You Got Mel

It's a Cake Walk

2011-10-20T17:47:00.000-06:00

Mom and I attended Hale Centre Theatre's annual Thank You Evening they put on for their employees. (I was Mom’s date. She was the employee.) After theperformances and games were over, the group sang Happy Birthday, blew out thecandle, and ate cake. There were six different cakes to choose from. A fewyears ago, my friend Michael and I decided to sample each of the cakes. When it was time to eat cake, Michael found me and said we had to keep thetradition alive and try each of the cakes. I was up for the challenge. Westarted with the blueberry filled white cake with white frosting. (Sorry there is no picture. We ate it too fast!) It turned out to be our favorite. Then we moved on to three different kinds ofchocolate cake varieties. After thesecond piece, they all started tasting the same. Then there was a caramel kind of cake. The last was a white cake with lemon andraspberry filling. I was hoping thatwould be the winner but the blueberry cake won by a layer of frosting! Enjoy the pictures:

Cake #2

Cake #3

Cake #4

Cake #5

Please! No More!

Cake #6

Cake Coma

The Happiest Place on Earth

2011-10-17T20:05:00.000-06:00

Momand I flew to Los Angeles, CA. I flew on American Airlines because I had to use up a flight I didn’t use to come homefrom Nashville, TN last year. Momflew on Delta Airlines. We got in to Los Angeles about a half an hour apart.

Momand I picked up the rental car and drove straight to Disneyland in Anaheim, CA. We parkedthe car, got the wheelchair, and rode on the shuttle to the main gate. Mom and I picked up our tickets at the gateand entered Disneyland! I love Disneyland! Disneyland was decorated for Halloween. Normally, I hate Halloween and everything associated with it, but i made an exception for Disneyland. It was so fun seeing it all decorated with pumpkins,jack-o-lanterns, the characters dressed up, etc.

Our firststop was Tomorrowland. (I thinkeveryone’s first stop is Tomorrowland!) We sat through Captain EO while we made our plan for the rest of theday. Captain EO is freaky! Our first ride was Space Mountain. Werode it twice. We loved it! It had some aliens, black cats, and eyeballsadded in for Halloween. We rode BuzzLightyear Astro Blasters. I won by along shot!

Then we went toFantasyland. We rode the Matterhorn. I loved that ride! We watched a parade of all the Disneyprincesses. We rode Alice in Wonderland,Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, and Snow White’s Scary Adventure.

Then we went over to California Adventure. We rode Tower of Terror twice back-to-back. We loved that ride! Mom and I watched the Aladdin showbut it was lame! That was an hour of mylife at the park I was never going to get back. We rode Soarin’ Over California. It was the longest line we waited in! We walkedthrough It’s A Bug’s Life but didn’t stop. We shared clam chowder in a bread bowl from Boudin’s Bakery. I was a hot mess and spilled a few times onmyself. Oh well, I was at the happiestplace on earth! California Screamin’roller coaster was closed. The line wasalways too long for Toy Story Mania so we never rode it.
We waited awhile in line to ride Mickey’s FunWheel which was the ferris wheel. Afterour ride, I like to call it Mickey’s Fun Wheel of Death! Since it was getting close to the time to closedown the ride, they were putting smaller groups together in the ferris wheelbaskets. They directed Mom and me into abasket. We quickly got in and satdown. We were facing two large peopleand their two year old son. One of thosepeople probably weighed the equivalent of both Mom and me combined, and there were two of them! As we went up the ferris wheel, our basketswung in. Each time the ferris wheelstopped to let people on and off, our basket swung like crazy! I thought if ever the basket was going toswing upside-down, this would be the time. When our basket swung, Mom and I looked straight down at the otherpeople’s faces! All the while, I had apainted on smile acting like I loved it! I was never so grateful for solid ground as I was when I got off theferris wheel!

Mom and I saw the lastshow of World of Color that evening. Itwas awesome! It was kind of likeFantasmic meets the Bellagio Hotel fountains. I really liked it. The park wasclosing when World of Color ended, but I talked Mom into going on Tower of Terror one last time. I really wanted to go on it in the dark! Mom and I ended up being in the LAST elevator shaft of the night! It was so awesome! It was the best ride we went on all day!

The park had been closed forabout 45 minutes by the time we got off the ride. As we walked back to the shuttles, the musicin the park was really loud because most of the people were gone. I feel that we got our money’s worth the firstday as we spent twelve hours in the park. All in a hard day of play!

The next day, Mom and I gotup about 8 AM. We quickly got ready for the day, atebreakfast, grabbed some food for the park, anddrove back to Disneyland. We spentmost of the day in Disneyland since we got most of the rides done the previous dayin California Adventure. Our first stopwas Frontierland. We went to the Haunted Mansion first because that seemed to be the ride with the longest waitthroughout the day. The workers saw mywheelchair and let us go in the back way so we didn’t have to wait verylong. The outside and inside of the Haunted Mansion was decorated for Halloween with the theme from the movie ‘Twas theNightmare Before Christmas. It waspretty cool to see it with different decorations. We actually rode it twice, back-to-back.

Our next ride was Splash Mountain because I wanted to have plenty of time to dry before the sun wentdown. (It was a little chilly atnight.) Mom and I thought we had a greatspot in the log because we were on the side-by-side bench in the back andwe had an extra large man in front of us. We thought we were totally going to remain dry. Of course, that was too good to be true. I got the wettest because the water went upand over the side. The large man was nowater shield! I was grateful to only bewet on the left side of my body and it actually dried pretty quickly. We rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad twicebecause there wasn’t a line. (Thathelped to dry my clothes too!) Mom rodethe Indian Jones ride alone because I was too short to ride it. We rode the Jungle Cruise and went in theTiki Room.

I met up with my friend Mattat the Princess Fantasy Faire. (Matt worked at Disneyland.) He was justfinishing up a coronation ceremony with the Disney princesses and all thespoiled brats who thought they were princesses. Matt told one of the princess’s stories, and then he had a lunchbreak. We just sat in the amphitheaterwhere the Princess Fantasy Faire was held and talked. It was so good to see him! He told me funny stories while he ate hislunch. I loved chatting with him. He had to get back to work and spread moremagic so Mom and I continued on our day of experiencing the magic!

Forgot to take picture with Matt at Disney so enjoy from 2009!

We went to Toontown even though I was convinced that was a waste oftime. There were WAY too many kids therefor my liking. We rode Roger Rabbit’sCar Toon Spin and Gadget’s Go Coaster. We timed Gadget’s Go Coaster and it was 30 seconds long. Woo hoo! We went to Innoventions which was boring. Then we rode Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blastersagain. Mom won this time! We decided whoever sits on the left wins. We rode Space Mountain two more times.

We decided to head back to California Adventure for a few hours. We rode Tower of Terror again. Werode Ariel’s Undersea Adventure. Wewaited in line for a half an hour for Soarin’ Over California but then gave upbecause the line was NOT MOVING!
We wentback to Disneyland and ate dinner at Pizza Port. We werestarving! We watched Fantasmic. I loved Fantasmic! I think I have the whole thing memorized. Mom and I watched the fireworks aboveSleeping Beauty’s castle. They wereawesome! We rode Big Thunder MountainRailroad twice.
We shut down the park inFantasyland. We were hoping most of thefamilies with small children (that mostly make up Fantasyland) would have leftafter Fantasmic and the fireworks. A lotdid! We rode Peter Pan’s Flight, Dumbothe Flying Elephant, Pinocchio’s Daring Journey, and ended with King Arthur’sCarousel. We left the park at midnight. We had agreat time at Disneyland!

Mom and Islept in. We ate breakfast at the hotel. We attended church in Anaheim. We drove to thetemple in Newport Beach. We walked around the temple grounds. It was a beautiful temple! I wished we had more time to go inside on adifferent day.

We drove to the beach in Newport Beach. We drove to theSouth Coast Plaza Shopping Center in Costa Mesa, CA where we met up with my friend Eric. (I met Eric fourteen years earlier on theAlaskan Cruise I took after I graduated from high school. He worked on the cruise ship and we becamefast friends. I found him on Facebookabout a year and a half ago.) It was sogood to see him after all these years! In my mind, we look the same as we did back then. (See pictures below for reality.) Mom, Eric, and I ate dinner at The CornerBakery. We caught each other up on thelast fourteen years of our lives. He wasmarried to a beautiful woman and they have two daughters. He worked a desk job and was just loving life. It was SO GOOD to see him after all theseyears! We had a great visit!

2011

1997 Time hasn't changed us!

Mom and I walked across the street and sawShrek the Musical at the Orange County Performing Arts Center. It wasdifferent (on a smaller scale) than what we had seen on Broadway. It was still cute!
The next day, I wasgoing to get together with my friend Lina but she had to film acommercial that day. I was sad I didn’tget to see her. Mom and I decided to useour free time before we flew home to do some retail therapy! We went to some factory outlet stores betweenLA and Anaheim. We didn’t buy much but we enjoyed thesunshine. The freeway to the rental caragency was blocked so we had to find a different route. It set us back A LOT of time! Who knew it would take an hour and a half togo less than twenty miles?! Only inLA! We quickly took the shuttle from therental car agency to the airport. I gotoff the shuttle first at the American Airlines Terminal while Mom got off atthe Delta Airlines Terminal. Mom’sflight left about a half an hour earlier than mine. She kept saying on the shuttle that she wasgoing to miss her flight. I told her tostop being a Debby-downer and that she would make her flight. She got through security quickly, grabbed hershoes and her stuff and ran to her gate. She totally made her flight! Iknew she would! Once she got on theplane, she put her shoes on. Mom and I met upin Salt Lake City. I had a great weekend at the Happiest Place on Earth andvisiting with friends. I looked forwardto returning soon.

You've Got To See This!

2011-10-15T22:00:00.000-06:00

My friend, Hilary Weeks, just released her latest album titled, "Every Step".

She released the first video for the song, "Beautiful Heartbreak," and it can be found on YouTube at the following link:

http://youtu.be/xyX-I-um5Kk

Or Below:

Did you see anyone you recognized?

If you like the song, please order her album, "Every Step" at

http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/every-step/id473952440

or

http://deseretbook.com/Every-Step-Hilary-Weeks/i/5061906

Thanks for listening!

The Incomparable Idina Menzel

2011-08-02T21:29:00.000-06:00

Last summer, Idina Menzel performed with the Utah Symphony at Deer Valley in Park City. I went to the show with some coworkers and had a great time! Idina put on a great show! She told entertaining personal stories and sang beautiful songs. What more could you ask for? I thought of something, a more considerate audience! Even if it is raining, you do NOT tell the performer because then she rushes the rest of her set so you don't have to sit in the rain. Come on, fellow audience members, get a clue!

Lazy Lake Powell

2011-07-27T21:19:00.000-06:00

My parents have a houseboat on beautiful Lake Powell. I was able to tear myself away from work (and other trips) this summer to visit this lovely place a few times. The best thing about Lake Powell is there is nothing to do. That is the only time I don't feel guilty about just laying around in the sun reading books. Other great things about Lake Powell is the scenery, wildlife, and serenity. I don't have a lot of pictures from the fun and excitement, but I do have a few (thanks to Mom's camera).

Idaho Temple Road Trip

2011-07-24T19:41:00.000-06:00

In July, Momand I loaded up the car and hit the road on our Idaho Temple Road Trip. We listened to showtunes most of ourjourney which included off-tune sing alongs. Our first stop was the LofthouseCookies Outlet in Ogden, Utah. Then we drove to Twin Falls, Idaho. We went tothe Costco to fill up the tank with gas and part of the road was blockedoff. We just figured there had been acar accident. After we returned home, werealized that a crazy person had been chased by the police, shot and killed aperson at a Hampton Inn, and was holding someone else hostage at thehotel. Good thing we didn’t know allthat because I’m sure we would have rethought our decision to fill up atCostco.

Our first major (and planned) stopwas the Twin Falls, Idaho Temple. It was a beautiful temple and reminded me alot of the Oquirrh Mountain Temple in South Jordan, Utah. We encountered someinteresting people (and experiences) in each temple. Unfortunately for you, I won't be writing about them, but enjoy the beautiful pictures.

Twin Falls, Idaho Temple

Mom and I drove to the Shoshone Falls. They were beautiful! We got out of the car, took some pictures,and read about the falls.

Shoshone Falls

Then we got inthe car and drove to Idaho Falls, Idaho where we stayed the night.

The next morning Mom and Islept in for a little while and then drove tothe Rexburg Idaho Temple. The templewas staffed mostly by college-aged volunteers. It was great to see so many young people in the temple. (I sound like a grandma saying that, but it was!) The Rexburg Temple was beautiful.

Rexburg, Idaho Temple

Mom and Idrove back to Idaho Falls and ate lunch at Olive Garden. I admit that I was ornery by this time. I had a much betterdisposition once I got some food in me. It's amazing what low blood sugar and lack of sleep can cause me to become.

Mom and I then went to the Idaho Falls Temple. This temple wasbuilt in the 1950s so it had some very interesting artwork inside.

Idaho Falls, Idaho Temple

That evening, I droveto my friend, Mark Hill’s, house in asuburb of Idaho Falls. (Who knew that Idaho Falls was big enough to have suburbs?!) Mark had invited me to dinner with his familywhen he found out I was going to be in town. I met Mark’s four children and was reacquainted with his wife. (I had met her a few times on previousoccasions.) I had a great dinner withMark’s family. I always find itentertaining watching my friends be parents. They say things I remember their parents telling us. Mark’s wife was kind enough to put the kidsto bed while Mark and I reminisced for hours about the glory days of highschool. Then she endured our reminiscinguntil about 1:00 in themorning! We couldn’t believe it was thatlate! Time truly flew by while I was with the Hill's. I was disappointed that I forgot to get a picture with Mark and his family. I guess I will just have to go back and pay them another visit.

The next morning, Mom and I slept in a little bit (not nearly long enough for me!). We hurried to get ready for the day and made it to church near the Idaho Falls Temple. After church, we drove all the way home. I had a great time on our road trip. Overall, I enjoyed visiting the temples. The landscape is beautiful in its own special way. I hadn't seen that much open farmland ever!

Grandma's 85th Birthday

2011-07-12T19:38:00.000-06:00

My Grandma (on my mom's side of the family) had her 85th birthday in July. Most of her posterity (namely the ones still in her good graces and who truly love her) got together to celebrate her life. My brother and Allen even flew in for the festivities.

