I’m glad that I have the friends I have. Today, I spent the day with my friend and then we had dinner with her boyfriend. I drove to dinner since she drove around all day and when we got back to their house, the random song shuffle on my iPod brought up one of the songs I’m sometimes tempted to remove from my iPod: “I Want It That Way” by the Backstreet Boys. My friends both looked startled and asked, “Is this a boy band song?”

I replied, “Yes. But listen! It’s fun to pantomime.”

And I proceeded to do my crazy pantomime/partial sing-along to the song. They got into the act, too, and were singing the chorus with me.

Why was this so important to me? They let me be a weirdo freak and even enjoyed this display of utter silliness with me. I didn’t feel ashamed or embarrassed or foolish for doing it… or for knowing all the words… and harmonies… and having gestures and moves for pretty much every word and phrase.

Yeah. Friends who not only let you be your wacky self but revel in your being your wacky self are the best. Yay, friends!

Also nice today was that we spent the day shopping. We spent the hours between 1:30 and 5:30 walking around the mall, then from 5:30 to 8:00 walking around some other stores. The mall portion was our luxury bit. We both found shades of Chanel nail polish that we really liked, so we each got a bottle (I got Black Satin, which is finally back as the season is now over, and she got a shimmery shade called Wonderland). Then we both got some chocolatey treats from the Godiva store.

Then we went to Marshall’s where I used the rest of the gift certificate I got for Christmas on some 2 pound medicine balls (for completing my at-home occupational therapy exercises), a windproof London Fog umbrella (with the little flaps that let the wind pass through the umbrella rather than blowing it inside-out) and a really cute kimono style wrap shirt. I’ll have to wear a camisole underneath since it ends up being a little low on the chest, but that’s OK. I’m willing to do that.

I don’t think I mentioned that I have now been successfully discharged from occupational therapy and have been given the OK by the doctor. I have some home exercises to continue doing, but things are settled for now. I go back in three months for a new X-ray. That’s it, though. I am excited because I can start getting some exercise into my daily routine because I won’t be working crazy hours and getting home at crazy hours from therapy or from work after staying late to make up for therapy. I’ll have to work on modifying my Pilates and yoga routines to find exercises I can do without putting any weight on my wrist (because that’s one thing I cannot do - just yet, anyway) and still get a full workout. The treadmill is one thing, but the weights and Pilates and other stuff are really what I think did the trick the last time I lost lots of weight. And I would like to lose a lot of weight by November.

Why?

There’s a very important formal event for work happening in November and it would be nice to feel confident in an evening dress. I don’t need to be a size 2 - but I would like to fit into some of the size 8 evening/cocktail dresses I already own and never had the opportunity to wear. Yeah, I bought some without having an event in mind - but I have been lucky to buy classic styles that would work just as well now as they did when I bought them 3 or 4 years ago.

This is a night for watching “Mary Poppins.” I’m going to get on that.