What Ana Does

My brother got married this weekend and I have a lot of things to say about what a special weekend it was and spending time with my family and all that ... but I wanted to write about this one thing I've noticed about wedding receptions. Why isn't everybody dancing? It was the wise Lee Ann Womack who sang " and if you get a chance to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance ." I and my family can certainly attest to the dance part. Give us some music and a dance floor and we are there. But as I was boogying my booty off this weekend, I noticed a large group of able-bodied wedding guests (presumably close family and friends) sitting at their tables, chatting or looking around awkwardly. And I noticed it at previous weddings, as well. OK, some people have fragile bones and are older. Excused. And others have social anxiety, so I'll give them a pass, as well. And maybe some people don't like music, or dancing, but that's no excuse. It's FUN to be out...

This is Adam. And that's me, trying not to faint. Adam and I The night of my birthday, Dave and I went to a Guster concert in downtown Chicago with our friend Jeff, my brother Nic and his girlfriend Bobbi. Awesome people for an awesome night. Guster is a band Dave and I have been fans of since collage. And they are super-awesome live. Lots of dancing and singing to songs that we've been singing for years. Anyway... afterwards, we went across the street to a bar with karaoke. We sang, we drank. We pretended being at a bar after midnights wasn't such a unique event. THEN in walks the opener -- this strange Asian violinist. And behind him is Adam -- the guitarist from Guster. Whoa! Of course "no-rules" Jeff had no problem asking him to take a picture with me, after telling him it was my birthday and we were at the show. Here's the thing, I am a spaz when it comes to meeting artists/celebs. My head tingles and I can't control what I'm saying. A...

My big girl celebrated her ninth birthday with a small party at our house. She's so funny about her parties. For the past several years she's requested small at-home parties with a few friends instead of the big parties out at places such as jumping gyms like we did when she was little -- or that her friends are doing. She invited four pals and allowed her little sister to include two friends. We had a few games scheduled, but mostly they ran around outside on the swing set. We pulled out bubbles and jump ropes and were thankful it was a sunny, warmish Spring day. Leah Requested Brownies Instead of Cake or Cupcakes We Asked Guests to Bring Sea Animal Stuffed Toys and We Awarded Prizes to Each Then, We Played Pin the Tale on the Whale! Fun party! Related posts: More birthday successes

If you know me at all, you know I'm not shy about my birthday. I never understood the point of not telling everyone, going all modest, and dropping it into conversation a week later: "oh, it was my birthday last Friday." Silly. It's your ONE birthday! It's like having your own national holiday. Come on! A Toast to Me And it was a great day with lots of family hugs and lots of phone calls and messages. And with Leah's birthday so close to mine, I intend to continue celebrating until the end of the month. Because I'm looking at only a few more weeks of full-time work (more on that later), I decided to work all day. It was a pretty easy day (except for some morning chaos), so no big deal. When I got home, I got all dressed up for an awards banquet for David. He won an award for another project he was on (what a guy!). At first I was down on the idea of spending my birthday with his work colleagues but it turned out great! The company president announ...