The celebration began with a picnic at a park in Cache Valley (northern Utah). I spent the time talking with aunts, uncles, cousins, and being grateful that none of the crazy children running around were mine. Grandma told us some stories from her life. She has done it all! She is an amazing woman! If I could do half of the things she has done, I will have considered my life immensely blessed. The picnic culminated with the singing of "Happy Birthday", candles being blown out, and chocolate cake being devoured.

Grandma with her friend Arnie, who happens to have the same birthday as her!

Here are the birthday kids with some great-grandkids to help out.

This is my mom with her siblings and her mother.

While we waited for Phase 2 of the celebration to begin, my family drove around Cache Valley and saw some of the different houses Grandma had lived in throughout her life.

The old folks table. :)

The kids table.

Phase 2 commenced with meeting up with the family at Sizzler for dinner. Many family members pooped out and didn't make it to the Big Siz for dinner. Grandma who was 85 years old made it to dinner so I don't know what their problems were! I had a great time catching up with my cousins and laughing with them. I think Grandma hada wonderful birthday! She loves spending time with her family so that is the best gift we could have given her.

Home in NYC for a Week

2011-07-10T16:18:00.000-06:00

This past summer, my mom and I headed home to New York City for a week. We had a great time in the City and across the Hudson in New Jersey. Here's the travelogue and pictures for those who care:

Wednesday: Mom and I flew to Newark, New Jersey. As the planewas accelerating to take off, it all of a sudden hit the brakes and turned offof the runway. It was so weird. That had never happened to me on a flight before. A few minutes later, the captain got on theoverhead speaker and told us there was confusion of communication from theTower so the captain decided to not take off. He said as soon as they worked out the miscommunication, we would betaking off. Less than fifteen minutes later,we had taken off and actually left the ground. My Aunt Caren picked me and Mom up at the airport in New Jersey and drove us to the Crowne Plazain Times Square where we checkedin. All of their Times Square view rooms were full so we ended up with a northside view room. Dang!
We walked to Times Square. While Isaved a small table at Duffy Square, Mom went around the corner and got us each a slice of pizza fromPatzeria’s Pizza. (The best pizza inNYC!) We ate the pizza at our little tablein Duffy Square while we watchedall of the people. It was fun! It was beautiful weather! This was the second time I had been to NYC inthe summer.
Among all the billboards in Times Square, there was a billboard for mormon.org. It was awesome to see that right next to allof the other billboards.

Mom and Iwalked to the Gershwin Theatre and saw Wicked. A friend I had worked with in Radio City was listed in the playbill, but I found out he wasn’tperforming that evening as he was recovering from a back injury. I was sad I wasn’t going to see himperform. The Wicked cast wasamazing! Truly, one of the best castsI’ve seen. Wicked also had new costumes and lighting.
We didn’t go to the stage door afterwardsbecause we raced over to Times Square instead to meet up with our neighbors. They were visiting NYC thesame time as us. We decided to grab somedessert at TGI Fridays in Times Square andtalk. We left TGI Fridays around 1 AM. We had a great time visiting with them! Times Square wasstill a flurry of activity as we made our way to our hotel in the wee hours ofthe night!

Thursday: We walked to the Times SquareVisitor’s Center. We asked about thefree walking tour they held on Fridays. We got our picture taken in front of the ball that drops at midnight on New Year's Eve. The picture doesn't do it justice!

We walked to Central Park where I met up with a friend from high schoolon his lunch break. It was so great to talk with him! I hadn’t seen him for probably five years orso! He loved living and working in New York City. It was greatto catch up with him.

Mom and I walkedto the Manhattan Temple. I ran into a girl at the templethat goes to the Singles Branch I attended in Utah. Howfunny!
After we were done at the temple, we walkedto Serendipity 3 for lunch/dinner and dessert! We shared the basil seafood pasta. It was delicious! Mom shared herpeanut butter frozen hot chocolate with me. I shared my cinnamon ice cream with caramel sauce sundae with her. There was so much caramel on my sundae thatit was like eating homemade caramels. Ohthe food was divine! I was so fullafterwards!

We walked back to our hoteland rested our big tummies.

We felt much better when itwas time to go to the theatre. We walkedto the theatre where Anything Goes was performing. I LOVED Anything Goes! It was one of my favorite shows I saw thistrip! Sutton Foster (who won a TonyAward for her performance) was AMAZING!! All of the singing and dancing she does is incredible! The choreography was superb! Joel Gray also gave a wonderfulperformance. It was so much fun toattend the performance! I smiled the restof the night! Mom and I went to thestage door to wait for the actors to come out. While we waited, we talked with other audience members. One of the guys had gone to BYUand two other people asked us if we had been at the temple that day because theyhad seen us there. Who says you aren’tbeing watched?? Unfortunately, SuttonFoster and Joel Gray had another way to escape the theatre because neither ofthem came out the stage door afterwards. Bummer!

Friday: Mom and I walked to the Times Square Visitor’s Center. We took a free Times Square walking tour. The tour took two and a half hours and could have easily beenconsolidated to an hour and a half. Thetour guide talked A LOT and found a way to express herself in as many words aspossible. We did see a lot of things we had nevernoticed before and learned some things as well. We learned about the Times Square building, how Times Square got itsname, the shoe sculptor of famous women in the 1920s, LUTS-Light Unit TimesSquare, all billboards in Times Square must have lights and movement, the musical soundof the subway in front of the Marriott Marquis. We went to the Renaissance Hotel, TKTS, St. Malachy’s Church (theactor’s church), the MTV Building, and the Lyceum Theatre. It was a good way to spend a beautiful Fridayafternoon.
Mom and I went to Shake Shackfor lunch/dinner. It was teeming withAsian people! Beforethey ate their food, they would hold it up and take a picture of it. Interesting! Seating was at a premium in the ShakeShack. After a few non-aggressive moveson Mom’s part, we finally found a seat. We even found some seats for other people. We paid it forward! Mom and I shared a cheeseburger, fries, and aconcrete shake. They all tasted good butnot worth the millions of people you had to fight for your food.
Mom and I walked to Herald’s Square to get someGarrett’s popcorn. We got the carameland cheese popcorn mix. It doesn’t soundthat good, but it tastes very good!
Mom and I walked tothe theatre and saw the musical Sister Act. The row in front of us was empty until a few minutes after theperformance started. Then this group offour or five girls with one guy came in to their seats in the row in front ofus. They were so loud! They couldn’t figure out which seats they hadand the order in which they wanted to sit. They talked to one another and then kept apologizing to us. If you’re really sorry, then shut up! Mom and I figured they were drunk. Then one of the girls left quickly holdingher hand over her mouth while another girl followed her out. That confirmed our suspicions of the state oftheir sobriety (or lack thereof). Then afew more girls trickled out. Finally theboy left too. Thank goodness! At intermission, wenoticed they were sitting in a row at the back of the orchestra level. If we hadn’t seen them, we would have stillknown they were there because they were talking loudly after the second actbegun. What a bunch of idiots! Sister Act was a good musical. The choreography andcostumes were great. I was expecting tohear more songs like from the movie where they took popular songs and made themchurch-y. That didn’t happen so I wasa little disappointed. The score was all originalmusic. The musical did have heart and Iliked it for that.

Saturday: Mom and Iwent to a street fair on the Avenue of the Americas (6^th Avenue). I spent alot of money there. I bought threepurses, a wallet, two eyebrow pencils, and an eyeglass case. I so did not need any of those things! I ate a bite of Mom’s fried Oreos and some ofthe donuts that came with it. You can't go to a street fair and not eat fried foods! (Fair=Fried Food)
Mom and I saw the musical Memphis. It was sogood! The dancers were amazing!
Mom and I walked to Virgil’s for lunch. We ate our usual fare of train wreck fries and bananapudding. Lunch of champions!
Mom and I walked to the theatreand saw the musical Catch Me If You Can. I LOVED IT!! It was my other favorite musical we saw on this trip. The show was so muchfun to watch! The music was verycatchy. The actors (Norbert Leo Butz,Aaron Tveit, Tom Wopat, Kerry Butler, and the ensemble) were AMAZING! After the show, we went to the stage door. Once again, we got out of the show after alot of the other people had so the people at the stage door were about twopeople deep. The security guard saw meand let me go in front of the barrier so I could get autographs and talk withthe actors. When Norbert cameout, he announced to the crowd that he didn’t have time to pose for picturesbut they could take as many pictures as they wanted while he signed because hewanted to get home to his six month old baby. I got autographs whileMom took pictures.

Just as Norbert wascrossing from the barricades to his car that was waiting for him, some guywalked up to him and told him that he admired him. Then the random guy asked for a hug fromNorbert. Norbert gave the guy an “Areyou crazy?” look for a second and then said how about a handshake. Uh yeah, crazy guy! You just don’t ask for hugs from actors. First of all, they smell bad because somedon’t shower after the show and you KNOW they were sweating. (I should know because that was me!) Second of all, people just don’t hug randompeople. After Norbert, Tom Wopat cameout and signed our playbills. When hewas done signing he unchained his bike from a street sign, got on his bike, androde away. Mom and I both thought it wasodd that management wouldn’t let him keep his bike in the theatre.

Sunday: Mom and Iwere awakened by lightening and thunder. It was so weird to be in a high rise building in Manhattan and experience lightening and thunder. Nature seemed so out of place in the urban jungle. It rained most of the day. Sometimes the rain was heavy and other timesit was a mist. We had planned towalk to church at the temple but since it was raining we took the subwayinstead. Just before we got to theelevators in the church, I knew I was in an LDS church because the removablecoat rack was out. This coat rack wasfilled with rain coats, goulashes, and umbrellas. The bishop had all the visitorsstand and there were more people standing than sitting.
Forever 21 had a fun billboard in Times Square. It took a picture of the street in front of the Marriott Marquis and then put it up on the billboard. Here's your chance to play where's Melodie and her mom? Hint: Mom is wearing a red shirt and I look like I'm wearing white pants.

We walked to an off-Broadway theatre that wasunder an Italian Restaurant across from the Marriott Marquis. We saw the play Miss Abigail’s Guide toDating, Mating, and Marriage. It wascute! Joyce DeWitt (from the TV showThree’s Company) was the main character.
Mom and I ate dinner atJunior’s. While we waited for our meals,we went to the bathroom. When we cameback from the bathroom, they had cleared our table of our drinks. I guess the busboy thought we had left.
Mom and I walked to the Palace Theatreand saw Priscilla Queen of the Desert. Iliked the costumes. They werevery creative.
Caren picked us up and drove us to her house in New Jersey. Mom and I stayed at her place for the lasttwo days of our vacation.

Monday: It wasIndependence Day! Mom and I bummed around Caren’s house most of the day. We helped her get ready forher Independence Day party. Mom and Itook a walk around Caren’s neighborhood. We saw a few muskrats on our journey. Caren invited some friends and neighbors overto her place. We watched from herbalcony as the barges with the fireworks for the Macy’s Fireworks Spectacularcame down the Hudson River towards Caren’s place. Then after the sun went down we watched some ofthe New Jersey’s towns’ fireworks. Then we watched the Macy’s Fireworks Spectacular from her balcony. There were fireworks shooting off from sixbarges synchronized to music. It wasAWESOME!! I loved seeing it inperson! The best part was after the fireworksand watching the traffic jam of cars trying to get to their homes. I was home! People were reported to be in their cars for two hours trying to gethome. Not me! I watched the Macy’s Fireworks Spectacular onTV after I watched it from the balcony. It was so much better in person!

Tuesday: I was a sleepy-head. Mom and Ifinally ate breakfast around noon. We went to Caren's pool. Mom went swimming. I read in a book while I laidout. Caren dropped us off at the Newark Airport and we flew home.

Another wonderful trip to NYC. I love that city! One of these times, I will be purchasing a one-way ticket.

It's Not Easy Being Green

2011-06-19T16:59:00.000-06:00

In June, I was selected to be part of a national advertising campaign for Marker ski bindings. The advertising campaign would involve a still camera shoot and a video shoot. Both shoots would take place on one day. I had to go to auditions and costume fittings at the talent agency that got me the job before the shoot occurred. Then the day of the shoot finally came. Here's a day in the life of a model. I'm sure you will find it fascinating. (I know most of you will just scroll down to the pictures.) Enjoy!

Idrove to the McCune Mansion in Salt Lake City forthe Marker ski binding photo shoot. I was tospend the day doing whatever they wanted me to do while dressed like a greenjester. First of all, I absolutely fell in love with the McCune Mansion. I had been there when I was a little kid for a wedding reception. When the mansion opened, Iexplored the first floor before everyone else showed up. I was grateful I took that opportunitybecause there wasn’t any other time to do it. Once everyone (body painter, catering, make-up, hairdresser, wardrobe,director, camera and boom operators, etc) showed up, the photo shootbegan. I got in my costume whichconsisted of black leggings, black tennis shoes, black socks, a gray longsleeve shirt, a black scarf tied around my waist, and a jester hat completewith bells.

Here's a picture before going green.

I talked with the other people in the photo shoot and read in a book I had brought while I waited for my turn to have my body paintedgreen. The photo shoot consisted ofseven Little People-Chris, Rebekah, Kealalaua’e, Matt, Will, Mike, and me. There was also one average sized girl, aboutseventeen years old, who portrayed Steezy Marie (the queen). She was dressed in an old medieval dress withher hair straight up in the air. Iwatched as Matt, Kealalaua’e, Chris, Rebekah, and Will got painted green. I enjoyed watching the process. Depending on whether the costume involved ahat some had to have their ears and necks painted green! I also partook of craft services while I waited since I knew that time for eating would be nonexistent when the shoot began.

After two hours,it was finally my turn to go green. It took aboutfifteen minutes for the body painter to turn me green. I was grateful my costume had a hat thatcovered my ears and neck so they didn’t have to be painted. My fingers, fingernails, hands, wrists, andface were all painted green. It lookedand felt pretty awesome! It was fun tobe green! The paint was airbrushed on. The paint was cold. It always made me jump when he startedbecause a puff of air would assault me along with the cold paint. After I was painted green, I went tomake-up. I was also grateful my hair wascovered up so I didn’t have to have my hair done. The final part of my ensemble was a jester(puppet) head that looked like me that I carried around on a stick. My character talked with the puppet as if itwere human and I used the puppet to mesmerize people to do what I want them todo (mostly create mischief).

