-away, but this morning as I walked the dogs I started to think about it again.

Would I really turn down $1 million if it meant I had to be 14 and go through the pain of high school again?

I think my answer is still yes.

What about you? A million dollars on the spot, but you have to turn back into a 14 year-old and relive the horror that is high school.

I did a headstand in yoga last night

This was me.

She actually could be me, except my boobs and butt are bigger than hers. But I digress.

Toward the end of class last night, the instructor told us to move our mats to the walls with the short end of the mat against the wall. She then said we were going to do headstand (which I've never even tried to do before) and that she'd walk us through it and give us [easier] options if we opted not to do it.

I'm pretty much game for anything, and I LOVE to challenge myself, so I figured I'd try one for the first time, fail epically, and then take one of the options. But at least I'd know that I tried, and next time maybe I'd do a little better.

Imagine my surprise when I went through the steps (kneel facing the wall, hands and arms in position with hands locked and placed a few inches away from the wall, cradle the head in the hands, go to a mini downward dog position, then bend one knee and lift the foot in the air, then the other) and found myself WITH MY LEGS IN THE AIR, balancing on my head and forearms. I was in the front of the room -- Type A and all -- and as she walked around to check us, I was the first one she came to. As she was approaching to help me, I was already in the position. "Good, you're there!" is what she said.

I know it's a little thing, but it really pleased me to be able to do this pose. It seems so... I dunno... advanced.

(Of course, my dismount from the pose was less than graceful. It's something to work on.) :)

MIA (and I don't mean the rapper)

Holy schmoley, where has the time gone? I promise I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, nor have I fallen into an abyss.

Work is nuts.
Training is beyond blah.
Life is hectic.
Being a grown-up really blows sometimes.
Ergo, no blogging.

(Really, I just wanted to use the word ergo in a blog post.)

I've made some progress on my Want To Do list already, believe it or not. I've made it to yoga three weeks in a row, and I'm about 50/50 on the early morning workouts. (On the days I have to teach at 6 a.m., of course I'm there. The other days have been more challenging, but I'm trying.) I have not met Bono -- YET -- in case you were wondering. Nor have I published my first novel. Nor am I even writing it at this point. Someday...

Back to work, but first here's a cute pic from a surprise party we attended this past weekend. I rarely straighten my hair, but it turned out pretty OK that night (or at least the picture makes it look as though it did!).

Happy day, all.

LET'S GO, PHILLIES!!