So Giddy and So Lame, All at the Same Time

Why am I so happy today? Well, let me share with you and then we'll shoot to that lame part right away.

First, I'm grinning because I did something I thought I could never do this morning. I got my arse out of bed at 5:45 a.m. and went with a friend to our neighborhood's workout room and worked out. Granted, it was only for like 40 minutes, but this was on a day when I didn't know how I'd fit in a workout in my schedule and I did so anyway. I even did so after not being able to sleep the night before and finally crashing after 1 a.m.!

And, here's the real kicker...I wasn't in a semi-vegetative state by 4 p.m. either! At 4 p.m. today, I was spraying down the back porch in an attempt to control my dog's serious shedding issues (to be discussed in another post sometime) while watching my kids on the slip-n-slide. And, I'd managed to accomplish a lot more in total than I do on a normal day, when I wake up about 7 to 7:30 a.m. Hey, maybe I'm on to something here!

So, why the lame name-calling about it all? Well, that would be because of this--how many people are grown up enough that they do this already without whining, without 10 years of saying I just can't do it, without making a big deal on their blog about it? Dude, they accepted the early morning thing in their mid-twenties and are out there just living the dream, people. Why am I so late in getting in on this? Lame-o number one...

My second bit of giddiness today involves my interviewing my first celebrity for the magazine for which I'm the editor. Back when I took the job, my Editor-in-Chief half-heartedly said, "you should look into what celebrities live in your area. One perk in being the editor is that you can talk to some really cool people." She interviewed Clint Black, for example, and was still buzzing about it a year later.

Well, when I looked up my city, I found a lot of boring businessmen, a few sports stars who are on their way out, and....lo, and behold, one of the hottest young stars on the soap opera that I watched all through my teen and college years. And, now, thanks to DVR magic, I have been reeled into the show again. Oh my! I was ecstatic and gleeful to say the least!

In case you are willing to admit and comment here that you do watch a soap opera, I will say I got to interview "Belle" from Days of Our Lives today. And, I was so nervous and excited about the whole thing. In fact, as I listed back to the tape of the interview as I transposed my notes, I was kind of embarrassed at how transparently dorky I came across.

I know it is lame for me to be that excited. I mean, this isn't some Oscar winning actress or huge movie starlet. But, it was great for me nonetheless. I have never met anyone famous and the height of my celebrity sightings was when we shared a plan with Texans QB David Carr and his entire family this year, just 2 days before the team gave him the boot!

The actress was funny, down-to-earth, and I was able to just have a conversation with her (amid my nervous "ums" and "yeahs" and a thick Texas drawl that seemed to really red flag my rural upbringings today) and find out some neat information. She grew up in our area and it will be fun to write a feature on the "hometown girl who makes it big" kind of thing.

So, another thing...am I lame for DVRing a soap opera at the age of 36? OK, well maybe I am. But, in my defense, DVR lets you fast-forward through the gushy love scenes involving fruit and whipped cream that border on gross. I can whiz right through those stupid plot lines, like the one that involved one of my favorite characters being possessed by the devil a few years back. And, I can watch the whole show in 40 minutes while my toddler naps or right after the kids go to bed at night. And, there's less commercials than Oprah, so there!

So, lame or not, I felt giddy today for my two accomplishments. And, guess what? Tomorrow, I'm getting up early again to work out. And, who knows, maybe I'll get to interview a really big star next. Ooooh--or maybe that actress that got possessed at the very least!

A lame girl's gotta dream, right?