Rain delay theater

It has rained A LOT in the past two days, so I feel like today is an appropriate day to share this video, which the Modern Love Machine shared with me. It combines my love of my favorite sport (baseball) with ridiculously choreographed things. There is some choreographed dancing, but my favorites are the roller coaster and the Shake Weight.


dance off
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I have an anger problem

So we've been trying to make wedding plans these past few days, and let me go ahead and say I have yet to find the fun in wedding planning. I'm sure I'll enjoy it more when I'm shopping for dresses and thinking of reception decor, but finding venues and getting a date nailed down is maddening.

Couple that with some really crappy drivers I encountered this morning, and Monday did not start well.

And then I saw this. And it made me spit out my coffee. (Please for the love of all things modern, go check out that link. It is so worth the five seconds of your time that it will take.)

Also, this is really adorable too.

Happy Monday, Modern Friends.

P.S. The Tumblr wedding blog thing turned out to be less than ideal, so the Modern Love Machine and I started an actual blog under -- wait for it -- OUR REAL NAMES (GASP!!!). If you want to keep up with it, e-mail me at themoderngal(at)gmail(dot)com for the URL. I shall not be linking to it from here as I've managed to keep my real identity separate from this blog for two and a half years, and I don't intend to blow it now.

I fall in love whenever we meet

Holy crap, you guys. I knew there was lots of excitement to be had when you get engaged, but my goodness, I can't keep up with the outpouring of excitement in person, on the phone, on Facebook and here at the ol' MG blog. Thank you, thank you, thank you for all your kind wishes. I cannot begin to express how much it means to me and the Modern Love Machine.

So only one person got the "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" reference? Shame, you should all go rent that movie (or see a production of it). It is slapsticktastically hilarious.

Sorry about the whole bait-and-switch approach to the last post. I just really wanted it to be a surprise. The MLM and I had discussed the whole idea of marriage a little while back, so I knew an engagement was coming, I just didn't know when. And believe me when I say IT WAS KILLING ME NOT TO TELL YOU GUYS. I have been in agony over what to write in the past couple of weeks, because all I wanted to do was share the news. But I also didn't want to get ahead of myself.

So yeah, after we grabbed lunch from one of my favorite local restaurants and got some treats at the local farmers market (complete with running into some friends of ours), we took the Modern Pooches to a very beautiful local park where anyone who either runs or has a dog or runs with a dog goes. It's very scenic, right on the river and somewhere where the MLM and I went for like our third outing together 10ish months ago (and with our dogs). He claims he usually scares the gals away after three outings, so he knew things were good at that point.

We were strolling along the path by the river, talking about how absolutely beautiful the day was and how nice it was for the doggies to get to play outside and how successfulish the triathlon was. I had been pulled a little in front of him by the Lucydog (or I thought that was the case), when he said he knew something that would make the day even better. I thought he wanted to go buy some gelato, because gelato makes every day better. Instead I turned around to find him on one knee with a ring and a grin on his face.

So there's the real story, and I could not be more excited. The practical Modern Gal would wonder if getting engaged after 10 months of dating is too fast. I used to balk at the phrase "when it's right, you'll know," because as Whitney Houston put it best, "How will I know??"

Time out for a message from drug-free Whitney Houston.



Well, Whitney, I can honestly say that after surviving the roller coaster of relationships I've been through in the past, oh, 13 years or so, I know this one is different. And right. Every fiber of me has been happy since he's been in my life, and apparently it shows because people seem to notice. I am completely able to be myself with him -- and he loves me for just who I am -- and I'm a better person with him in my life. I used to wonder if I was even meant to be married, but I know I want to be with him for the rest of my life, so again, it's right.

And to answer all the questions that seem to be the standard when you tell people you've gotten engaged: we're aiming for June or July of next year, we'll get married in Memphis (because it's an awesomely fun city) and that's about all I know. The MLM is really, really excited about planning a wedding. Seriously. He's even got our colors picked out: green and purple, although I might have something to say about that.

I will go ahead and let you know that I likely won't be talking much about planning the wedding here. I don't want wedding planning to consume me or my blog, so I'm just going to keep the bulk of it off (unless something happens that's just so ridiculous, it's worth a good post here). But if you're interested in this sort of thing, I've rejiggered my Tumblr blog to share everything blog related, and you can find the link to it here (and it's a work in progress).

Once again, thank you friends for all the love!!

