San Antonio

Before I headed off to be an actress again, my family met up in San Antonio, TX for a family vacation. I was the only person in the family who had never been to San Antonio. I had a blast with the fam. Here are some pictures to show you what we did.

My parents and I got in to San Antonio a day before Chris and Allen showed up. We took advantage of the extra time and did an endowment session in the San Antonio Temple. It was so beautiful inside. We just barely made it to the temple in time for the reservation we had made.

Chris and Allen showed up the next day and we headed downtown as soon as they got in. Our first stop was the Alamo. Now the Alamo is in the weirdest spot ever, right in the middle of downtown. You don't even know you are there until you are halfway passed the building! Even after walking through the building and reading parts of all the displays, I still had no idea what was so significant about the Alamo. My friend had to send me a text about it for me to understand. As I understand it, the Alamo is a place to remember that a bunch of white guys didn't understand military strategy so they got killed. (Or something like that.) I think that's why everyone in Texas wears a gun. (Did anyone see Miss Congeniality?)

Then we walked along the Riverwalk. We stopped at a delicious Mexican restaurant along our walk. We rode the boat that took us around the Riverwalk while the boat driver told us information about the area. Then we went up the Space Needle Look Alike Structure. I think it was called the Tower of the Americas.

The following day we went to Market Square in downtown San Antonio. I bought some postcards that cost less than the postage to send them. Otherwise I felt like we had just gotten off a cruise ship in some port with the locals selling their crafts.

Then we headed off to Six Flags for an afternoon of fun and excitement. I was able to sneak on one roller coaster that I really wasn't tall enough to ride. But I was called out on another roller coaster I was trying to get on. Oh well! It was fun! Chris and my mom were able to ride roller coasters til their hearts were content. The rest of us enjoyed (?) waiting for them. After getting my necessary churro, we got in the car and headed back to the hotel. We ate dinner at this weird restaurant that reminded me of Casa Bonita's in Denver, CO. It was AUTHENTIC Tex-Mex food. It was delicious! Too bad I don't remember what it was called. Maybe it was called Mamacita's or something like that.

Sunday we just relaxed all morning and then went to the airport. That is where the fun began! Delta needed people to bump off mine and my parents flight. Since all I had to do was pack for the next two months of my life the next day, Mom and I decided to be bumped. We sent Dad home with most of the luggage and wheelchair. We sent Chris and Allen home to Orlando. Mom and I were given $400 in Delta money (NYC here I come!) and rebooked on a flight for the following day. We loaded up on food from the airport with our free meal vouchers. Then we took the free shuttle to the free Drury Hotel where we got a free upgrade to a suite. Man, oh man, was it sweet! We checked our email on the free computers. I ate free popcorn while we waited for the free dinner to begin. We ate the free food from the airport and the hotel for dinner. We watched TV and went to bed.

We woke up early the next morning and rode the free shuttle back to the airport. We flew to Atlanta, GA. That was the error in this excellent plan. I have the worst experiences in the Atlanta airport. Our flight from Atlanta to Salt Lake City was delayed nearly three hours. We walked the airport, read, called people, etc, to pass the time. Finally we were going to board the plane when they decided it was broken. Every passenger then had to go to a completely different terminal to get on a different plane. The good part was we were upgraded for (you guessed it) FREE to first class! Now that was NICE! We were treated like royalty. (Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration; We were treated better than steerage!) Another surprise occurred after we had boarded the plane: Elder David Bednar, an Apostle, and his wife flew with us in First Class. All the FREE stuff definitely outweighed the inconveniences we endured and I would totally do it again.