When I was finally ready, I went upto the third floor in the mansion where the photo shoot was taking place. Since I was the second to last person to getready, the photo shoot had already begun. They did a series of pictures with the jesters jumping on a trampolinewhile I was getting ready. I was glad Imissed that! The videos consisted of anintroduction of each jester, a lot of hanging out talking about Jester Markerski bindings, and trying to win the favor of Steezy Marie.

Around 1 PM,they began setting up the shot for the print ad. It took a LOTof time to set up! I was put in a fewdifferent places before they decided on where I should be. In the shot, I was mesmerizing the shy jester(who was sitting in time out with a jester hat) to get off the stool and domore mayhem. The photographer took a LOTof pictures once the shoot was set. Myeyes were probably closed in half of them or maybe I was doing weird thingswith my face. Who knows? Thank goodness for photo shop!

We were given a thirty minute break for lunch/dinner around 4 PM. I scarfed down a roast beef sandwich andcookies. Then had my makeup touchedup. Then it was back to work. They were all done with the stillphotos. After dinner, we made the stillphoto come alive with video. It wasCRAZY! Total MAYHEM!! Kealalaua’e knocked the head off of my puppetwith her barbell. I just laughed andpicked it up and kept going. All of theLPs ended up in one big heap at the feet of Steezy Marie as she rolled her eyesat us. It was so fun!

Will and Chris decided to do some sumowrestling. One time when they hit, theyhit so hard they both fell down on the ground! It was HILARIOUS! I tried so hardnot to pee my pants! Then five of theLPs (Kealalaua’e and I opted to be spectators) were filmed playing musicalchairs. Once again, I laughed soHARD! The LPs really got into it. When the “music stopped” some were socompetitive that they fought for the chairs. At one point, a leg of a chair popped off. The leg went one direction, the chair tippedover, and the jester was sitting on the ground wondering what happened. So FUNNY!

The photo and video shoot finally ended around 7:30 PM. I changedout of my costume and gave it back to the wardrobe person. I left the green makeup on when I left so on my drive home, I made a very concertedeffort not to stop directly next to another car when I had to stop at redlights. I didn’t want anyone to freakout when they looked over and saw a green LP driving the car next to them. They probably would have thought I was somesort of alien or something!

Surprisingly, the green body paintcame off relatively easy. The body paint artist had lefteach of us some cream that helped take the paint off. It came off my hands and face prettyeasily. The paint had worn off some onthe palms of my hands from holding the puppet stick all day. The hardest parts to get the paint off weremy hands and fingernails. I had greenhands and fingernails for a few days.

Here is the final product of the print ad. I went to Barnes and Noble last week and bought the current issue of Powder Magazine because the ad is there. It was pretty fun to see!

Here is the link to the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2WkwTOBzU4

Traffic Court

2011-06-05T21:48:00.000-06:00

A week after I returned from Seattle, I had the pleasure of attending traffic court.

Last March, I received a citation for running a red light. The crappy part was I didn't run a red light! As I was in the intersection making a left turn the light changed to yellow, and then by the time I got out of the intersection, it had turned red. That is NOT running a red light! That's clearing an intersection! Two VERY DIFFERENT things! The police officer that pulled me over couldn't even see what color my light was! So I decided to fight it.

The lovely Sandy Justice Court was the background for this lesson in the law system. I took with me pictures from the scene showing clearly the officer could not see what color my light was. I also took a diagram of the intersection showing where the officer's car was in relation to the traffic lights and my car. I also took a copy of the page of the Driver's Manual showing that when there is a yellow left arrow, vehicles must clear the intersection. I felt I was prepared.

As I walked up the stairs to the courtroom, I saw a coworker sitting in one of the chairs outside of the courtroom. I sat down next to him and asked him why he was there. He was fighting a red light citation that occurred at the same intersection mine did back in March on a different day. He showed me his evidence and told me his case, and I didn’t think he had a very good case. I didn’t tell him that, but that was what I thought.

The courtroom was finally unlocked, and we filed in. On the list outside of the courtroom there were about seven names on the sheet for cases. Luckily only three of us showed up!

The first guy they called up was a 17 year old boy. He pled not guilty to running a red light at the same intersection as the rest of us. He received it about an hour before I got mine but from a different officer, and he was turning right. The officer gave his testimony. Then the poor kid was asked by the judge if he wanted to testify or remain silent. He looked at his mom because I guess he didn’t know what to do. His mom asked the judge if she could sit next to him but the judge said, “You can sit next to him if you are a member of the Bar.” The mom stayed put in her seat. The kid said he wanted to testify so he took the oath and the witness stand. His testimony consisted of, “Well, uh, I thought I, uh, stopped. I remember that day and I wasn’t late for work so I thought I stopped.” Sorry kid. If you are going to plead not guilty, you’ve got to own it! At least have some conviction! After his testimony, the prosecution showed the dash camera from the officer that showed the kid rolling through the intersection on a red light. Unless he stopped twenty feet before the intersection….With the kid's stellar (not!) testimony and the video, the kid was found guilty. The judge was going to sentence him and tell him to pay the fine, when the prosecutor asked if the kid could be given a plea in abeyance instead since he had a clean record before that time. The judge agreed so the kid had to pay court fees, attend a teen traffic class, and have a clean record for the next six months. Then the citation would be taken off his record.

The next person the judge called up was my coworker. He pleaded not guilty to running a red light. I knew he didn't have a prayer but I just hoped he wouldn't make the judge mad before I had to have my time in the sun. The officer took the stand and gave a fifteen minute testimony. Then my coworker took the stand and gave a not-so-strong argument. The judge found him guilty and asked if he could pay the fine. He hmm’ed and haaa’ed over it and acted pitiful. The officer leaned over and said something to the prosecutor. The prosecutor broke in and told the judge that the officer would reduce the sentence to a plea in abeyance. The judge asked if my coworker could pay the court fees. He told a sad story about how he was saving for his daughter’s hernia operation. She gave him 19 hours of community service that had to be completed in the next 60 days.

While my coworker’s paperwork was being completed, the prosecutor got up and sat in the empty chair next to me. He said he was willing to offer the same “plea in abeyance” deal the other two received if I would skip the hearing. I agreed to it. I mainly didn’t want to listen to the officer’s testimony against me, and I didn’t want to testify. I think I could have won my case, but I didn’t want to take the chance. The other two were found guilty and I figured they would find me guilty as well. The court was set up for appearances but I bet everyone walked out of their with a guilty or plea in abeyance verdict.

The judge called me to approach the bench which I did. The prosecutor explained that he had offered me the plea in abeyance and I took it. The judge asked me what I pled. I didn’t know what to say (guilty or not guilty). She knew I was confused so she explained that if I pled no contest, that would mean I was taking the plea in abeyance. I said “No contest, your honor.” She said to strike that from the record. She asked me when I could pay the court fees, and I said, “Today.” She told me I was on probation for six months so if I didn’t receive any citations in six months, the red light violation will be taken off my record. (I'm halfway through probation.) I waited for my paperwork. I paid the court fees. I was back to work in an hour.

Oh the justice system.....Add that to the life lessons learned.

Seattle-Family and Friends

2011-05-29T21:05:00.000-06:00

Next stop on my travels is Seattle. This trip happened two weeks after San Francisco. My family headed back to the West Coast to visit my brother. He recently moved from Orlando to Seattle. Talk about opposites! I guess they do attract. My parents and I love that he is in Seattle because it is a lot closer to us. Plus I love Seattle. Ever since I graduated from High School I said I wanted to move to Seattle. I even looked at attending the University of Washington. Who knows? Maybe I will end up there after all! Enjoy the travelogue and pictures.

Mom and I met up with Dad in the Seattle airport. He flew in from Anchorage, Alaska. We got our awesome rental car for the weekend: a minivan! I had two whole rows to myself! We drove to our hotel which was very close to the Space Needle. We got the Jacuzzi suite! I had the pleasure of sleeping on the pull out sofa sleeper. Lucky me! (I guess that beats sleeping in the jacuzzi!) This was the view from our hotel room.

The next morning Mom and I slept in. Dad left before I woke up because he had to teach a class that morning in some nearby town. While we waited for Dad to get done teaching his class, Mom and I made good use of our time. Mom swam in the pool. I was going to swim with her but there were three kids that seemed like 30 kids flailing about with water going everywhere but in the pool. No thanks, I opted for the stairmaster instead. I also sent some emails for work. (I am such a dedicated employee! I hope my boss reads that!)

I met up with my friend D Scott. (D Scott and I worked together with Radio City. The poor guy was in charge of helping me sing! He sure earned his money trying to do that! I am grateful we're still friends! He was on tour with Mary Poppins which happened to be touring in Seattle. Perfect timing!) We grabbed some food from Dick’s Drive-In and then drove to a nearby park at Westlake. It was a gorgeous day in Seattle. We talked and watched the seaplanes land in Lake Washington. I had so much fun talking with him. At one point, he asked me if I was dipping my fries in my shake. I said Yes. He thought it was strange. I figure it must be a Utah thing.

After lunch with D Scott, I met up with my parents at the hotel. Chris didn’t get off work for a few more hours so we headed to the waterfront. We ate clam chowder from Ivar’s outside at the tables they had set up. We watched as people fed French fries to the seagulls. The seagulls would get so excited and start screeching! It was quite the sight and sound! Ivar’s clam chowder is the BEST EVER! (Unfortunately I was still full from my Dick’s Drive In fries and shake that I could only eat half of it. Mom was the lucky one who got to eat the rest.) We went in a few shops on the waterfront.

My parents and I drove past the building where my brother worked. Then we drove to Chris’ house in West Seattle. Chris and Allen bought a nice three-story townhouse. It had an amazing view of downtown Seattle from their bedroom deck on the third floor. I finally met their dog, Alis. (They have had her for at least four years.) She was crazy!

Allen was at work so we spent some time talking with Chris after he gave us a tour of their house. Then we went on a short tour of West Seattle.

I spent the rest of the day with my friend Adam. (Adam and I performed in the Christmas Spectacular together. We had the comedy bit of our scene and, if I do say so myself, we brought the house down! Just sayin'. He was the best pillow a girl could have.) He took me to a street just off of the University of Washington campus. We ate dinner at Samir’s Kitchen, one of Adam's favorite places to eat. After dinner, we walked up and down the street giving each other a running commentary on every thing (and everyone) we saw. There were a lot of people out and about. We saw some cops busting some people. We saw the law school where Adam is about to start his third (and FINAL) year of law school. We walked through the bookstore. We tried on hats in a store but Adam’s big head didn’t fit in too many of them. (See pictures below.) Adam tried to get his hair cut but the barber was closing.
When we got tired of walking around, we drove to Manhouse (the name he and/or his roommates gave the house where he lives). When we pulled up to his house, I thought I was in a third world country. We drove up to the house from a back alley. All the houses were right next to each other and they were a little run down. I told Adam it looked a little third worldish. He just told me to shut up. I forget how many men were living in the house when I visited--maybe four (?) and 1 dog. I ended up only meeting one roommate while i was there. We let the dog out to have some fresh air because the poor thing had been in the house all day. Then we played Angry Birds on Adam's cell phone. I had never played Angry Birds before but now it is my latest guilty pleasure! We got through all the levels on one game so we started playing a different edition of Angry Birds. Adam passed most of the levels because he had me go first. I would show him how to do it by my trial and error and then he would get the job done! Just before I left, I remembered I wanted a picture. I told Adam to take some pictures of us. This is what I got:

The next day, my parents and I picked up Chris and Allen. This is where the mini-van came in handy. I still had one row in the steerage compartment all to myself! (Don't be jealous!) We drove to the ferry close to their house and took the ferry to Vashon Island. On the ferry, we got out of the van and sat in the seats upstairs. The ferry ride seemed like it was all of fifteen minutes. We drove all around Vashon Island. It was a small island. There were a lot of trees just like everywhere else in Washington! We went to the Farmer’s Market and walked around the less than twenty booths set up. We didn’t buy anything. People were selling caramel, fish, flowers, and other plants. We saw a lighthouse on the end of the island toward the ocean. We ate lunch at a restaurant called The Hardware Store. Why was it called The Hardware Store? Before it was a restaurant, it was a hardware store. The food was pretty good! We rode the ferry back to West Seattle. We stopped at Chris and Allen’s house and picked up Alis. We all went to the Chittenden Locks in Ballard. We watched boats, yachts, Kodiaks, etc go through the locks. It was fun! The locks are still my favorite place to go in Seattle.

We drove to Kerry Park. We took a few pictures of the family at the lookout point before we were overrun by teenagers going to prom.

We dropped off Alis at home and then went to dinner at Zeek’s Pizza. The pizza tasted delicious! We dropped off Chris and Allen at their house and the rest of us went back to the hotel. Mom and I wanted to go swimming but there were a LOT of kids in the pool. No thanks!

The next morning, my parents and I attended church near the hotel. We spent the rest of our time in Seattle with Chris at his house. (Allen was at work all day.) Chris played us a song on the piano (at the insistence of Mom). He was getting annoyed with the paparazzi (Mom) at this performance.

I had a great time in Seattle hanging out with my family and friends. I can't wait to go back!

Happy Mother's Day--Love, Hugh and Me!

2011-05-15T20:05:00.000-06:00

How much do you love your mom? Not as much as I love mine. You might be asking me (or demanding me) to "Prove it!" Alright, you asked for it. Be prepared to feel like a slacker son or daughter after you get done reading this. You have been warned.

What do you get the BEST MOM on the planet for Mother's Day? Hugh Jackman. That's right! You read correctly. It all started when I had a little down time at work the Tuesday before Mother's Day. I was doing a little search on the internet and found out Hugh was doing a two-week concert engagement in San Francisco. The tickets weren't outrageous, so I thought, "Why not just go see him?" It didn't take much arm twisting or persuasion of any kind to get Mom to agree to go with me. Before the end of the day, the concert tickets were purchased and the hotel and airplane tickets were booked. The BEST MOM on the planet and I were heading to San Francisco to celebrate her for a quick weekend get-away!

We flew to Oakland and rode BART to downtown San Francisco. We walked around Union Square. We rode the elevators at the St. Francis Hotel (a tradition). We could see all around from the top floors because the elevators were on the outside of the building.

