Thank you all for the kind words in my previous post! It made me feel all warm and happy inside.

We had a lovely time. For those who were asking why in the hell would we travel to Cincinnati, I have an answer. It was because of this:

Aaron and I love theatre, and we have a special fondness for musicals. Wicked is one musical we have been listening to for over a year, but we were unable to see. Until last night. I got lucky and managed to get us tickets for opening night in a pre-sale event, since the show sold out about an hour after it was opened to the public.

Our evening started with going to dinner at a restaurant we’ve always liked in Cincinnati. I devoured my dinner without one hint of guilt, because diets don’t matter when it’s your anniversary. I even had a piece of Guiness chocolate cake. Then we were off to the theatre.

The show was incredible! Having seen it, I now reaffirm it is one of my favorite musicals. For those who know nothing about it, Wicked is the story of the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz. But it is the story before The Wizard of Oz, and it shows that the witch perhaps wasn’t as wicked as many think. It’s all about being different, dealing with prejudice, and doing what you feel is right. If you like musicals, I highly recommend picking this CD up.

The cast of the first national tour was wonderful. While the woman playing Glinda didn’t harmonize as well as I would have liked, she had a beautiful voice on her own. The actress who played Elphaba (the witch), was amazing, and the actor playing Fiyero was downright hot, along with a good voice. My God, the ass on that man! I mean, ahem, he had nice hair, and sang well.

We left the theatre practically glowing from being so happy. The drive to our hotel took far too long, but once there we relaxed and enjoyed the jacuzzi tub in the room (this is the one time of the year we splurge).

Overall, a wonderful anniversary. Oh, and I forgot to tell you what Aaron got me: he wrote me a beautiful letter about how I work so hard to take care of Cordy, and how he knows I feel I’ve lost some of what used to be “me” from being overworked as “mommy”. Included with the letter were three gift cards – one had exactly enough to get a massage, another had enough to get my hair cut and colored, and the third was a gift card to Hot Topic, to find some clothing to make me feel more hip again. Oh, and the letter also promised a day to myself, when he will take Cordelia for the entire day so I have time to do all of this. Have I mentioned that I love this man?

I’m now back to the real world again, and I feel more refreshed after our night out. We were both totally excited to see Cordy again today (we practically raced each other to get into the house first), but the time we had together without her was that much needed time all couples should have to reconnect with each other.

So, I’m off to wipe Cordy’s nose. It seems that in the 18 hours we were gone, she somehow managed to pick up and dive full-force into a cold. Now her face is covered in a river of snot, and the faucet won’t turn off.

It’s good to be home.

It was on this day, just three years ago, that Aaron and I stood in front of all of our friends and family and repeated our vows to each other. I remember being nervous about fitting into my dress, nervous about my hair, scared I’d trip and fall down the aisle, but most of all, so excited that this day had come. It was a day filled with happiness for me, and one I am glad to celebrate each year.

Aaron and I took today off, and we’re getting ready to go to Cincinnati for the night. My mom is here, and is staying the night to watch Cordelia, so we will have an entire night together, sans child.

I’m so very lucky to have a loving husband and a fabulous family. Things haven’t turned out the way we planned them three years ago – we are always short on money, and the job situation is iffy – but as long as I have Aaron, I know we’ll manage whatever comes our way.

I’ll leave you today with some pictures from our wedding. More toddler swearing and diet temptations tomorrow!

I’d just like to state for the record how damn cruel it is that I am required to keep a candy jar on my work desk at all times. Yes, it’s a rule – it makes our offices more “inviting” to students. It also tortures those on a diet.

It’s just sitting there, on the edge of the desk, looking at me. It’s a clear jar, too, so I can see all of the sugary-goodness tempting me. One tootsie roll is even partially unwrapped, exposing the divine chocolate underneath that thin paper wrapper. It’s like porn for dieters. I turned the jar so I wouldn’t see the Jolly Ranchers, but now I see one has snuck to the other side to beckon me.

Damn, I’m hungry.

As I was driving to the j-o-b today (somedays, “job” just feels like a bad word), I heard a song come on the radio that I hadn’t heard in a while: The Fugees, Killing Me Softly. Now, I’m not a particular fan of the group, or even of the song, but this particular song is special to me.

Ever have a song that is extremely connected to a memory? Something that triggers all senses, where you feel like you are right there again? That’s what this song is for me. It was playing every 15 minutes in the summer of 2006. That is the summer I spent in England.

I was a sophomore in college, 19 years old, and had decided earlier that year that I wanted to study abroad for the summer in England. I researched my options, looked into getting a passport, and, most importantly, starting my advertising pitch to my mom.