Wonderful Wicked Weekend

I had a Wonderful Wicked Weekend with great friends in Los Angeles, CA a few weeks ago. Gwen, Ellie, Krista, and I set out for an adventure on Saturday morning. Gwen's wonderful husband Michael drove us to the airport. Our flight to Los Angeles, CA was delayed for about 20 minutes because our flight crew was lost. The story seemed to change about where they were every time an announcement was made. After a few trips to the restroom, the gift shop, Cinnabon, etc, we were finally allowed to board the plane. Once we got on the plane, the flight went by quickly. Our first stop was once again the restroom when we got into the airport. Then our next business was to pick up our rental car. The rental car agency tried to pull a few fast ones on us, but being the seasoned travels we (I) were (was), we got what we wanted. They tried to give us a minivan when we had requested one of those small fuel-efficient cars. I wasn’t having any of that! I went to a worker and told them we wanted a smaller car that was more fuel efficient. Be careful what you ask for! We ended up with a Dodge Caliber with power-nothing! We had to manually roll the window up and down and lock and unlock the doors. It was ghetto but it was great on gas! There were quite a few times we forgot to lock some of the doors so we were always asking, "Did you lock the door?" Gwen was in charge of driving so we always sent her ahead of us to unlock the doors so that by the time the rest of us got to the car, we could just open the door and get in.

We checked into the Marriott Springhill Suites near Manhattan Beach. We had a nice big room with two beds and a sofa sleeper. We bought sandwiches from Subway and drove to Manhattan Beach. We had a difficult time finding a parking space because there was a volleyball competition going on at the beach. Eventually we found a place to park and hiked down a hill with our sandwiches to the beach. We sat in the sun and sand and ate our sandwiches. We put our feet in the water. The water was a little cool. A few waves caught a few of us (me and Krista) unawares and got more than our feet wet. We took some pictures on the beach. We watched dolphins play in the surf. We watched a few surfers try to get up on the waves. We watched these very peculiar large birds dive into the water. Then they would bob to the surface and ride the waves for a bit. Then they would fly away. We had never seen anything like it. We also watched a real lifeguard rescue too. A girl was getting sucked out from an under tow so two lifeguards dove into the water and saved her. It wasn’t exactly Baywatch but it kept our attention. We hiked back up the hill to our car. We drove back to the hotel and got ready for the evening.

We drove to Hollywood, CA. We drove past the Chinese Theatre and Kodak Theatre. We met my friend Matt at Sharky’s for dinner. I enjoyed talking with Matt. Unfortunately we probably bored the girls with our Radio City stories and news.

After dinner, we all drove to the Pantages Theatre and saw the musical Wicked. We had the BEST seats. We were on the front row of the mezzanine on the right side. There was no one’s head to try to dodge. It was great! My favorite Fiyero (Derrick Williams) and Madame Morrible (Carol Kane) were in that performance. I loved it! (It was my fifteenth time to see the show. I don’t think it will ever get old. I know I have a problem and I am looking into getting professional help!) Ellie, Krista, Gwen, and I waited outside the stage door for a little while for the actors to come out. (Matt had to hurry home because he had to work the next morning.) The only actors we saw were Nessa Rose, Doctor Dillamond, and Boq. They signed my playbill.

I even had the privilege of signing autographs at the stage door. Now that was an interesting experience. We were talking at the stage door waiting for some actors to come out. All of a sudden the smell of alcohol fills our area followed by a very drunk woman. I thought, “Oh great!”. She tells me that I am the most beautiful person she has met and that I should be in the movies. I thought, “Whatever drunk lady!”, but I just kept smiling politely. She then asked me to sign her Wicked program, the one you have to pay $20 for. I told her that I would not sign it. She kept pestering me and I kept telling her no. She asked me why I wouldn’t sign it. I told her that I wasn’t in the show so I shouldn’t sign her book. Finally I took her pen and tried to sign my name. Her pen didn’t work. Too bad! I told her I didn’t have a pen and my friends all shrugged their shoulders. The “kind” lady next to us saved the day and supplied us with a pen that worked. Darn her! I scribbled my name and gave back the program and pen. She said, “That’s not your signature. That’s just a bunch of scribbles.” I said, “Nope, that’s my signature.” She asked me my name. I told her (since she probably wouldn’t remember the next morning when she woke up with a horrible hangover) and pointed to the signature. Then she started talking to someone else and walked away. Thank goodness!

After that experience, we decided to go back to the safety of our ghetto car. On our way back to the hotel, we searched for some dessert. You can’t go to the theater without having dessert afterwards. All the Coldstones and Baskin Robbins that we came across were closed. We settled for a Ralph’s grocery store in a scary part of town. We bought some pints of ice cream and ate it all the way back to the hotel. We got to bed around 1 AM.

Unfortunately none of us checked to see if the alarm clock in the hotel room was set to go off so we had an early wake-up call at 6:05 AM. I managed to turn off the alarm without turning the light on. I rolled over and went back to sleep until 8:30 AM.