A funny thing happened on the way to the triathlon*

*Props to anyone who gets the reference in that post title.

Like a triathlon, this post requires endurance. I promise it's worth it to get to the end.

Having successfully swum, biked and run as much as I could in the past two weeks, I woke up this morning pumped to complete the triathlon I'd registered for two weeks ago. I knew it wasn't the best idea I'd ever had -- doing a triathlon on only two weeks of training -- but my primary goal was to finish. Sure, I would have loved to have beat my time from last year, but finishing seemed like the smarter priority.



Well, the first thing that went wrong was my contacts. I had gone to see my optometrist on Monday because I needed new contacts, and he talked me into trying disposable (as in wear once and then dispose) contacts because I wear them so infrequently. He gave me 10 pairs to try out, and I tried them out twice this week. Of course today was the day one decided to malfunction by rolling all the way to the top of my eye rather than staying put. As my friend Currer Bell said, I was a tricyclops.

Then, when we got to the aquatics center where the swim portion was being held, we discovered that the swim would be held in the outdoor pool, despite the fact that the informational e-mail said the indoor pool and despite the fact that the National Weather Service said it was between 44 and 49 degrees. We stood out on the outdoor pool deck in our bathing suits -- in 44- to 49-degree weather -- for 30 minutes before jumping into a pool that was probably not much warmer than the air.

I survived the swim (mainly because motion = warmer body) and got on the bike. Lovely, I love being on my bike and was very familiar with most of the course as it's one of the places I do my long training rides. Except that I hadn't really scoped out the end of the circuit (on which we did two laps). Yeah, HILL OF DEATH. DEATH!! Don't take my word for it, though. Take the gmap pedometer elevation map of the hill's word for it:

HILL OF DEATH, it ain't messin' around.

So, I did make it up the HILL OF DEATH twice thanks to help from my bike's lowest gear, which meant it was time for the run. I actually ended up running more of this bit than I expected, which is to say I was able to run down the hills and in the flat areas. But the first chunk of the course was super-hill, so I ended up walking everything that was uphill. The nice thing was the last mile or so was fairly flat, so I was able to run that. Until I was about a third of a mile away and running on a sidewalk where I caught my toe in a groove on the sidewalk (I'm nothing if not ungraceful). And I fell hard. Fortunately I fell into grass, so I didn't hurt anything but my pride, which after 400 meters of swimming, 6 miles of biking and about 2.7 miles of running was enough to have me in tears. Which is not good when you need more oxygen than you usually require to function.

I got back up and started running again, gasping for every breath and tears fogging my sunglasses. I stumbled up the last hill and across the finish line, into the arms of the Modern Love Machine, who took photographic evidence of myself in this state (I'll delete those the first chance I get.)

So yeah, I survived, despite the universe's best efforts. I haven't seen my official chip time, but the MLM has estimated it at somewhere around an hour 20 minutes, which isn't fast by any means, but it's good enough for this race.

Oh, and then a few hours later the Modern Love Machine asked me to marry him. And I said yes. (duh)**

And the contact stuck at the top of my eye popped back out after I took a shower. So yay for that too.

**Another story for another post.

RIP, Dixie Carter

I've totally neglected to properly mourn the passing of Dixie Carter, a native of my home state and alumna of my alma mater. She did many things in her life, but my favorite (and I'm sure many others' favorite too) was Julia Sugarbaker in Designing Women. Gosh, I watched that show religiously as a kid and still watch it occasionally when it's on as a rerun.

Julia Sugarbaker (and Dixie Carter too) were classic modern women. They broke through stereotypes while maintaining their femininity. I was just browsing some old Designing Women clips and found this:



Those opinions still seem somewhat groundbreaking even in this day and age (which is sad, but another post for another time).

Rest easy, Miss Dixie.

What goes around comes around and goes around again

I'm sure by now you've all heard about the second Sex and the City movie that's being made. There was even a trailer released a few months ago, but it really didn't reveal much. I didn't like the idea of making the first movie, and I especially don't like the idea of the second one.

Especially after I saw this new trailer. And Aidan.



I'm sure I'll watch it because I have to know what part of the storylines they're going to screw with this time, but I already don't like where it's going.

Thinking outside the bottle

I'm posting at The Greenists today about a company and a college freshman who are thinking outside the bottle when it comes to packaging beverages. Check it out!

Sometimes I'm decision making-challenged

I'm not to be left alone with a bag of Starburst jelly beans. Especially after giving up sweets for Lent. It's the perfect recipe for a binge-a-thon.