We ate lunch at Sear’s Fine Food. If you don't know about Sear's Fine Food, then you are sorely missing out on some AWESOME food! We shared an order of Swedish pancakes-one order has eighteen pancakes. The pancakes tasted delicious! Then we worked off the calories by walking uphill for four blocks. You've got to love a city that is one hill after another!

Then we rode the bus to our hotel. We checked in. Our room was on the 26^th floor in the corner. We had views out of two directions because the two outer walls were all windows! Our views consisted of Alcatraz, Coit Tower, and the Transamerica Building. We could have seen the Golden Gate Bridge if some buildings weren’t in the way!

Enough of enjoying our great view! We rode the bus to Pier 39. It was very windy all day! We watched the sea lions for a little while. They were noisy! I still want to be reincarnated as a San Franciscan sea lion! What a life!

We walked around Pier 39 and looked in some of the shops. We walked along the pier to Boudin’s Bakery and watched bread being made. They made bread into so many shapes-turtles, alligators, etc.

It was time to get ready for our night with Hugh. We ate dinner at the Boudin's Bakery in the food court in Macy’s Cellar at Union Square. I ate clam chowder and sourdough bread. They tasted delicious! We walked to the Curran Theatre and picked up our tickets for the evening’s performance at the box office. We went up the many steps to the balcony and watched the Hugh Jackman in Performance concert. With our binoculars in hand, it was as if we had paid the hundreds of dollars that people on the front row paid! There was a seventeen piece orchestra and two pretty girl back-up singers. Hugh sang, danced, and told stories from his life. He was so entertaining! The 1 hour and 50 minutes show went by too quickly!

As is our custom after a performance, we waited at the stage door for Hugh to come out. By the time we got to the roped off area for people waiting at the stage door, the crowd was already about three rows deep. The security guard saw me about three rows back and invited me and Mom to go in front of the ropes to wait for him. Otherwise, I would have never had a chance to even catch a glimpse of Hugh. I was the first one he signed the playbill for when he came out. I also got a quick picture with him. (He wasn’t stopping for pictures as he walked down the line of people so I think I was the only one who got a posed picture with Hugh that night.) I loved it! I don’t think I’ve been that ecstatic in a long time. Mom got some more pictures as Hugh walked down the line of people, signing playbills. Hugh stayed at an apartment building next to the theatre so when he got to the steps of his building, he waved to everyone, and then went in. Unfortunately, I don't even qualify for the BEST DAUGHTER on the planet award consideration because I didn't get a picture of Mom with Hugh. Dang!

The next morning we opened the drapes to our AWESOME view, and we laid around in bed and were lazy. Mom opened her Mother’s Day cards and talked with my brother, her sister, and her mom on the phone. We walked to church that morning. We ended up walking uphill two blocks and then went downhill two blocks to the church. The children sang a song (as they always do on Mother's Day) but it didn’t have anything to do with mothers. The church we went to gave me and Mom each a small bag of cookies for Mother’s Day. That was very nice of them. We walked back to the hotel bypassing the up and downhill course we took to church. We quickly changed clothes because we had to check out of the hotel. We put all of our things on our backs and rode the bus to Ghirardelli Square. We ate sundaes at Ghirardelli’s. My peanut butter hot fudge sundae was delicious (when it was warm)! After it cooled, it was just a big chocolate peanut butter conglomerate! Note to self: Eat faster! We beat the rush at Ghirardelli’s because when we were leaving the lines upstairs and downstairs were out the doors!

Mom and I rode the electric bus to the BART station and rode BART to the Oakland Airport station. Then the hotel shuttle picked us up from the station and drove us to the hotel we stayed at that evening. Mom and I ended up with a one bedroom suite. It was big! Our hotel room the night before (in the city) could have fit in the bathroom at this hotel! We ate sourdough pizza from Boudin’s Bakery for dinner. Yum! I went to bed early because we had to get up early. the next morning for our flight and then I had to go straight to work.

The next morning I got up at 4:30 AM. Mom and I quickly got ready for the day and flew home. I was to work by 9 AM. I had quite the commute (from San Francisco) to work that day!
Mom and I had a great quick, last minute trip to San Francisco. We ate great food. We rubbed shoulders with celebrities. Who could ask for a better Mother's Day weekend?

Stay Tuned

2011-05-10T21:14:00.005-06:00

Hugh Jackman

Western Caribbean Cruise

2011-04-17T20:57:00.000-06:00

Last April, my parents and I went on a Western Caribbean Cruise for a week. We cruised on Royal Caribbean's ship the Voyager of the Seas. We embarked and disembarked from Galveston, Texas. The ports of call were Roatan, Honduras; Belize City, Belize; and Cozumel, Mexico. I had never been to Galveston, Roatan, and Belize City. It was a fun week of sunshine, great food, and awesome memories.

The Love Boat

Dad on our balcony

Formal night

Roatan, Honduras

Mom and I on a boat to the mangroves

The mangroves

This monkey was not very nice. I probably wouldn't be very nice either if I were tied to a fence all the time!

The pier where our boat journey began and ended-it was behind a private residence

This statue and plaque commemorated the original settlers of the Roatan island

Replica of the original abode on the island made out of clay

I'm shaking it with the locals-good times

This picture doesn't do the view justice-to the scenery and the subjects!

Our next port was Belize City, Belize. Mom and I did a tour to Mayan Ruins called Altun Ha and then a boat ride down the Old Belize River. This was my favorite tour. The Mayan Ruins were great because we were actually allowed to get on these rather than just walking past them. On our boat ride we saw all sorts of animals-iguanas, monkeys, yellow tailed birds, bats, dolphins, and a manatee spout all out in their natural habitat. We also saw termite nests and cotton and cashew trees.

Altun Ha Mayan Ruins

A side view of one of the structures

I call this the Tree of Life

This was the structure we were allowed to climb

So we did!

That black thing in the tree is a monkey. We actually saw two.

Sleeping bats-thank goodness!

A dolphin-there were actually two or three but I only got the fin of one.

The colorful pier at Belize City

The Voyager of the Seas taken from the tender as I went back to the ship.

Our awesome wait staff-Lina and Julio

No more monkeys jumping on the bed. I had the pleasure of sleeping on the bunk bed with a monkey, rabbit, and sumo panda.

Is that Shirley Temple? Nope, it's me! Nothing brings a smile to my face like food.

What a cute bunch! We missed Chris and Allen. Don't feel too bad for them, they got on a week long cruise the day we got off ours.

Caught ya lookin'!

After we got off the ship and drove back to the airport, my parents and I had a few hours to kill. I called my friend Jen and invited her to come hang at the airport with us. Jen and her husband Bill (who live in the Houston area) came to the airport and we talked for a few hours. It was a lot of fun catching up with Jen and meeting her husband Bill. You might recognize them from the show The Little Couple.

Me and Jen

Bill, Jen and Me

I had a great vacation. It was well overdue! I really needed the heat to thaw out from an especially cold winter. I also needed the week long break from work because really who doesn't??

One of THOSE Days!

2011-03-24T20:45:00.002-06:00

It was one of THOSE days at work today. To start out the work day, I filled up my 32 ounces cup of water. Soon after returning to my desk and after a few swigs, I managed to spill the whole thing on my desk. I thank the heavens above that the water managed to miss my iPhone, MacBook, and anything else electronic of any value that was inches away from the tidal wave zone. When the water spilled on the floor, it managed to miss the surge protector under my desk. Phew! About 25 paper towels later and another trip to the filtered water machine, I was back to business.

About an hour later, I received a phone call from an irate person who yelled at me because she did not get back to me when she said she would so I gave away what she wanted to someone else (which is what I told her I would do). As she started her sentences with, “I fully accept responsibility for what happened, but….” I wanted to tell her, “No, you cannot accept full responsibility with a BUT in the same sentence!” It’s one or the other lady! You can't have it both ways. I was so glad I wasn’t married to that mess!

Later in the day, I was taking a little breather at my desk. I was the only one in the office at the time so I decided to check out my arm muscles. I know, vain. (Like you've never done it??) My boss decided to walk past the window to our office and look in at that precise moment. Of course he couldn’t let the moment pass without making a comment. He opened the door to our office, poked his head in, and asked, “Were you just checking out your muscles?” Why fight it?! I said, “Sure! You’re welcome for the free ticket to the gun show!” He just laughed and went back to his meeting. Never a dull moment around the office today.

Wicked Divas Concert

2011-02-26T13:25:00.006-07:00

Last weekend I attended the Wicked Divas Concert with the Utah Symphony with my mom at Abravanel Hall. It was AMAZING! I loved every minute of it. Two singers were brought in for the concert-Julia Murney and Stephanie J. Block. Both women have played Elphaba in Wicked. I don't remember seeing Julia Murney play Elphaba but Stephanie J. Block is my most favorite Elphaba of all time. (I have even seen Idina Menzel who originated the role on Broadway play Elphaba.) This is the first time I have attended one of Stephanie's concerts (and it better not be the last). I saw her as Elphaba numerous times (on tour and Broadway) and as Judy Bernly in the musical 9 to 5 when it was playing in Los Angeles (before it went to Broadway). My friend Matt used to work with Stephanie decades ago at Disneyland and would tell me the funniest stories.

Back to the concert. I went with Mom Friday night to see it. I think I had a perma-grin on my face the whole time. I loved the songs these women sang. The instrumental pieces were amazing too. It was a perfect blend of orchestral and singing Broadway-style songs. I loved it so much I bought a single ticket and went Saturday night by myself to see it again! So good! I must admit, I enjoyed Friday night better because Stephanie sang Defying Gravity. (No one beats her Defying Gravity!) She sang Popular and Julia sang Defying Gravity Saturday night. Although Saturday night after Stephanie sang My Heart Will Go On, the entire audience was so entranced with the song there was a moment of silence between the last notes of the music and the audience clapping. It was magical! Here are some pictures from Friday night.

Three Divas-Julia Murney, Me, Stephanie J. Block

Me and the Amazing Stephanie J. Block-I can't get enough of her!

Michael, Me, and Chihuly*

The Close Up Version*

*Friday night I went to the Concert with my Mom. Michael randomly showed up after the concert. I think he is stalking me. Since we were dressed so nice, we decided to snap a few pictures. Thanks Chihuly for providing us with such a wonderful background.

Valentine's Day Ice Castles

2011-02-26T13:14:00.015-07:00

Valentine's Day was a Furlough Day at work. I love Furlough Days! I am hoping for some more next year. Work can keep their money as long as I don't have to show up! My big Valentine's Day activity was to go see the Ice Castles in Midway, Utah with my parents. An artist made these ice castles out of a series of sprinklers and pipes. They are amazing! Enjoy the pictures!

A New York Minute

2011-02-12T20:51:00.019-07:00

It happened in a New York Minute, but it has taken me a month and a half to blog about it. I'm not used to this whole 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week job thing. I know most of you are saying, "Wah, wah!" Anyway, three days after I arrived home from Nashville on Christmas, my mom and I hit the airways and headed back East.

We departed for New York City a day after a blizzard had dumped mounds and mounds of snow. Our flight was not canceled but it was delayed two hours. That posed a slight problem as time was getting less and less between landing in Newark, NJ and getting to the Radio City Music Hall for the Christmas Spectacular.

Once we landed in Newark, we channeled the racers on Amazing Race and booked it to the Music Hall. Our first challenge was to get a taxi. Once we got a taxi, we asked the driver if he had ever seen the Amazing Race. He said he had so we told him we had to get to the Music Hall in less than an hour. He took side streets and various other maneuvers to get us to our destination. After giving him a hefty tip, we entered the Music Hall less than ten minutes after the Christmas Spectacular started. Luckily Mom had already seen at least six times that season, and I had heard it over 100 times. It was awesome to see the show performed on that magnificent stage with twice as many Rockettes than I am used to. We took our time leaving the Hall.

A Christmas Tree inside the Radio City Music Hall

We decided to bundle up and walk to the Rockefeller Christmas Tree. We didn't make it past the Music Hall's stage door before I ran into some people I knew. Two were performers in the show I had worked with in previous years and two were performers in my show that were visiting like I was. It was fun to talk with them in the freezing weather. We all had stories to tell of our Christmas travels. Good times!

Mom and I made it to the Rockefeller Christmas Tree. We took a lot of pictures and saw it from every possible angle. It looks pretty on TV but, in real life, it is AWESOME!

Since we arrived after the blizzard of 2010, we found out how they got rid of all the snow. They couldn't just shovel it to the road because it would just be mounds and mounds of snow blocking the sidewalk and lanes of traffic. It would never melt until July! They have workers shovel the snow into huge plastic laundry bins. Then they wheel it to the road. The snow is then put into huge garbage trucks and hauled out of the city. Where the final destination is nobody knows?? It's NYC's well-kept secret. My guess is the Hudson River. These snow shovelers sure had their work cut out for them!

Snowflakes on the Saks Fifth Avenue Department Store

Huge Christmas light decorations

Crowne Plaza Times Square Christmas Tree

Late that night (after a huge slice of pizza from Patzeria Perfect Pizza), we checked into our home away from home at the Crowne Plaza Times Square. We got our money's worth in the less than 12 hours we spent there.

The following day was a busy one. We managed a little bit of sleeping in and then it was go, go, go. Our first stop was Macy's Department Store. Macy's always decorates their shop windows so cute for Christmas. This year's theme was "Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus". All of the cutouts were made out of paper and moved. It was amazing!

We rode the subway back to Times Square. We ate lunch at another one of our favorite places Virgil's. We then dodged the huge puddles on every street corner and headed to the Marriott Marquis Theatre. We saw the Donny and Marie: A Broadway Christmas show. Poor Donny and Marie were overcoming illnesses so they weren't at the top of their game but they still put on a wonderful show. What made it even better was my friend was performing in the show. I found out later he was the swing and he rarely was onstage. But that day, he was!

After the show, I waited at the stage door to see my friend. Performers from the show came out and kept telling us that Donny and Marie weren't coming out. I told them I wasn't waiting for them but for my friend. They were able to go back inside and have my friend paged. We talked for a little while, took the above picture, and Mom and I continued on our journey.

Setting up the New Year's Eve stage in Times Square

Tons of snow in Times Square-Dirty!