We drove to the Ahmanson Theatre in downtown Los Angeles. We took some pictures in front of a fountain on the theatre complex. It was a beautiful day in LA. We saw 9 to 5 The Musical. Matt met us at the theatre just before it started. Matt and I both wanted to see it because Stephanie J Block was performing in it. She is only the MOST AMAZING Broadway star we had seen! 9 to 5 was pretty fun! Stephanie did not let us down! She did an AMAZING job! Her song in the second act was a show stopper! The thing I love about Stephanie is that she doesn’t need an ensemble or any set pieces to accentuate her singing. All she needs is an orchestra and a stage. Anything else distracts from her performance. I loved it!

Ellie, Krista, Gwen, and I had to leave right after the show ended before the bows in order to get to the airport to catch our flight home. I gave Matt a big hug before we left. We made a wrong turn from the theatre to the airport which cost us about twenty minutes. We put gas in the car and returned it. Then the rental car shuttle took us to the airport. We boarded our airplane and headed home. It was a fun, quick weekend to LA but I had a blast!

Since Wicked is closing in LA around January, next year's Wonderful Wicked Weekend will be held in October in Denver. Let me know if you want to come along!

Here are some pictures from our trip.

Gwen, Me, Krista, Ellie at the Beach

Me and Matt after Wicked (I don't know why we have the sack?? We were the only two in our group who didn't buy anything!)

Gwen, Me, Ellie, Krista on the Plaza outside of the Ahmanson Theatre

The Annual New York City Trip

The Annual New York City Trip actually took place Wednesday July 23rd through Sunday July 27th BEFORE my car accident. I have just been so busy I haven't had time to post about it. So here is the exciting travel log. I didn't take any pictures except for two night shots of the Empire and Chrysler buildings. Sorry!

Wednesday: Mom and I finally landed in Newark, NJ after doing circles around Connecticut for what seemed like hours! My aunt Caren (my mom's sister) picked us up from the airport. We drove into New York City or "home" as I like to call it. We ate dinner at The Redeye, also known as the Dancing Shrimp Restaurant. The food tasted delicious! Mom, Caren, and I saw the musical Damn Yankees at the New York City Center starring Sean Hayes (from Will and Grace) and Jane Krakowski (from 30 Rock and Ally McBeal). I loved the musical! Sean and Jane did a wonderful job. Sean even cracked himself up. It was great! I was so glad I was able to see it. It was pouring rain with lightening and thunder outside as we left the theater and drove to Caren’s condo in West New York, NJ where we spent the night.

Thursday: Mom and I got up around 7 AM which is way too early on vacation. We rode the Jitny (a small shuttle-like bus) into New York City. It let us off on 42nd Street near Broadway. We walked in the rain to the subway station and bought a MetroCard. We got on the subway and rode it to Lincoln Center. Mom and I were quite subway-savvy. We attended an endowment session at the Manhattan Temple. Most of the people in our session were on vacation from Utah. Go figure! I love the stark contrast of peace and quiet found in the Temple and the hustle and bustle of city life on the streets below. By the time we came out after the session, the clouds had dissipated leaving blue sky and sunshine for us to enjoy. We got back on the subway and rode it to 51st St and Broadway. We tried to find Ray’s Pizza but didn’t have any luck. We ate lunch at Ellen’s Stardust Diner. I was so embarrassed to be in there. The servers not only served food but also sang. Some of the singing was okay but I just wanted to leave! We walked to the Holiday Inn Express near 5th Avenue. We checked into our room and rested for a little while. Mom and I walked around 5th Avenue and then back to the Gershwin Theatre and met up with my friend Jenny after she got off work. (Jenny lives in New York City.) We walked to a Mexican restaurant on 51st St. We all got chicken burritos, and they tasted delicious! I enjoyed catching up with Jenny and spending a little while with her. Mom, Caren, and I walked to the Gershwin Theatre where we saw Wicked. Mom and I had front row seats on opposite sides of the theatre. Caren sat behind me one row. I loved sitting that close. I enjoyed seeing the facial expressions and the detail on the costumes. The seat I was sitting in had a very limited view. Good thing I had seen it thirteen times already! I absolutely LOVED Wicked! I don’t think I will ever get tired of seeing it. The storyline, music, characters, etc just thrill me. When the lights go down and the first note is played, I squeal with joy. My favorite Glinda was in this cast, Kendra Kassebaum. I had seen Kendra quite a few times and loved her performances! After the show was over, I waited at the stage door for Kendra but she had already left by the time I got there. Darn it! I really wanted to meet her and tell her what an amazing performance she gave and how much I enjoyed her performance.

