This is Why I'm a Cat Person

Meet my brother's dog, Clara, who I have been dogsitting this week. Notice the bits of fluff and blanket strewn about?

This is what I came home to last night. Although she was safely locked in her kennel at the M.O.D. (Moment of Destruction) she managed to pull my bedspread THROUGH the gate before she preceeded to shred it into tiny pieces.

Rest in peace, dear bedspread. You kept me warm many a night.

At least her kennel looks comfy now.

How I Became Popular...or Not

“Popular!

You're gonna be popular!

I'll teach you the proper ploys

When you talk to boys

Little ways to flirt and flounce (Ooh!)

I'll show you what shoes to wear

How to fix your hair

Everything that really counts

To be popular

I'll help you be popular!

You'll hang with the right cohorts

You'll be good at sports

Know the slang you've got to know

So let's start

'Cause you've got an awfully long way to go”

-From the musical Wicked

If you are familiar with the Broadway musical Wicked, you have heard this song. It is sung by the pretty, popular character Galinda at the point of the play where she decides to give the rather unfortunate looking Elphaba a makeover. This is my favorite part of the play, not only because the song is cute and funny, but also because I can totally relate…

“I’m going to give you popular lessons,” my sister (the Galinda in this story) announced one day to my nine-year old self. A year and a half my senior, she had graciously decided to make me, the Elphaba charity-case, her newest project.

Step one to becoming popular: handwriting lessons. (Who knew handwriting had a direct correlation with popularity? Why, my sister, of course!)

“Your writing isn’t bubbly enough,” Galinda, er … Alina said. She handed me a sheet of notebook paper with the ABC’s written neatly across the top in her perfect handwriting. “Try to make it look like more like mine.”

After I had painstakingly copied her letters, we moved on to phone etiquette.

“How many phone numbers do you know?” she demanded, a question that confused me. I started rattling off our own phone number but was quickly stopped. “Not our phone number, how many other people’s numbers do you know?”

“Oh!” I said, “Well I know Ginger’s and Jessica’s…”

“Tell you what, Galina interrupted. “Let’s have a contest to see who knows the most phone numbers. I’ll go first.”

And with that we started spouting off the phone numbers we had memorized. Since she obviously had more friends than I did, I’ll let you guess who won.

I’m a little fuzzy on what else my popular lessons entailed, or if they even went any further past that first day. Who knows, maybe after the phone number contest I was given up as a hopeless case. Meanwhile I taught my little brother to say “thank you” if anyone ever called him weird.

“Consider it a compliment,” I said. “It’s cool to be weird!”

No wonder my sister was worried.

I LOVE Top Banana!!!!

Good morning Top Banana! Time to get up!!

I looooove Top Banana!

I like to pretend to be just like him!

Us going bananas!

Stop tickling me Banana!!

I got a lil mad at him...

But I still think he's number one!

Besties!!!

I'm the top banana!

My dance teacher has a thing with bananas. I'm not sure what started it all, exactly, but over the last couple of years she has been collecting plush toy bananas (with faces on them) and bringing them to dance class. She loves them so much, in fact, that she convinced her husband to win a human-sized stuffed banana at a carnival recently by knocking 3 pins down with a bean bag. That banana now lays prostrate across the shelves where we keep our shoes and dance bags. But I digress...

Anyway, she has started giving out "top banana" awards to the dancer who impresses her the most in class each week. It's kinda like when you are in kindergarten and your teacher lets you take home the class stuffed animal for the weekend, only we get a banana instead. Sometimes she forgets about the banana and no one gets it. Sometimes she isn't pleased enough with anyone to give the banana out. But last night was a different story. Because last night....I got the top banana!!!
FINALLY! I have never gotten it before and I was sooo excited. Possibly the most exciting moment of my dancing career, hah! Okay maybe not, but still! I'm top banana!

I also got my first solo dance dress last night!

I bought it used and need to replace a few crystals on it, but I think it is sooo pretty. I can't wait to wear it at my competition in September. Let's just hope the judges think I'm top banana as well! But until then, I have a plush banana at home to remind me that for this week at least, I'm at the top!

Workout Timesavers

Lately I have become somewhat addicted to exercise tv videos. There are so many quick workout options geared specifically toward certain problem areas that it's hard to resist on days when I don't have time to do a full-blown workout. And just 20 minutes to better abs and a tighter core-sounds great right? But as anyone who has done such a workout knows, it actually takes more time out of your day than 20 minutes. I’m talking about sweat folks. And after 20 minutes of intense ab and bun fat blasting, it happens.
So what’s a hardworking, busy girl supposed to do when pressed for time? We don’t want to forgo the workout, but what if 20 minutes really is all the time we have?
Enter DRY SHAMPOO. A recent time-saving discovery that has also helped save my hair from over-exposure to heat from my blowdryer. You can do a quick workout, hop in the shower to rinse off, spray on some dry shampoo, and you're good to go! I've been using Tresemme Fresh Start dry shampoo. It definitely makes my hair look less oily, but also tends to make it look a little more blonde than normal. Has any one tried any other kinds? What works for you? What do you do when you only have a few minutes to work out? I'd appreciate any suggestions. Now if you'll excuse me, I have another abs video to do.

Screwed

Literally.

Cooper's new look

Apparantly Cooper is a size 8 in running shoes. Guess I'll have to pick her up a pair so she'll stop wearing mine!