Cassandra Dwight

Gordon had a cold all last week, and by Saturday I had it, too. Not a bad one, just a tickle in my throat and a bit of drainage. Not a big deal. Then we went to his sister's birthday party Saturday night and my voice left before I did.

It still hasn't come back. I could croak some on Sunday, and squeak a tiny bit yesterday. Today? Nothing. I'm on complete and total voice rest for at least the next 24 hours. Up until today I was trying to talk, and then figured I'm just straining and irritating things more.

So this morning I went to Starbucks to get something hot to drink and typed into my PDA: "Hi! I've lost my voice. Could I please get a venti soy no-foam chai?" The barista took pity on me and gave it to me for free and she said that even though I lost my voice I still looked good! I mimed to her that I feel fine now, just have no voice.

I'm doing what I can to get rid of this, but I think time will be the biggest help. Grr. At least I can text message people if I need to!

Last week I was on 'Scrubs' for about ONE second as an background actor (extra).

Tonight I'll be on "Two and a Half Men" as an extra - look for me in the birthday party scene.

Was in class all weekend with a bad back. It was physically challenging, but a great weekend nonetheless. I am eating pretty well, and cutting back on sugar and feeling good.

Will post more when there's more news!

Went to a bachelorette party last Friday night. We started off at LUSH Spa in the San Fernando Valley (but it's moving to Hollywood this summer) and I ran into my favorite massage therapist who had just started working there THAT night. I immediately signed up for a massage in addition to the facial I had already signed up for. We had a light dinner there, and they had even taking my food allergies into account and had wheat-free/dairy-free options available. And sangria. Lots of sangria. It was a fun evening.

Then we went to a club in Santa Monica, and I had to stop by the house to pick up the ball and chain. Nooooo, not my husband, but a real bowling ball attached to a chain that has been used at several bachelor and bachelorette parties - including Gordon's. (I didn't have to use it because I didn't have a bachelorette party!) I stopped by the house about 10:30 pm to get it out of the garage, and ran into Gordon as he was coming in. He said, "You just do NOT know how to party!" I told him that we were just picking up the ball and chain and that I wouldn't be 'too' late getting back. (Then I didn't get home until 2:30 am!) We shackled the bowling ball to my girlfriend's ankle, and put a veil on her head that had a bunch of condoms attached to it. It was definitely a bachelorette party! Several people commented on the ball and chain, and the veil - everyone loved them! We met a group of over a dozen guys who decided it was their mission to ensure that the bride-to-be (and the rest of us) had a good time. One guy said, "What happens in the club, stays in the club!" and then "EVERYBODY'S gettin' in trouble tonight!" We didn't get into any serious trouble at all (we're all well over 30 and this was a BIG night out for us!) but we did have a good time! A guy even asked me for my phone number! I held up my left hand and waved my ring and said, "Sorry!" He hadn't even noticed the rings.... It was fun, though!

The next day was the bridal shower, which was lovely and sweet. My girlfriend looked beautiful (impressive considering how much alcohol she drank the night before) and we had a great time at the shower - amazing food, and aside from the cake, wheat and dairy-free.

This week I was on "Scrubs" as an extra for about a second. It aired last night, and was fun to watch. I'll be on "Two and a Half Men" next week, probably also for about a second. I'll be in the birthday party scene.

Gordon is travelling this week on business, and the house isn't the same without him. The cats and I are at loose ends, but it is also good since I still have TONS of homework to do today and class is THIS weekend.

I thought I had more news to share, but I can't think of what it might have been....

I haven't blogged in weeks. There's been no real news, so no real reason to post. The weather is a little wintry (for SoCal) and I'm decluttering the house here and there. Threw out 6 bags of stuff last week (aside from the normal trash).

Exciting, isn't it?

We did celebrate my mother-in-law's birthday in early February and had a nice dinner at my sister-in-law's. I'm still doing well in school. Gordon is still working at his sound gigs as well as doing the attorney thing.... I've been watching the Olympics just about every night.

Still working on boosting my compliance levels with the BTD. We're trying to eat one salad as a meal each day. Gordon's lost about 5 pounds. I've lost nothing. I'm starting to get back to the gym more, but have to be careful because of my low back.

See? You haven't missed anything!

Hopefully I'll have more to report next time.

It took me a week to recover from the party. Whew.

Friday the 20th was a whirlwind of a day. I did not stop from 10 am until 1:30 am. I went to the grocery store three times (once to Whole Foods and twice to Ralph's because I forgot a few things the first time) and spent the rest of the day cooking like crazy.

The party itself was a success - people commented on how great the food was, how nice our home is, etc. All in all we had a great time celebrating Gordon's 40th birthday.

I ate something that I reacted to by puffing up like crazy. I couldn't get my rings off, my eyes were puffy as can be, and I was up about SIX pounds from the day before the party. I'm still not entirely sure WHAT it was caused by since all the food I ate was O friendly (okay I had ONE bite of wheat, but that wasn't it). I suspect it was the plain soy yogurt that I ate - it was a new brand to me, but even that had no avoids in it that I noticed.

It took a few days before my body recovered, and there are still a few things to be put away around the house, but it went really well, and Gordon enjoyed it, which is the important thing.

We've eaten most of the leftovers, but we still have a bunch of veggies left, plus olives and pickles and the like that we won't eat. I may take those over to a friend or my in-laws to get them out of our house.