We walked back to the Radio City Music Hall. We wanted to see the first ten minutes of the Christmas Spectacular we had missed the night before. We told the people taking tickets our situation from the day before. Amazingly enough, they felt sorry for us, and let us in. We had better seats than we had paid for the night before! We saw the first ten minutes of the show. I was also able to see my friend Brad perform. (He has been performing in the NY show since 2007.)

We had just enough time to pick up our luggage from the Crowne Plaza and then walk to the Al Hirschfeld Theatre where Elf was playing. Elf was very cute!

We got on the JITNY (sp?) and headed to my Aunt Caren's house across the Hudson River. We were able to see her place all decorated for Christmas. Very cute! She was willing to drive us to JFK at a very early hour the following morning so we could fly home.

My less than 48 hour trip to New York City was so worth it. If you EVER have a chance to go to NYC at Christmas time, you better not let it pass you by! It is MAGICAL!!! After we came home, I told my mom that we might have to change our NYC trip from annual to semi-annual. I just can't get enough....

Closing Night

2011-01-05T12:58:00.005-07:00

Last night, I was at the theatre (not the Grand Ole Opry but a theatre here in Utah) and realized I hadn't posted any pictures from the Closing Night Party last year. I would hate for you guys to miss out so I thought I would poke a closing night post in here. The Closing Night Party actually occurred the night before Closing Night. It was fun to be with the cast, but I didn't stay long. I was probably one of the first people to leave.

The LPs-Lena, Eric, Cezar, Ryanne, Amy, and Me

Jason and Me-I put my life in his hands every night. Miraculously, we both survived!

The Elevator Epiphany

2010-12-22T16:21:00.003-07:00

This morning I had some deep thoughts I thought I would share. I went down to the hotel's lobby, and I grabbed some food for breakfast. After I got in the elevator to go back to my room and pushed the level three button, I realized I had forgotten something. I was able to push the open door button and get out, but the level three button was still lit. After I got out, the elevator went to level three empty. I realized then that there is no cancel button in an elevator. I wonder if people realize how much of a commitment they make when they step into an elevator. Once you push that button, there is no taking it back. You have committed to that floor. The only way out of it is to get out of the elevator and get in a different one. Think about that the next time you get in an elevator!

Celebrities at the Christmas Spectacular

2010-12-21T13:54:00.010-07:00

Sheryl Crow, Scott Hamilton, and Kimberly Williams-Paisley attended our first show of the Christmas Spectacular last Saturday with their children. During intermission after microphone check, I walked around trying to (casually) bump into the celebrities backstage. When celebrities come to the show, they stay backstage until the show starts and then are brought back again during intermission and after the program so they are not hounded by the audience. (Instead they get to be hounded by the performers! :)) I figured they were down the stage right hallway because all the kids from the show’s moms were standing there with their cameras. Dead giveaway. I thought they were farther down that particular hallway closer to the stage. As I rounded the corner, I realized they were right there! Well, hello there, fancy running in to you! The group was taking pictures with Mrs. Claus. They said, "Oh look it's one of Santa's elves!" I smiled and asked them if they were enjoying the show up to that point. They said they were. It was cute to see the kids so excited about the show and having a good time.

Scott Hamilton took multiple pictures of me.

Sheryl Crow shook my hand and told me it was a pleasure to meet me. (If I didn’t know Sheryl Crow was at the performance, I would have walked right past her in the hallway and never would have known it! See picture below.)

I exchanged smiles with Kimberly Williams-Paisley. Kimberly’s son looks just like his daddy (Brad Paisley).

Here are two pictures of our Company Manager Tim with the celebrities after the show:

Hockey

2010-12-19T12:50:00.000-07:00

Some of the cast members and I drove to the Bridgestone Arena in downtown Nashville to watch a Nashville Predators hockey game. It was so much fun! I had a great time yelling and cheering. The locals say the Nashville Predators aren’t a very good team but they shut out the New York Islanders five goals to nothing. (I heard a guy behind us say that out of the last 23 games the Islanders have played, they have only won 5!) The only disappointment was there were only two small fights. The gloves never came off but one player got whacked in the head with the other team’s hockey stick. Good times!

One of the goals was pretty amazing. A Pred had the puck and were about to hit it into the net when an Islander was coming full blast at him. The Pred jumped over him, hit the puck to the teammate, and the teammate whacked it into the net. It was awesome!

On the jumbotron, they showed a guy with the name "Randy Houser" on the bottom of the screen. We all asked each other, "Who is Randy Houser?" I answered, "He must be Doogie Howser's brother." Ha ha! About 30 seconds later, we hear this girl in front of us ask her husband, "Who is Randy Houser?" To which he responds, "He's Doogie Howser's older brother". Then she laughed. Excuse me! You just stole my material! That is a copyright infringement! Then a little while later, things were not going the Predators way and I said, "Come on!" Then two seconds later the guy behind me says, "Come on"! Geez, I was surrounded by parrots! Come up with your own material!

As we were leaving the arena, people were handing out coupons for a free energy drink. Most people were tossing them in the garbage. While we were waiting for our car to pick us up, Lina and I watched a guy pick up the free drink coupons from the garbage can. A nicely dressed man watched him pick through the garbage. When the first guy left, the nicely dressed man took over at the garbage can and went dumpster diving for more coupons. Then his (assuming) wife started dumpster diving as well. The only thing was she was wearing a dark brown long fur coat! Are you kidding me?! Your dressed like that and dumpster diving for free energy drink coupons?! That's crazy! Then the nicely dressed man got a phone call and they left. Lina joked that it was the limo driver telling them he was waiting out front for them! I laughed so hard!

Another interesting thing we saw was a scooter/ice cooler. A guy was riding a motorized ice cooler out of the game. I had never seen one of those before! Very handy for the sports enthusiast though! Another guy in a motorized wheelchair was carrying a hockey stick with mistletoe tied on the end. Good luck, pal!

Good times at the Predators game! Great entertainment!

Hanukkah 2010

2010-12-18T16:53:00.000-07:00

I went to my first ever Hanukkah Party. I learned the story of the Maccabee's and their miraculous oil. I ate some latkes which were tasty. I also ate a lot of other food. I had a great time. I think I will party every December for eight nights. Oh wait, I already do and then some! (Photo credit-Facebook)

ICE!

2010-12-17T16:47:00.000-07:00

Each year the cast receives free passes to ICE! at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel. We received the passes after my parents left so I decided to invite my friend Mindy and her family to join me since they live in the area.

ICE! is a huge tent filled with themed ice sculptures. This year's theme was the movie Santa Claus is Comin' To Town. They have huge ice sculptures (as you can see in the pictures) that are colored and larger-than-life. They also have a room with slides made of ice and the kids enjoyed them. Since it is so cold in the exhibit, they give everyone a beautiful blue coat to wear while they are there. Thanks Mindy for sharing your family with me and making it a fun night!

Time Warp

2010-12-16T15:51:00.001-07:00

Last month, I woke up one morning at 6 AM because a siren went past the street. (Well, the clock said 6 AM anyway.) I made myself go back to sleep. Then I woke up and the clock said 7 AM. I still refused to get up. I have a rule that if I don't have to be up at a certain time then I have to stay in bed until at least 7:30 AM!

The next thing I knew it was 7:50 AM. I got up and exercised. The clock on the wall of the fitness room said 10:15 AM when I was done. Don't worry, I don't exercise for two and a half hours, although you might think so when you look at me. Ha ha! I thought that someone had changed the clock in there because I thought it was only 9:15 AM.

The housekeepers had just got done with my room when I returned after exercising. I thought they had started kind of early that morning because usually they didn’t get to my room until around 10 AM. (I still thought it was 9:15 AM.) I looked at the clock on the microwave and it said 10:30 AM. I thought the housekeepers were playing a joke on me. I looked at my cell phone, and it also said 10:30 AM. Then I looked at my iPhone which I keep hidden and it also said 10:30 AM. My friend had text asking me if I wanted to go to the movie that afternoon. I said sure and then asked him if it was really 10:30 AM. He said it sure was!

I walked back in my bedroom and the clock in there said 9:30 AM. My question is: How did the clock change an hour while I was sleeping? My clock was correct when I went to bed the night before because it was the same as my computer. When I woke up, the clock was an hour behind. Weird!

New Scene, New Role

2010-12-15T17:13:00.001-07:00

This year the Radio City Christmas Spectacular in Nashville, TN had a new workshop scene. That means I had a whole new scene to learn during rehearsals. In previous years, I would coast through rehearsals because it was the same scene and same role. Well, this year, I really earned my money during rehearsals. I actually had to think during rehearsal (AHH!!) and practice before and after rehearsal (unheard of)! The character I play now is named Bob instead of Bruce. I do a lot less during the scene even though I am on stage the whole time. I'm basically a prop that moves itself. Very handy for the crew!

The reason Nashville got the new scene was the old set was a casualty of the flood in May. You can reference the pictures from my post back in May about this. So here is the back story I tell people when they say, "I really miss Bruce." (Don't we all?)

Bruce was, unfortunately, a casualty of the great Nashville flood. Since he was so short (reference picture above), he drowned when the waters rose; may he rest in peace. Luckily for the show, Bruce has an identical twin brother named Bob who is taking over for him. Fortunately, they are identical so Bob can wear Bruce's clothes. It all works out! Bob is not nearly the prankster and jokester that Bruce was but Bob still creates his own mischief. We all miss Bruce. He brought smiles to thousands of people throughout the years. Now he is fake fainting for porridge and then flinging that porridge at his friends in heaven. Let's have a moment of silence..........

Opening Night 2010

2010-12-14T16:33:00.004-07:00

I know I am such a slacker! You don't have to tell me! I am obviously having a hard time being motivated to update my blog. I blame it on having two jobs. When I get done with my day job, the last thing I want to do is work some more on the computer. I want to play until I go to my night job. That's my excuse!

Anyway, Opening Night was way back on November 19th. From what I remember, I had a fantastic show! My mom was in town for opening so she was my date to the Opening Night Party. This year the Opening Night Party was held at the Gaylord Opryland Golf Course Club House. (In previous years it was held in one of the ballrooms at the Opryland Hotel.) It was very nice! I actually liked it there better because you didn't have to walk so far to get there and we had the whole building to ourselves.

I ate way too much pasta and I had to restrain my mom from drinking straight from the chocolate fountain (hee hee). It was a great evening to celebrate a Spectacular opening. These are the only pictures I have (thanks to Facebook and the people who took them).

The Little People-Eric, Lina, Amy, Ryanne, Me, Cezar

Emily and Me

Emily performed the role of Clara my first year in Nashville when she was 13 years old. Now she is old enough to be part of the ensemble. Wow, am I really that old and have I been doing this that long? Where does the time go?

The Black Hole Part 2

2010-11-11T20:08:00.003-07:00

As many of you know, a few years ago on my way to Myrtle Beach for Radio City rehearsals, I was stranded in Atlanta overnight. Well, since lightening strikes in the same place, here is the story from the Black Hole Part 2.

My parents drove me to the Salt Lake City International Airport. I checked my luggage to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. I asked if my flight was on schedule from Atlanta to Myrtle Beach, and I was told at that point it was. I said goodbye to Mom and Dad at security. I boarded the first plane that would take me to the Atlanta airport (aka the Black Hole). The flight was a little bumpy because of turbulence. At one point, the pilot came overhead and told us that due to weather in Atlanta, we possibly couldn’t land there so we could be diverted to Tallahassee or Austin. I thought, “Oh no, here we go again.” Then 20 minutes later, the pilot came on the overhead speaker and told the passengers to prepare for landing in Atlanta. What was that all about?!

We landed in Atlanta. I walked to the gate where my next flight would depart. When I arrived at the gate, the flight was on time for its scheduled departure. Good! I met up with two Little People who were in my cast, Amy and Cezar. Amy was from Tucson and started her journey at 7 AM. Cezar was from Connecticut (originally from Poland) and began early that morning as well. Amy and Cezar’s flight to Myrtle Beach had been canceled so they were on the stand by list for my flight.

My flight kept getting delayed later and later. It was originally supposed to leave at 7:05 PM. After many posted delays and a gate change, I finally boarded the plane around 9:30 PM. By some miracle, Cezar got on my flight. (It turned out to be good for me, but bad for him.) Unfortunately, Amy didn’t make the flight. All the rest of the flights were canceled to Myrtle Beach that evening so our company manager, Tim O’Donnell, found her a hotel room in Atlanta.

Cezar and I were excited to finally get off the ground and get to Myrtle Beach that evening. The plane pushed away from the gate, and then stopped. A half an hour went by and we didn’t go anywhere. I was totally frustrated because I had an aisle seat and I couldn’t see what was going on outside. I am so OCD! Finally, after a half an hour the pilot came on and said that the crew was over on the FAA’s 16 hours maximum and so the flight was grounded. It was unclear as to whether there would be another flight crew awaiting us at the gate that could fly us to Myrtle Beach.

We seriously drove around the Atlanta airport for an hour looking for an empty gate to park the airplane. The pilot finally came on and said that they were having a hard time finding an empty gate because either all the planes were loading passengers or the airplanes were broken. Nice, an airport full of broken planes! I totally disregarded the no cell phone rule and pulled out my cell phone. I called company manager Tim to tell him we were probably not going anywhere that evening. He worked on getting me and Cezar hotel rooms.

Finally after being on the plane for two hours and not going anywhere, we were allowed to get off the plane! Free at last, free at last! Once we got off the plane, they told us our flight was canceled and we had to go to the ticketing counter to rebook our flight.

After standing in that line for two hours, I was able to pull up our reservations on my iPhone app. We were both booked on flights the next day. Cezar was to leave at 9 AM and my flight left at 2 PM. We abandoned the ticket counter line and got in the taxi line. I felt like I was at Disneyland with all of the standing in line. Our next big ride was about to begin. Cezar and I finally got a taxi. Tim had text us the hotel information and confirmation numbers for our hotel rooms.

At 1 AM, we of course got the worst taxi driver ever! He drove around lost for a half an hour! What should have been a 15 minute ride was a 45 minute ride. The driver even had a GPS! He kept muttering it wasn’t working and hitting it. I thought it was very entertaining and was laughing my head off.

Then he pulled over on a dark empty street in Atlanta. Then I thought, “And this is how my story ends....” They will find my dead body along the side of the road in Atlanta. I realized then the only way to get out of the Black Hole was through death. So be it!