Of course after I devoured most of the bag my stomach ached. So what did I do? Tried to take an edge off the sweetness by devouring salt and pepper chips.

I finally decided I was being ridiculous and fixed myself a turkey sandwich and got a bowl of fruit and some juice out of the fridge.

But of course I'm not hungry enough to eat them. And now I just want to throw up.

We must, we must, we must ...

I just spent way too much time on Mental Floss's quizzes, so I'm sharing them with you so you can waste time too!

The latest is a Judy Blume quiz. I did ok, but missed all the "Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself" questions because I never read it. My all-time favorite book is "Just as Long as We're Together" and fortunately there was a question on that as well as plenty on "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret."

There's also the Claudia Kishi Creation or Fashion Flop quiz, where you read a description of an outfit and decide if it was a Kishi creation or not. A few of these, no joke, I remember reading the first time around.

And then there's the Saved By the Bell quiz. Which I aced. Because I am a Saved By the Bell expert.

More here. You didn't really have anything to do today, did you?

The Modern Pooches

I know I've posted plenty of photos of the Lucydog on here, but I'm not sure I've ever introduced you to the Pennypup. The Pennypup and the Modern Love Machine come as a pair.

We're basically one big modern clan now because Lucy and Penny get along famously, and Penny likes to get snuggly with me, perhaps even more than she does with the MLM (don't tell him that). She's the sweetest, happiest dog I think I've ever met. She loves to PLAY, PLAY, PLAY! which means either fetching a ball or stick or wrestling with Lucy, who puts up with it. Lucy doesn't mind being the small spoon when we're laying on the couch or bed, but Penny, despite being the smallest of the pack, wants to be the big spoon. She lays directly behind you and puts her head on your neck or side.

Another dog once took a chunk out of her right ear, so now it always stands up at attention. Which means it's hard for her to not look adorable 100 percent of the time.

Lucydog, left, and Pennypup, right.

Penny is a year or two younger than Lucy, and they play the roles of older sister/younger sister well. Lucy is like the moody pre-teen who doesn't usually want to be bothered except for when SHE decides she wants to come lay next to you or have you rub her belly. Penny just wants to be near you all ... the ... time.


The Modern Love Machine was gone all weekend for a bachelor party, which means it was an all-girls weekend. We did what girls do gossiped, painted our nails, talked about boys and had a pillow fight. Ok, not really, but we did lounge around A LOT.

The MLM and I have been apart five of the last six weekends, and it's been really effing tough. I've missed him terribly. But now, we're both home to stay, or at least when we next leave town we'll be together. It's the best Easter blessing I could ask for (I mean aside from the basic reason for Easter).

Reclaim and renew

I love Lent and Easter season because of their message of renewal of faith. Today is Good Friday, meaning Lent is ending. I've done a horrible job of focusing on my faith renewal this Lenten season. I've let my job get in the way of everything else that is important in my life, despite my best efforts.

But it's never too late, and with Easter on Sunday now is just as good a time to kick off my own personal time to reclaim my health, my faith and just my life in general.

I just signed up for a triathlon. A triathlon that just happens to take place in two weeks. Am I crazy? Probably so, but I need the motivation. I know with what little time I have to train (and seriously, I've worked out maybe four times in the past three months and three of those times have been in the past week) I'm probably going to have to just walk the running portion. Still, to accomplish something that requires some serious physical exertion is just what I need to kick the metal fatigue I've been fighting for a few months.

I've been developing a list in my head over the past few days of the other things I want to practice in the coming month to reclaim my life. I don't want to say they're set in stone or they're resolutions or what not. These are just things I'm going to work on, and even if I only accomplish a few of them I will still have taken steps toward getting my life back together.

1. Use the neti pot.
2. Pack or purge a few boxes worth of stuff each week in anticipation of the June move.
3. Make most of my own meals.
4. Run, bike or swim 4-5 times a week.
5. Drink more water.
6. Spend some quality time with the Modern Love Machine.
7. Blog at least every other day.
8. Go to bed early.
9. Focus at work.
10. Go to church every week.
11. Take a walking break each day at work.
12. Wear sunscreen.

Any other suggestions?

Behind the screen

Diane Birch is adorable. Here is her new music video for "Valentino," recorded in a single take. Think about that as you watch it closely. Your mind will be blown.



Want to see how it was done? Go behind the screen: