Class last night was good, once I got there. It took me just over two hours to drive 20 miles. This was exceptional even by LA standards! It usually takes me 45 minutes to an hour to get over the hill to the Valley (there aren't very many possible routes to get there). Last night it took me an hour just to get TO the freeway, and then the usual hour to get over the hill. Ugh.

I arrived in class tired and cranky, and my energy was flagging and never really recovered in spite of my efforts to bring it up. I sang my first song and while it was still vastly better than it was in the beginning of the class, it wasn't my best performance. During the break I ate a bit of my salad in the hopes that it would help me feel better, but it didn't help. The second half of class was a little better, but I was still wiped out. I sang "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" and got a laugh when I started singing it, and I had FUN doing it. That helped my energy level, so by the time class was over I was starting to get wired, which meant that I couldn't get to sleep once I got home.

Today may very well be a long day since I only got about 6 hours of sleep. It was not easy to drag myself out of bed this morning. I told myself that if I left on time I could get a soy chai tea latte from Starbucks to help me get through the day. So I have a little Starbucks fix for this morning.

Tonight is acting class, and I have my monologue to practice between now and 7pm. Assuming it doesn't take me as long to get up there tonight as it did last night I will grab some dinner near class and then head to class. My coach also wants me to bring back "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" and polish up the performance. Fun stuff!

I have to go out for lunch again today - just no time this week to prepare even the simplest of meals. This weekend I'll cook and throw a few things in the freezer so that I can grab something for lunch on my way out the door.

I left work yesterday and went to the music store to find a 'fun' song to sing tonight for our last class. I had no idea what I would pick, but knew I would find something. I thought I would pick something that would be familiar from my childhood or something, just because I don't have much time to learn it! I was browsing through the songs, and came across the perfect song for me to sing, especially since we just got engaged - "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend". If nothing else it should get a good laugh! I told Gordon about me singing it and he cracked up, as did Anne. I don't know the whole song, but I know about 32 bars, which is more than enough for class tonight. Can't wait!

Then I ran home to change, eat my leftover lamb and veggies from Friday night (3rd meal out of this!) and grab my sample ballot and go vote. There was no line and it took me all of about 3-5 minutes from checking in until the time I left.

Then I walked home and dashed over to Westwood to return one of the sweaters that I bought twice, but I got there about 5 minutes after they had closed! Rats! So I'll go back this weekend.

After that, I headed over to a gym that is near work - I had signed up for a 10 day pass, and they called yesterday to let me know that if I got in there last night that they would make it a FREE 30 day pass. I'm all about free stuff, so I went. Didn't work out, but at least I can take advantage of it for the rest of the month.

Finally, I got home and started practicing "Diamonds" for tonight - downloaded a version of it from the internet (itunes is cool!) and started practicing. My cat Maggie was on the desk the whole time I was practicing and kept meowing at me and biting my arms (not hard). I guess she didn't like it! She would bite me and not let go! I was laughing so hard that I would stop singing, she'd let go, I'd start singing, and she'd bite me again! Anne said that she might not have liked that key or something. She's never done that before!

This weekend I have GOT to cook some food for next week's lunches. Today one of my colleagues and I went to La Salsa, and I got a salad with chicken on it. It was good, but I know that I'm not eating as well as I could be or should be, especially if I want to get back down to my 'normal' weight before the wedding!

Tonight, singing, tomorrow night, acting. Working out and HOME on Friday night. Yay.

I'm getting back to normal, but over the weekend I was still so excited that I was not quite myself - I bought the same shirt twice from two different stores on Saturday, and on Sunday I left my credit card on the counter at a store in Encinitas. Fortunately the woman came running out after me with my card! It's been lots of fun telling our friends and family of our engagement.

I've been pretty good about staying on track with the diet part of the BTD - finally had my rack of lamb for lunch yesterday, and enjoyed every bite of it. Had chicken and rice and salad and half an artichoke for dinner last night at Anne's, and we had fun talking about colors and dresses and wedding stuff. There's nothing like a best friend to giggle and talk and figure out stuff like this with. She just got her wedding dress back from her ex, and I tried it on last night. It is a stunningly beautiful dress, ,and I know that I have one to wear if I want it, but I think I need to go try on lots of different styles to see what I like best. We might go dress shopping this Sunday.

The exercise part of the BTD is still elusive right now - I'm still so incredibly busy it is unreal. As I left for work yesterday, I told Gordon that I love him and I'll see him Saturday. He's working at the theater in the evenings, and I'm working during the days - he'll be busy ALL this weekend, but Saturday morning we will probably get together with his mother and nail down some wedding stuff and we hope to go look at another ceremony location that is nearby, too. He's busy the next few weekends, so I'm on my own to get some wedding things done between now and Thanksgiving. Anyway, the exercise part of the BTD! Gordon has a gym membership that is okay, but that he isn't thrilled with, so I've been looking into memberships, but it looks like the easiest, cheapest, and most convenient solution is actually the gym he's already a member of, so he's going to go over there today and get me signed up, then I'll go in (perhaps tonight) and finish the sign-up process. Then I can at least start taking advantage of the classes and the gym even if he is busy.

My singing class ends this week - I've made a lot of progress, but I'll be so glad when it is over. Having three nights a week booked every week is too much for me right now. I haven't even cooked in about 2 weeks! Just too much going on.

I'm engaged! : ) (Not that I wasn't before, but now it's "official".)

Last night Gordon took me to the restaurant where we had our first date and got down on his knees and asked me to marry him. He was so nervous he was talking really fast! I said yes (of course!) and he gave me a stunningly beautiful ring. It's a radiant cut diamond with a tapered baguette on either side, set in platinum. It's gorgeous - and really sparkly!

So we've both been floating ever since last night. He said that he'd wanted to wait until between dinner and dessert to ask me, but that he just couldn't wait! We hadn't even ordered our dinner yet when he asked, and then I was so excited I couldn't eat much of anything - and I'd ordered rack of lamb, so you know I was excited if I couldn't eat THAT! I took a couple of bites of my dinner and realized I wasn't tasting anything, so I just stopped eating (and spent a lot of the time staring either at Gordon's eyes or at my ring). We did toast with champagne, and even got dessert, too. Then I only had one bite.

So the wedding will likely be in May of next year, and we're both just SOOOOOOO thrilled to have found each other!

We're heading down to San Diego tonight for the night partly so that Gordon can meet my uncle and a friend of mine who live down there, and partly so we can go to the chapel I used to go to down there so we can see if we might want to get married there. I need to get going and throw some clothes in a bag!

Went to singing class last night, and for the first time ever I had FUN singing in front of people. It was a huge breakthrough, and it felt GREAT. So progress is being made!

Class went late again, so I didn't get home until midnight, and then had to shower and get ready for bed. Since I was so wired, it took me a while to wind down, and it was about 1:30 by the time I got to sleep.

Acting class tonight, and then home to bed. It will be another late night (she never ends on time), and then home to sleep. I've got a bit of a sore throat this afternoon, too, which isn't good. I've been eating as I should, and have even gotten rid of 4 or 5 of the pounds that I'd gained. Lots of salads and protein, and it feels good. I'm researching gyms between home and the office that are convenient for both Gordon and me to get to. So far it's not looking good, but I still have to explore a few more possibilities.

Tomorrow is a Halloween party at work, and we're encouraged to dress up. I don't have any costumes and no time to buy or make one, so I won't be dressing up. I already made wheat-free brownies so that I'll have dessert to snack on without feeling deprived, and it sounds like there will be enough 'real' food to eat that I should be fine otherwise.

I'm going to dash home on my way to class tonight and grab some GSE and whatever else I can scrounge up to help me fight this sore throat. I refuse to get sick! I have too much to do - Gordon and I have a date tomorrow night, and then Saturday we're heading down to San Diego for the night to meet one of my uncles and a dear friend of mine, and also to go to a chapel that I used to attend down there. I love this little place, and I would like to get married there if Gordon likes the location and the chapel. We'll see!

Happy Halloween everyone!