In reality, he finally got his GPS working and drove us to the hotel. I gave the guy $28 for the ride. (It was $25 on the meter and I gave him a $3 tip for getting us lost. I thought that was very generous!) After I gave him the money, he said something about an airport surcharge. I had no idea what he was talking about (and I wasn’t going to give him any more money) so I just walked into the hotel. As I walked into the hotel, I heard him say something about taking $5 off for getting us lost. I thought, “Do whatever you need to do to justify the money I gave you.” I was totally over it. I checked into the Ramada Suites Limited near the Atlanta airport. It was pretty sketchy as hotels go but typical for an airport hotel. I tried not to think about it and just went to sleep. I went to bed around 2:30 AM.

By the time I got up at 8:30 AM, Amy and Cezar were already at the Atlanta airport for their 9 AM flight. I was glad I wasn't them! I was still scheduled for the 2 PM flight. I got ready for the day and went down to the free breakfast in the hotel lobby which consisted of cereal and stale donuts. Tim the company manager called while I was eating and told me he got me on the 11:30 AM flight. I hurried to finish eating, went up to my room, grabbed my bag, and checked out of the hotel. I took the hotel’s shuttle back to the airport. I printed out my new boarding pass for the 11:30 AM flight. I went through security and walked to my gate.

The plane loaded on schedule. The passengers were all in our seats. I was blessed to have an empty seat next to me. They close the door and the gangway folds back. But we didn’t go anywhere. After sitting there for a half an hour, the pilot finally comes on the speaker and says we had a loose floorboard on the plane. I thought, “Are you kidding me?!” The pilot told us to make ourselves comfortable because maintenance was on their way to fix it. I figured that was the story of my life. I text Mom and Tim and they think I’m kidding. Of course, I’m such a funny girl! I text back, “Do you think I would kid about a thing like this?!” They both text back, “No!” The flight attendant was super annoying. (Maybe by this time, I thought any flight attendant would be annoying.) Anyway, he busts out the snack cart and serves us drinks and snacks. I thought that was a bad sign if we were getting fed before we even left the ground. Finally an hour after we are scheduled to leave, the plane moves away from the gate. Then we wait in line for another half an hour to take off. To say I showed up late to Myrtle Beach would be a gross understatement. I missed my first rehearsal.

Taking into consideration the time change, it took me 24 hours to travel from Salt Lake City, Utah to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. All I kept thinking was, “It was faster than the pioneers.” Just trying to keep a little perspective.

The Big 3-2

2010-11-11T19:50:00.012-07:00

Over a week ago, I had my 32nd birthday. It was great! I'm used to being 32 because I have been telling people that is how old I am since January. Now it's just official!

I began the celebration a week before I left for Radio City with my parents. We went to Cracker Barrel (my choice) for dinner because I wanted their blueberry pancakes. They tasted delicious! Then we continued the celebration at home with tres leches birthday cake from Cafe Rio!

Then the celebration continued on the eve of my birthday. Some members of the cast met at Burro Loco for dinner. I had a great time getting to know new people and discovering what an awesome cast we have this year. Here are some pictures from the celebration:

To me, nothing says "Happy Birthday" like sitting on a wooden donkey wearing an oversized hat!

I received many phone calls, text messages, and Facebook messages wishing me a happy birthday on my actual birthday.

A few days after my birthday, I went to Coldstone to get my free ice cream for my birthday. I got cake batter ice cream with yellow cake mix-in so I got cake and ice cream to celebrate my birthday!

The messages continued to trickle in for days afterward. I think I was able to spread my birthday over a week's worth of time because of my late well wishers! Thank you!

I love birthdays-mine, yours, anyone! This birthday was a fabulous one. I love the age I am and the wonderful opportunities that I have been blessed with.

NYC-My Happiest Place on Earth

2010-11-01T20:00:00.030-06:00

It's that time of year again: Time for the Winn Girls Annual Trip to NYC. Somehow we keep having more fun and finding more things to do in this city that never sleeps. After the trip was over, Mom said, "This was the best trip to NYC we have ever had." Amen sister!!

Mom’s sister, Caren, picked us up from the airport in New Jersey and drove us in to New York City. She dropped us off at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Times Square. We checked in to the hotel while she parked the car (which is no easy feat nor cheap endeavor in the city). Our room was on the 23^rd floor and overlooked Times Square. We got settled and then headed out to Times Square.

We walked to Patzeria Perfect Pizza across from the Marriott Marquis Hotel. I still think it is the best pizza in New York City! We walked across the street and saw the musical The Addams Family with Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth. Mom and I had seats in the wheelchair section at the back of the orchestra level. (Wheelchair seating is how we can afford to go to so many Broadway shows.) When we got there, the usher asked us if we wanted to sit closer. We said sure! We were on the seventh row from the stage! The Addams Family was so funny! I loved seeing Nathan and Bebe perform live. During the performance, one of the light bulbs popped. Everyone, including Nathan and Bebe onstage, heard the pop of the light. Nathan and Bebe then went into hysterical laughing. They had no idea what happened; they just heard what sounded like a gunshot! At one point, Bebe shielded her eyes from the glare of the spotlight and asked if everyone in the audience was alright. They finally stopped laughing enough to go on with the show. I love live theater!

After the show, we stood by the stage door and got some of the actors’ autographs. Nathan went out a different door so we didn’t talk with him. Bebe came out the stage door and talked with us while she signed our playbills and we took her picture.

Mom and I sat at Duffy Square in Times Square for a little while. It was fun to be back in my city. Oh how I’ve missed it!

The next morning, we walked to a nearby deli for breakfast. We rode the subway to Brooklyn and didn’t even get lost! We walked from the subway to the Brooklyn Bridge. We walked across the Brooklyn Bridge. The distance was over a mile. We stopped frequently to take pictures and read plaques and other information along the way. It was fun to walk across the bridge.

When we got back in to Manhattan, we walked to Century 21 (the department store). We didn’t find anything worth buying. Everything was still overpriced for me! We rode the subway up to our hotel on 51^st Street. We went to TKTS. and bought three orchestra seats to Promises, Promises. My aunt Caren met up with us at the Crowne Plaza.
By the time we left for dinner, it was pouring rain outside. My feet were soaken wet! We walked to a nearby French restaurant called Pigalle. The food was delicious! We didn’t want to walk back to our hotel so we stopped in a different hotel lobby to dry out from the rain and to wait until the theatre opened. When we got to the theatre, I was walking to find a restroom in the theatre’s lobby when I was stopped by the house manager. He asked me where my seat was. I told him orchestra level row x. He said because of height restrictions he needed to change my seat. I told him I had two other people with me. He changed our seats to box seats on the mezzanine level. It was nice because no one was in front of us. We had an awesome view of the stage. I was sad that I wasn’t able to see Kristin Chenoweth in the performance but what can you do?! She obviously didn't get the memo I was in town! Sean Hayes did an amazing job! He was so funny! I loved his performance! Molly Shannon was funny but you could tell she had just started the role. I really enjoyed the show!
After the show, Caren was able to get us backstage because she is a friend of a friend of Sean Hayes. We gave the stage manager at the stage door our names. He ushered us on to the stage where we waited for Sean. While we waited, we talked with Sean’s dresser. Then Sean came on stage and talked with us for a few minutes. Of course we told him how great his performance was that evening. He was very nice! Sean had some other people waiting for him so he left us to talk with them. We then went back out the stage door. As we walked out the stage door, we heard an audible "Oh" from those waiting at the stage door for Sean and Molly. It was a disappointed "Oh"; not an excited one.
We waited to get Molly Shannon’s autograph for our playbill and a picture. Molly Shannon is the real deal! She makes me laugh (on and off stage!)! I enjoyed listening to her talk to the other people at the stage door.
The next day, we bought muffins and fruit for breakfast from the same nearby deli. We rode the subway to the Manhattan Temple. We were a little early so we walked across the street to Barnes and Noble. Then we spent a few hours in the Manhattan Temple. It is such a beautiful, peaceful, and calm place in the middle of a crazy city.

We walked to Serendipity III for lunch. Mom had a frozen hot chocolate. I had some of that. I got a cinnamon ice cream sundae with caramel. Mom helped me eat that! It was delicious! I absolutely love Serendipity III-the food, the ambiance, etc. I HIGHLY recommend it.

We walked to the Gershwin Theatre to pick up our tickets for Wicked that evening. While Mom was getting the tickets, I was looking at the cast list in the lobby. I saw my friend, Al’s, name on the list. (I worked with Al at Radio City in 2007.) I was so excited! I missed seeing him perform when I saw Wicked in Seattle last year. After Mom got the tickets, we walked in the stage door of the Gershwin Theatre, and I gave the guy behind the desk a note for Al. Mom and I hurried back to the hotel to change for the evening. I received a text from Al about 20 minutes later that said we could meet at the stage door after the show and talk.

Mom and I watched Wicked. I don’t know how many times I have seen the show so let’s just say too many to count. This time I watched the ensemble instead of the main characters which I had never done before. The ensemble does so much in the show that I never realized before. Al did an amazing job! He is such a great dancer! He had some pretty awesome costumes too! I was able to find him in every scene he was onstage except for when he was in the flying monkey scene. I love Wicked!

After the show ended, I hurried to the stage door and waited for Al. Al came out soon after and we talked for a few minutes. He asked if I wanted to go on stage and have a look around. I said sure! I grabbed Mom from the line of autograph seekers behind the barricades and we went with Al. We rode the elevator up to the stage. He showed us some of the props (Wizomania tickets, wands, green bottles, brooms, etc), quick change areas, and some of the sets (the cornstalks from Munchkinland, the Wizard's throne, etc). We took a few pictures on stage. While we were onstage, PJ Benjamin who played the Wizard came up to us to see who we were. Al introduced us to him. He was very nice. Al showed us where the trap doors were on the stage, as well as vents, microphones, and the tracks that move the sets on and off the stage. Al and I caught each other up on the people we knew in common. I had a great evening with a good friend seeing my favorite show onstage and backstage! It was an awesome day all the way around with all my favorite things! Manhattan Temple + Serendipity + Wicked = Perfect Day

The next day Mom and I ate breakfast in the hotel's restaurant because we received two free vouchers for breakfast because they couldn’t find me a two-step step stool at the hotel. It was a buffet so I had waffles, French toast, strawberries, blueberries, bacon, and orange juice. I certainly got my money's worth! :) It tasted delicious! We walked to the theatre where A Little Night Music was performing and bought two seats for the matinee that day. (We checked TKTS for tickets but they didn't have it listed on the board.) Broadway legends, Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch performed in it. Bernadette was amazing! I was so glad I got to see and hear her sing live and in person. I really enjoyed the musical! Finally, I didn’t sleep through the Saturday matinee! Yea! That hasn't happened for a while!

Mom and I saw the play Driving Miss Daisy. I believe it was the first play I had ever seen on Broadway. Usually, all I see are musicals. James Earl Jones and Vanessa Redgrave performed in the play. They did such a wonderful job! I really enjoyed the play. After the play, Mom and I waited and waited and waited for them to come out the stage door. There were two sides waiting for them to come out. James came out, went directly to his car, and left.

Vanessa spent time with those of us waiting for autographs and pictures. She went to the other side first. She spent FOR-EVER at the other side. She was even chatting and taking pictures with people that didn’t even see the play that just happened to be walking past at the moment!! She finally came to where Mom and I were. She talked with us while she signed our playbills. She asked us if we could get our picture together. We said sure. They moved the barricades so we could get a decent picture. She asked if I wanted my "Mum" to be in the picture. I said sure. She gave the camera to a boy Vanessa kept calling Amon. He took a picture. Then Vanessa said, “Let me see it.” She didn’t’ like the first one because she said it was too far away. She told Amon to take another picture, but to zoom in so it was just the three of us in the picture. He did as he was told. Then Vanessa wanted to see the picture again. She liked this picture better. Vanessa then asked if we wanted another picture. We figured we had taken enough of her time so we said no but thanked her for her time. We got out of the way so many other people could get her autograph and picture. We talked to Amon until he and Vanessa got in her car and drove away.

On Sunday, Mom and I rode the subway to church (at the same place as the Manhattan Temple). We attended sacrament meeting with the Manhattan 1^st Ward. One of the speakers gave an interesting talk that included the statistics of the ward. For all of my LDS friends, you might find these statistics interesting:

About 426 members in the ward

Ward boundaries: 42nd St to 80-something St/5th Ave to Hudson River

7 Young Men

7 Young Women

27 children in Primary

24 babies in Nursery

11 babies born in the last year with another one expected any day

6 cars owned by ward members

After the closing prayer, the bishop asked those who were attending for the first time and visitors to stand. I would guess at least 65% of the people stood up. Wow!
Mom and I met my friend Brad Galey across the street after church. (Brad performs in New York's Radio City Christmas Spectacular.) We walked to a nearby Mexican restaurant and enjoyed lunch together. Brad did most of the talking which was fine with me. After an hour and a half, Mom and I had to go in order to catch our flight home.
This was the BEST NYC trip we have ever had. We got so many perks like better seats and backstage passes. I was able to see friends, like Al and Brad. I can't wait to see what next year brings!

Stay Tuned

2010-10-24T21:52:00.002-06:00

Here's a little preview to let you know where we've been. Stay tuned for the full details. For those of you who don't get out much, we were in New York City for the annual girls trip. Prepare to be green with envy...

Kickin' Across America

2010-08-14T17:51:00.002-06:00

Last Thursday was Kicking Across America with the Radio City Rockettes. The Rockettes were on the Today Show and had other events across the country in places like Colorado Springs, Wichita, Bakersfield, San Diego, etc. If they get 1 million kicks, then they will donate thousands of tickets for children from local charities to see the show for free. Go to this website if you are interested in helping. http://www.kickingacrossamerica.com/ It's free and easy!

Four of the Rockettes were in Salt Lake City at the Gateway to kick off the Kicking Across America. I have worked with two of the Rockettes that came. It was good to see them again.

The Radio City Christmas Spectacular is coming to the Maverik Center in Salt Lake City from November 26-29. Tickets are on sale now!

Road Trip 2010

2010-07-02T17:33:00.011-06:00

I have not done a road trip in a long time. (I don’t count trips to and from Lake Powell as road trips because we leave and get to the destination in one day.) My favored method of transport is by plane. I like to go far away and get there fast. My parents and I decided to tackle a road trip for the weekend. A lot of things were happening the same weekend so we just decided to connect the dots and make a road trip out of it. I will break it down for you.