My mom, my aunts, and my grandmother were all against it. For one, it was expensive. For another thing, we didn’t have that kind of money, and it was expensive. Get the point?

They tried to talk me out of it:

You’re young, you have plenty of time to travel. (My mom used this one a lot.)
Wait until you’re out of school and you have a job to afford to travel.
You’ll be able to do so much more when you’re older.
Wait until you have more money – then you’ll be able to do more!

I pushed even harder than they did, and eventually I won. (Yes, it’s clear where Cordy’s stubborn nature comes from.) Thanks to the magic of student loans, I left the US in May for Richmond College, in London. I lived two blocks south of Kensington Palace, where Princess Diana took up residence. There was a pub on the corner, and two Tube stops in easy walking distance.

And yes, Killing Me Softly was on the radio all. the. damn. time. My roommate and I would listen to the radio in the evenings. I often walked around London with my portable radio, and it came with me on the many train rides I took to the countryside and to Scotland on the weekends. Of my three months there, that was the song that stuck with me.

When I hear it, I remember the dark dorm room with the single lightbulb, the heavy, wet, green atmosphere that enveloped us, the cool plaster walls, the crowded streets, the noisy, smoky environment of the pub down the street, the pigeons, the architecture, the train rides – my entire experience in England wrapped into one song. The actual lyrics of the song have no meaning – just the song itself. (Ah, the stories I could tell from my time there – they’d fill a book!)

It was my first time being totally on my own, with no lifeline. Yes, I lived on my own in college, but my mom was only a two-hour drive away. Now I was across an ocean from her, and only spoke to her every two weeks on the phone.

I look back on the experience, and I am still very grateful for my stubbornness. As I sit here at work, I think of all of my responsibilities now, and I know I will never have the chance to do something like that again. I will never be able to put my entire life on hold to spend a summer in another country, and honestly, I will never want to do it. My husband and my daughter are very important to me, and I couldn’t imagine being away from them for three months.

But hearing that song takes me back to those days, and reminds me that I did go for it. It reminds me that I won’t look back and regret not taking that trip. I can listen to the song, close my eyes (when not driving), and remember my days in England as vividly as when I was there.

So, to anyone reading this who is considering doing something for themselves that others consider foolish, I say: go for it. Do it, and do it now. As we grow older, we’re only going to gain more responsibilities and more obstacles, and waiting for another chance may cause you to wait forever. Sure, we can all look forward to retirement, if we live that long. Personally, I enjoyed being in London as a 19 year old – I think it won’t be the same when I’m 65.

Do the same for your kids. Encourage them to go for their dreams. Carpe diem!

Oh, and mom? I was so right.

Queen of Spain has started a Hippo Diet club for the month of March. After being told by her son that her butt resembled that of the hippo in Madagascar, Queen decided to do something about it. As often seems to happen in the blogging world, others joined in. And thus the Hippo Diet was born.

The rules are very open and simple. Post a beginning picture, do whatever you want to lose weight this month, and report in at the end.

The hardest part for me is getting started. I said goodbye to my last Shamrock Shake from McD’s this weekend, and spent this morning getting up the strength to post my “before” picture.

OK, here goes:

Here you can see in detail my double chin, my belly that is out further than my breasts, and my upper arms that are larger than some Hollywood starlet’s thighs. I’m certainly not in my best shape. My starting weight is even more embarrassing: 220.

That just happens to be the exact same weight I was at when I was 9 months pregnant. So apparently even though Cordelia is out, my body is still carrying her, figuratively.

Amazingly, I must tell you, this isn’t my heaviest weight ever. When I graduated from college, I was another 25 pounds heavier than this. No, I have no pictures of it. That part of my life has no photographic evidence, and for good reason.

But I worked at it, and within a year and a half, I took off about 70 pounds. While not my lowest (stress can really be a bitch holding a cream puff), I think I looked pretty damn good at our wedding and on our honeymoon. This I do have proof of:

(Yes, we’ve got mouse ears on – we were on our honeymoon and giddy – shut up.)

I would love to see myself like that (or something similar) again. I’ve never aspired to reach the status of model thin, or even bottom-of-the-recommended-weight for my height thin. I’d be happy at the top of the “healthy” range.

So, my goal for this month is to get rid of 10 pounds. That’s a lot for a month, but then again, I’ve got a lot I’m certainly not using. I want to get back into the habit of exercising again. (Not everyday, mind you. Even once a week would be a start.) And I plan to reduce my portion sizes and make better food choices.

Wish me luck!