Leg #1: My parents and I drove to Manti, Utah. Some of you might be wondering, “Where is Manti, Utah?” I am surprised you have to ask where this booming metropolis is located. I’m not exactly sure where it is, but if I had to guess, I would say central Utah. Google it if you would like a more precise location. Our first stop was the Manti Temple.

The Manti Temple was built in the 1870s-1880s. It was dedicated in 1888. The craftsmanship and furnishings were from that time period. I felt like I was stepping back in time. It was so great to be in that old building! They just don’t do ornate door frames and doorknobs like they used to.

Another reason we went to the booming metropolis of Manti was to see the Mormon Miracle Pageant that takes place on the Manti Temple grounds for a few weeks every summer. We got there early to get a good seat and settled in for the evening. The Pageant was so good! It had been eleven years since I had seen the pageant. The pageant portrays the coming forth of the Book of Mormon and major stories from the Book of Mormon. I highly recommend it if you need something to do on a hot June night. After the pageant was over, we drove to Richfield, Utah for the night.

Leg #2: On Saturday, my parents and I drove to Bryce Canyon National Park. The first thing we did was watch the video in the Bryce Canyon Visitor’s Center that gave us an overview of the park. Armed with knowledge, we drove to the end of the canyon, Rainbow Point, and worked our way back to the entrance. We walked around Rainbow Point and looked at the vast canyon. We ate lunch at a picnic table there. We stopped at quite a few different areas in the Canyon. It was so beautiful! My favorite stop was called Inspiration Point. The land was so unique! Amazing! The pictures don’t do it justice! You have to see it if you have the opportunity!

The pictures don't do it justice! You HAVE to see it!

Leg #3: From Bryce Canyon, we continued south to St. George. It didn’t take us as long as we thought it would. We attended a family friend’s wedding reception. It was held in a backyard. The backyard was in the shade, but it was still in the high 90s. Apparently the wedding was also held in the backyard earlier that day in the afternoon. I was surprised the bride didn’t melt into a puddle of sweat! It would have been so HOT!! My parents and I love pizza from The Pizza Factory in St George so that was where we headed for dinner. The pizza tasted delicious! I highly recommend it!

On Sunday, my parents and I drove around St. George. It had changed so much since we had first visited 30 years ago! (Of course, we have visited since that time.) We attended church at a random ward house that we happened to come across at the appropriate time of 11 AM. As we sat in the car waiting for the time to go in (because we don’t want to enter too early), we saw a lot of older people entering the church. I mean OLD as in the most common accessory we saw was a walker! We thought maybe we had unknowingly picked a senior citizen ward. Then we saw a younger family pushing a stroller so we figured it was a regular ward and proceeded inside. The speakers were very interesting. Here’s my low down on each of them:

· The first speaker was a really old lady. She had to be over 90 years old! She gave a nice talk about how she met her husband and all the good friends she has had through the years. Her talk was handwritten on paper that looked like it came off a notepad that you get from a hotel. She was very cute! Her talk lasted maybe five minutes.

· The speaker after her was a big, farming guy. He draped himself across the pulpit. (Apparently, he didn’t have enough strength to hold himself up. Thank goodness for the pulpit!) He gave a five minute talk just like the old lady. The talk included horses, cows, and other farm animals. After he finished, he sat down and promptly fell asleep.

·The last speaker had about a half an hour to speak. Amazingly, he filled the entire time! Kudos to him! (When I spoke in church a week ago, I could barely squeak out twelve minutes!)

Leg #4: After church, we headed home. We made the drive from St George to our home in about four hours. We had a blast on Road Trip 2010. We are already planning Road Trip 2011!

5-6-7-8 Nashville 2010

2010-06-18T16:27:00.002-06:00

Ready for some more fun and excitement this year in Nashville. Oh the memories to be made!

My Second Home is Swimming

2010-05-08T11:10:00.011-06:00

This past week was a difficult one for all my Nashville friends. As most of you know, I have spent the past five years performing the Radio City Christmas Spectacular at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. Disaster struck the Opry last weekend which makes me so sad. I feel like Nashville is my second home.

In less than two days, Nashville received over thirteen inches of rain. The rain flowed into rivers and tributaries which quickly overflowed their banks. The rain also broke a levee. The Cumberland River that is VERY close to the Grand Ole Opry crested at over twelve feet above flood stage. The report from the Gaylord Entertainment CEO (that owns the Opry) was the stage was covered by over two feet of water. That means it basically destroyed the orchestra level of seating, the stage, the dressing rooms, and Studio A (where Hee Haw had been taped many years ago). The Opry has a lot of renovation to do before anything performs there. Who knows how long it will take?

As soon as I heard about the rains and the flooding Sunday, I began calling my Nashville friends. By Tuesday morning, I had made contact with all of them and they were doing alright. Most had minimal damage to their homes. They were in the midst of clean up.

Here are some pictures I ripped off the internet to show you the flooding of the Grand Ole Opry.

Inside the Grand Ole Opry

The Grand Ole Opry is the black topped and white topped buildings in the center of the picture. The brown all around them is water.

Again the Grand Ole Opry is the white topped and black topped building in the lower right of the picture. The small building to the left is the Roy Acuff Theatre. The large black and white topped building at the top of the picture is a HUGE outlet mall.

The outside of the Grand Ole Opry

The Grand Ole Opry Stage Door. It looks like the water went up to about the door handle which is probably three feet.

The Guard House where we stopped to check in on our way to the parking lot backstage to the Opry. Where is Kenny going to work now?

The Guard House is on the right in the trees. The road the men are standing on leads to the Guard House. The road on the left is the Briley Parkway we took from our hotel to the Opry. The cement in between is actually a 10 foot wall.

Here's a link to a video showing the damage to the inside of the Opry.
http://www.necn.com/05/08/10/Grand-Ole-Opry-after-the-flood/landing_arts.html?blockID=231159&feedID=4214

The Radio City Christmas Spectacular is expected to return to the Grand Ole Opry this year. I wonder if they will do an underwater Cirque du Soleil version of the Christmas Spectacular?? That should be interesting to see!

My prayers go out to Nashville that they will be able to rebuild an even better Nashville than it already was. The people of Nashville have been the kindest people I have met. They are very giving. I know they have a strong community that will help them get through the lengthy process of rebuilding.

The Singles Cruise

2010-05-02T16:18:00.017-06:00

I swore I would never go on a singles cruise. No matter how old I got I wasn't going to reduce myself to something so lame. Now I have to swallow all those words. My friend called me a few months ago and said she had a friend back out of a singles cruise she was going on. She wanted to know if I wanted to take her spot. Then she added the clincher. I would only have to pay the last payment of $90. I was sold! I guess I can be bought! The whole 5 day cruise including airfare cost me less than $350. What a deal! The singles cruise was less than a week after my Oasis cruise. That week at work was VERY LONG!!

I met up with my roommates at the airport in San Diego, California. I flew Delta and they flew Southwest. Nikki's friend recently moved to San Diego and didn't have a job so we recruited her as our taxi service to and from the airport and cruise port. Thank you Ellie!

My roommates-Nikki, Jenni, and Tonya

We boarded Carnival's ship Elation. This was my first (and will be my last) cruise on Carnival. Our first stop was lunch at the buffet. We ate as if we had never eaten before and would never eat again! Why?? Who knows??

The iconic Carnival Cruise Fin from the Lido Deck

Our first item of business was the Muster Drill. Our station to meet at was at the Jekyll and Hyde Disco. We got there early because we wanted a seat. After they got done talking to us at the station, we walked up a few flights of stairs to the lifeboats. It was like a field trip. One guy apparently didn't want to go on the field trip and ducked into a bathroom. Smart man! We all passed the drill so we were free to do whatever we wanted.

Jenni and Nikki waiting for the Muster Drill

Tonya and I hoping the ship doesn't go down.

After we watched the ship (finally) leave San Diego, we headed back to the room. The girls' luggage showed up so they could do some unpacking.

Nikki and Tonya had an unpacking party. Looks like fun!

After the Muster Drill and unpacking, we attended (late) the first Singles Cruise activity which was a meeting that gave the overview of what was planned for the five days. It was very lame and I left before it finished. When some guy got on the stage wearing a shirt that told girls to kiss him because it was his birthday and multiple girls ran on the stage to do the honors, I got out of there. No thanks!

Here is how a Singles Cruise group works. Two thirds of the group are girls. Therefore, one third is guys. Half of the two thirds of girls are the really fat variety that go around in packs. Whenever you saw them, they were eating. Ice cream cones, pizza, five plates of food on their tray. Poor things are trying to use food to stop the hurt. (Apparently Carnival was warned and they ordered extra food for the week's cruise because they didn't run out.) Now for the guys. The guys were either 22 years old and newly returned missionaries. Or they were in their late forties and fifties looking for the third or fourth wives! No thanks on both counts!

We met our table-mates for the cruise in the Dining Room at dinner. I have to admit I was disappointed that all eight people at our table were of the female gender. What's the point of a Singles Cruise?? They turned out to be pretty fun and I enjoyed getting to know them. It turned out all right in the end.

Our first full day was a day at sea. If you read my previous post, you will know that is my favorite day. This was not my favorite day of this cruise. You will have to read to the end to get that. This day was pretty close. I spent the day laying out in the sun perfecting the tan I had started a few weeks before. I did some more exploration of the small ship which didn't take long. I spent most of the day with Tonya because the other two enjoyed spending A LOT of time in the dungeon (or our cabin). The dungeon (our cabin) was in the lowest possible deck in the middle of the ship. When we were in our room it was pitch dark without the lights on. Plus you could hear the gears and machinery working underneath us that made the ship go. Oh it was so pleasant! The other two girls enjoyed sleeping and watching TV so it was perfect for them.

While Tonya and I were exploring, we came across a very interesting woman. We were introducing ourselves to her and all of a sudden she bursts out, "You're a Little Person!" What do you reply to that? "No duh!" "I didn't know that!" "Oh you caught me!" I was nice to her face and said, "Yup." Then I quickly moved on. Oh the people you meet....

Tonya posing for a picture on one of our explorations.

That night was formal night. It was interesting for all four of us to get ready with one electrical outlet between us. One outlet, not one outlet that had two plugs. Good thing we didn't blow a fuse!

Tonya and me at dinner

Lobster night is my favorite night!

After dinner was a dance for the people in the singles group. It was like a stake dance for teenagers! This guy who was obviously mentally handicapped started talking to me. I felt bad for him so I talked to him and danced with him once. Then I made my escape which really wasn't that difficult. I saw him a few days later and effectively blew him off. Phew! That will teach me to be nice!

Another story that happened at the dance. I was dancing with the girls and this lady comes up to me and Jenni and asks Jenni if I am hers. We looked at her as if she was the craziest person we had met because she was. We just ignored her and continued dancing. The lady was stupid enough to ask Jenni again. Once again we gave her a look as if she were crazy and stupid because she was. We just ignored her again and she finally gave up. Now if there had been alcohol served at this dance, we could just give her the excuse she was drunk. But this was an alcohol free event so she was just STUPID! No other excuse for her.

The next day we woke up and we were at Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The girls got up early because they had dates with some dolphins. :) They had a fabulous time swimming with the dolphins. They have many pictures that they paid a pretty price for. I enjoyed my peace and quiet by exercising in the Fitness Center, having a leisurely breakfast, and then laying out. They found me (dang it!) soon after they returned so we had lunch together. They told me all about their fun morning.

Cabo San Lucas

I didn't get off the ship that day. I have been to Cabo San Lucas years ago and didn't find it particularly worth the effort to get to shore. The ship was parked out in the bay and if I wanted to go to shore, I would have to ride the tender. Too much work! The ship left Cabo San Lucas around 5:30 PM and parked it farther out for the night so they could open their shops and the casino.

We went to karaoke a few nights. It reminded me why I don't go to karaoke. Most of the people that sung karaoke were HORRIBLE!! I'm adding this to the list of what they should do to prisoners in jail! Have karaoke night every night and make everyone participate! I kept asking the girls around me, "Do you think they think they sound good?! Because they don't!" It was pure torture! After the second night, I swore off karaoke...for the rest of my life!

The following day we woke up back in Cabo. I decided to make the journey to go to shore. Tonya and I just caught the tender and headed to land. We did some shopping at the pier. The locals enjoyed touching my head. (Luckily I was wearing a hat!) After a few of these experiences and about an hour of time had gone by, I decided I had had enough of Cabo. I got back on the tender and headed back to the cruise ship. On the way back, our tender stopped for a little while so we could watch a sea lion play in the bay. It was cute!

The Sea Lion

Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas

Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas was in port the second day we were in Cabo. (I went on the Mariner a few years ago. It's an amazing ship!) I wanted so badly to get in their line and take the tender to the Mariner. I wanted to jump ship! Too bad my Fun Pass wouldn't work for Royal Caribbean. :(

Carnival's Elation

Our last day was a day at sea. That was my favorite day on the cruise. I got up early before the other girls got up. I exercised in the Fitness Center. The ship was really rocking and rolling that day. I felt like I was climbing up and down hills the whole time on the treadmill. When I returned to the room, the girls had left for breakfast. I quickly got what I needed and made myself scarce the rest of the day. It was really windy on the Lido Deck which made it too cold to lay out. I found the Adults Only area in the back of the ship. It was shielded from the wind so I laid out there most of the day. When I went back to the room to shower and change into some real clothes, the girls were not there! I quickly took care of that, grabbed my book, and found a nice hidden place to read. It was a perfect day! It was all about me! I met up with the girls at dinner and asked them about their day. I really like just doing my own thing!

The next day we got off the ship and traveled home. I got everything I wanted out of the trip which was to just be lazy and enjoy some warm weather. It was well worth the $350 I paid. As for Carnival, I just kept reminding myself I get what I paid for. I am such a Royal Caribbean snob!

Tonya and Jenni waiting to get off the ship. Cruising is so tiring!

I have no idea who this woman is. I came across her path a few times during the cruise. I just thought her hairstyle was worthy of a picture (I actually took two each on different days) and a mention in my blog. Her hair is all short and then on the right side she has this weird little ponytail sticking out. Very Interesting! I wonder how she came up with the concept of this hairstyle and what her hairstylist thinks about it.

This picture was taken in the Fitness Center. The sign on the mirror says, "Please do not use handrail for stretching". Then what do you use it for?! Why did they waste money on installing a handrail if you are not allowed to touch it?! I don't get it!

Oasis of the Seas

2010-05-01T21:34:00.027-06:00

The travel log you have been patiently waiting for is here. Here are the highlights of the Oasis of the Seas cruise to the Eastern Caribbean with stops at Nassau, Bahamas; Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas; and Philipsburg, St Martin. We had absolutely gorgeous weather the whole time. It rained for a brief moment while we were on a bus tour in St Martin so we didn't care. Grab your flip flops, sunscreen, and sunglasses because we are headed to the Caribbean!

The family met up in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The boarding process went so smoothly! We didn't have to wait in any lines. I wondered where the other 6,000 passengers were?? (Something I kept asking myself all week.) We posed for our embarkation photo, put our Sea Pass card in the Ding slot, and walked up the ramp to the Oasis of the Seas. We step onto the ship and what do we see? The gorgeous Promenade. We all kind of stand there in awe. We probably looked like first time cruisers, but we weren't! Our first destination was the Boardwalk Neighborhood. We decided to ride the carousel since there was no line. Mom, Chris, Allen, and I got the carousel all to ourselves. Dad was the photographer.

Mom, Chris, and Allen

Me, Chris, and Allen's head replaced by a giraffe (Sorry!)

Our next destination was the Windjammer Marketplace for some lunch. We sure worked up an appetite on the carousel!

Chris, Allen, Me, Mom, and Dad

After we fed our stomachs and got back our strength, our next task was to find our cabins. Chris and Allen's cabin was in the Central Park Neighborhood while mine and my parents' cabin was in the Boardwalk Neighborhood.

Chris, Me, Allen, and Dad on Chris and Allen's balcony

The View from my balcony

We did a lot of exploring! We watched the Welcome Aboard Show in the Opal Theatre. Mom and I sat on our balcony and watched the swimming and diving show at the Aqua Theatre. It was amazing!

Our first port was Nassau, Bahamas. It happened to be a Sunday. What do we do on Sunday? We go to church, of course. Mom and I were the only ones to brave the 20 minute drive to go a few miles to church. It was a cute branch! We met the elders, one from New Mexico and the other from North Carolina. The guy giving a talk taught us that if we don't feed God's sheep on God's time then somebody else will feed the sheep. We met some people visiting from a different cruise ship that was in port. We all rode back from church to the port together. Our taxi driver, DeeDee, was very talkative. She told us her whole life story and the story of Nassau. It was great!

Me in front of church

The beautiful Oasis of the Seas

The Oasis is HUGE

The beautiful Promenade in the evening

After dinner, I had some time to kill before the show. I decided to do some reading in the library because Dad had already gone to bed in our cabin. I went in the door that I thought was the library. As soon as I walked in, I realized it wasn’t because there were quite a few people there and there was music playing. I realized I was in the Concierge Lounge. (The Concierge Lounge was only for people staying in the suites.) I hurried to turn around and get out, but the door locked behind me. I was locked in. Before I found the button that unlocked the door located on a desk nearby, I was spotted by a crew member. They asked me what room I was staying in. I told them I walked into the wrong room and I was trying to leave. They asked me again. I told them I was just staying on Deck 10 and I wasn’t supposed to be there. Then the guy walked me to the computer, looked up my room and then handed me keys to the Concierge Lounge. He told me he wasn’t supposed to do that but he liked me. He said I could come in anytime I wanted as well as the other people in my cabin. I thanked him and got out of there as fast as I could. I never used the key. The library was next to the Concierge Lounge.

Mom and I watched the musical Hairspray in the Opal Theatre. It was great! I like that musical.

The next day was a day at sea. Those are my favorite days on a cruise. All day with no place to go. I found a lounge chair in the sun near the Sports Court and read most of the day. Lovely! A perfect day to watch the sunset.

Watching the sunset is tiring

Allen, Me, and Chris

My family watched the ice show Frozen in Time in the ice rink. It was awesome! It was definitely the best ice show I had seen (on land and on a cruise ship)! They did some amazing jumps and choreography.

The full moon shining down on Central Park

The next day we were docked in St Thomas. This was basically my view of St Thomas. I didn't see much else on land because I didn't get off the ship. I spent the day in some prime lounge chair real estate! It was great!

The view of St Thomas from my lounge chair

Mom and Dad feeling the love

The family in front of a beautiful piece of art in front of the casino

The show that evening was an a capella group called Mosaic. They were amazing! They made all the instrument noises with their own voices. I really enjoyed the show.

The following day the ship was docked at St Martin with about seven other cruise ships. It made for A LOT of people in St Martin. Chris, Allen, and I took a city tour. Part of the tour was going on a boat that took us out to a reef and we could see under the water. It was fine for about five minutes. After that, it was a test of my will to not throw up! I won! No throw up! I was so glad when they let us go back up in the fresh air.

The back of the Oasis of the Seas

The other side, the Aqua Theatre as we left St Martin (in the background)

The family watched the diving and synchronized swimming show called Oasis of Dreams in the Aqua Theatre. (Mom and I had watched it a few times from the balcony.) It was even better sitting in the theatre! I loved it! The depth of the diving pool changed. Swimmers came from the bottom of the pool and disappeared the same way! Awesome!

What to do at night? Ride the Rising Tide Bar

The Rising Tide Bar was like a huge elevator that went from the Central Park Neighborhood on Deck 8 to the Promenade on Deck 5. It was a bar so you could drink away as you rode from place to place. It was fun to ride.

The next two days were days at sea. Love it! I mostly spent the time working on my tan which turned out quite nicely. Chris and I were going to climb the rock wall but we didn't want to wait in line.

The Dare Devil Mom going on the zip line. She loved it!

We look hot! We can't help it!

Another formal picture taken in front of the Champagne Bar

Our awesome assistant waiter Dwayne and waiter Richard

Another picture of the Boardwalk Neighborhood

Mom in front of the carousel

The last show we saw in the Opal Theatre was Come Fly with Me. It was another amazing show! It had a lot of acrobatics in it. I was amazed that first of all they could even get their bodies to do some of that stuff and second of all they were doing it on a cruise ship!

Two places I visited every day on the ship are as follows. The first place I visited was the Vitality Fitness Center. I spent my quality time on the treadmill each day. The second place I visited was the Cafe Promenade to get a HUGE piece of Cinnamon Crunch Cake. See how the two places went hand in hand? It was the cause and effect. Even though I visited the treadmill each day I still came home with a few more pounds than I started with. At no extra charge! What a deal!!

I absolutely LOVED my vacation on the Oasis of the Seas. I highly recommend it! It was great to spend a week with my brother and Allen as I only get to see them once a year.

Good-Looking Family

2010-04-21T21:31:00.002-06:00

This picture was taken on our cruise earlier this month. This is the best-looking family you will find on the web. Too bad you're not in it.

Merlin Olsen: Truly A Gentle Giant

2010-03-14T19:35:00.004-06:00

The organizers of the 2002 Olympic Torch Relay definitely had a sense of humor as they placed the order of the Torch Bearers. They decided to have the tallest Torch Bearer give the flame to the shortest Torch Bearer. That is how my life was touched by this great man that passed away last week. Merlin Olsen was the nicest guy. He was very humble and grateful for the opportunity to carry the Olympic Torch. Click here to learn more about Merlin Olsen.

Believe in Steven!

2010-02-16T21:48:00.002-07:00

My friend Steven Nyman competed in the Downhill Competition yesterday at the Olympics. He got 20th Place!! That's awesome! Way to go Steven!!

Happy Olympics Opening Ceremony Day

2010-02-11T21:57:00.000-07:00

Back in 2002 I had the opportunity of a lifetime; I was chosen to carry the Olympic Torch in Salt Lake City, Utah on the day of the Opening Ceremonies. I can't believe it's been eight years since then. Enjoy the Opening Ceremony of the Vancouver Olympics. Go Team USA!! (Especially Steven Nyman in the Downhill! He remembers this day because he was there!)

Bruce is Packing Heat

2009-12-22T11:22:00.002-07:00

All right? Who gave Bruce a gun? Company Management. Boy, will they regret that move! I enjoyed shooting anything and everything that the suction cups would stick to. Merry Christmas!

A Tale of Two Cookies

2009-12-22T11:01:00.003-07:00

You have been waiting all season for my cooking disasters. I didn't want to disappoint so it happened Saturday night.

When I got home from the theatre after doing 4 shows, all I wanted was a cookie so I tried a cooking experiment. You know this is going to end poorly. I wanted to see if I could make a cookie in the microwave because our hotel rooms don’t have ovens. I took some cookie dough I had in the fridge and put it on a plate. I put the plate in the microwave and set it to cook for five minutes. I figured that was safe since it takes about 10-12 minutes in the oven to bake a cookie. After two minutes, I looked up and there was smoke billowing out of the microwave. I was like, “Oh crap!” I grabbed the handle and yanked open the door. More smoke came billowing out. Then I thought, “I hope the smoke alarm doesn’t go off!” It was past 10:15 PM and the other hotel guests would not be very happy with me. I opened the hotel door to the hallway and fanned the smoke out there. It was VERY smoky! My room stunk so badly! Of course, a member of the cast went past my room while I was airing it out. He asked me what happened so I told him the story. He just laughed at me and suggested I open a window. I don't know why I didn't think of that! I tried to open the window after he left but the windows were sealed. I guess the hotel didn't want the liability of someone falling out the third floor windows. After a few more hours of the door open the following morning, the smell finally left the room. Life lesson learned: Do NOT try to bake a cookie in the microwave. Heed the warnings on the label.

If I would have waited just one more night, I would have all the baked cookies I had wanted. Company Management organized a cookie decorating party at the hotel after our shows on Sunday. I rolled out some dough; I used cookie cutters in the shapes of a candy cane, gingerbread man, reindeer, bell, and snowman; and then I decorated the cookies once they came out of the oven with frosting and sprinkles.

Me, Leann, Pancho, and Alice

O Christmas Tree

2009-12-16T10:57:00.003-07:00

Here is the Charlie Brown Christmas Tree in our dressing room. We are trying to do a whole Charle Brown Christmas theme in the dressing room. One of the stage hands made this sad little tree for us. Since I don't do anything but make inappropriate comments during the first act, I was given the awesome responsibility of decorating this beauty. Ta-da! There you have it! All of my hard work during the first act. That is pretty much the extent of my Christmas decorating this year. I do have a very small stocking hanging under my TV here in my hotel room. I'm hoping Santa will slip a big fat check into it on Christmas Eve! I have been a very good girl this year. Okay, so I've TRIED to be a very good girl this year. It's always nice to have good intentions.

Mrs McGavock Is Having Some Fun

2009-12-15T11:54:00.005-07:00

Mrs. McGavock owns the property where the Grand Ole Opry was built. She has been dead for quite a while but apparently she wasn't too happy with the building of the Opry. The legends at the Opry says that she has been known to cause problems at the Theatre. I believe she has quite a bit of fun with us from time to time. Whenever something goes a little crazy at the Opry, we always blame Mrs. McGavock.

A few weeks ago, the funniest thing happened while I was on stage. My fellow elf, Pancho, and I were flinging porridge at one another during the workshop scene. He flings porridge at me. I react and wipe it off. Then I fling porridge at him. He reacts by putting his head back and wiping off the porridge. When Pancho put his head back, his hat fell off. He was the only elf whose wig is not attached to his hat. His hat fell backwards and his wig fell forward. He exclaimed, “Oh sh**!” Luckily our microphones were turned off. He was sitting on the stage with all the lights shining on him with just his wig cap on his head. I saw the whole thing happen and was laughing my head off! He hurried to grab his hat and put it back on. He thought he fixed everything. Then he looked down in his lap and saw his wig! He didn’t have a pocket so he just stuffed the wig up his vest where he kept it until the number was over. After the elves all got off stage, we laughed and laughed! It was the funniest thing I had ever witnessed on stage! Funny Mrs. McGavock! Here is Pancho messing around with his wig. He really doesn't have a mohawk. (At least, he shouldn't!)

The other crazy thing that happened occurred a few weeks later. We call this the Great Hold of 2009. The second show was going well. We were all looking forward to getting out of the theater an hour earlier than usual because the show started at 7 PM instead of 8 PM. After the Nutcracker scene in the first act, the show stopped. They put the curtain down and told everyone to wait. Backstage they told us they had stopped the show because they were having lighting issues. They were going to try to fix it and continue with the show. In the dressing room, Leann, Mike, Laura, and I played Phase 10. We played for quite a while. Some of us even got to Phase 5. After almost an hour, the show finally resumed. The first two numbers were done with work lights which was just white lights shining down from the ceiling. The spotlights were also working. The show looked really bad! I felt bad for those people that paid so much to see it! We had a ten minute intermission instead of fifteen minutes. The lighting looked a lot better after intermission but not all the lights were working. Our scene probably looked okay. It was good for me because I could see all the way into the house because the really bright lights weren’t working. I could see the audience in the balcony. It was nice for a change but I was grateful they fixed the lights during our day off. During the Great Hold of 2009, the Rockettes were in their soldier pants waiting for the show to resume. These pants are starched HEAVILY so they couldn't sit down. Here's a picture of one of them waiting and waiting and waiting...

Bugs in the Nativity?

2009-12-15T11:39:00.003-07:00

I attended the Methodist's Children's Christmas Pageant last week. Here is a little snapshot of the cute kids in their costumes. As you can see, there were shepherds and the three kings. There were also angels. They were the normal characters you would find at a nativity. Then the young children (around 2-3 years old) entered the room. They were dressed as various insects and animals. There were caterpillars, lady bugs, cats, birds, dogs, zebras, lions, tigers, alligators, turtles, etc. Who knew that all those animals were in the stable at the time of Jesus' birth? It must have been VERY crowded. (I think they also use these costumes when they portray Noah and the ark. They have dual purpose.) It was a very cute (and thankfully short) program. They sang tunes such as Mary Had A Little Lamb, The Itsy Bitsy Spider, and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star with the words changed to fit the occasion. Then they ended with a rendition of Happy Birthday to You for Jesus. It was a fun evening and only a handful of kids had to be hauled off by their parents because it was such a traumatic experience for them. Oh yeah, and the back drop only threatened to fall on the children one time. With everyone saying Oh!, it pushed the cardboard back up to its proper position.