Friday: Mom and I slept in until 9 AM. That's more like it! Mom and I walked to the subway station near Bryant Park. We rode the subway to the South Sea Port. The subway ride involved a transfer. There were a few locals that helped us get on the right subway at the transfer station. They were really nice! We got to the South Sea Port without any detours! We were subway-smart! We went to the TKTS at the South Sea Port. I didn’t like the selection they had so I refused to get a ticket for that evening’s show. We walked through the financial district to Century 21. I bought a few things. We rode the subway back to Bryant Park. We made the transfer without any problems. We went to the TKTS at the Marriott Marquis to buy tickets for that evening’s performances. I bought a ticket to see Mary Poppins and Mom bought a ticket to see a revival of Gypsy. We finally found Ray’s Pizza for a late lunch, early dinner. I ate a slice of mushroom and spinach pizza with white sauce. The slice was HUGE!! Mom and I should have shared a slice. I ate the whole thing! I shouldn’t have, but I did! It tasted delicious! I didn’t feel comfortable again for a few hours after I ate. Oh well, it was worth it! Mom walked me to the New Amsterdam Theatre where Mary Poppins was playing. Then Mom walked over a block to the theatre where Gypsy was playing. I was one of the first few people in the theatre. I found my seat and read the Playbill. The guy sitting next to me also came to see the show alone. He was a college student from Korea. He was in America as a foreign student for a semester. I enjoyed getting to know him. Mary Poppins was amazing! I loved it even better the second time than I did the first time. (I kind of fell asleep the first time I saw it!) I had to see it again and I was so glad I did! After the show ended, I text Mom to let her know I was out and walked to Coldstone Creamery. It was down a little ways and across the street from the theater. By the time I got to the front of the line (it was really busy!), Mom had gotten out of her theater and walked over to Coldstone. We bought some ice cream for our after-theater treat. (The after-theater treat is required when seeing any theatrical performance!)

Saturday: Caren, Mom, and I walked to the Gershwin Theatre. We attended Behind the Emerald Curtain. We saw a lot of the costumes used in Wicked. We also saw the masks, wigs, and props. Two of the performers in Wicked told us about the show. They told us how they got to be in the show and then the process of the making of the show. I really enjoyed it! They showed a video about the behind the scenes of Wicked. I had a blast! Here are some pictures of some of the costumes.

Elphaba's dress from the Second Act

Glinda's "bubble" dress

We walked to TKTS and bought tickets to the play 39 Steps. We ate lunch at Virgil’s. We shared an order of barbecue chicken wings and train wreck fries and banana pudding for dessert! I love their banana pudding because they put nilla wafers in it. YUM! We walked to the theatre where 39 Steps was playing. It was a play without any singing or dancing. I hate to admit it, but I fell asleep. I was so tired! It was dark and there was air-conditioning. Not a good combination to try to stay awake in. I didn’t really get what the 39 steps were to?! Maybe I should have stayed awake! We went to the New York Public Library on 5th Avenue. I always wanted to go in there because it was such an old iconic building. We looked at a photography exhibit. Mom and I went to look at a few books in the library just to make sure it was legit. We bought cupcakes for dinner from The Little Pie Company in the food court of Grand Central Station. I LOVED Grand Central Station! It was one of my most favorite places in New York City outside of the theater district. We walked to Bryant Park and sat for awhile. We ate our cupcakes in the park. YUM! We enjoyed watching people. We walked back to Broadway and saw the musical The Little Mermaid. It was really cute! By the end of the performance, Caren ended up sitting fifth row center! I loved the music and costumes. It was great! Disney and Broadway is an awesome combination! I was glad to end off my theater experience with a splash! We drove to Caren’s home in West New York, NJ where we spent the night.

Sunday: We hung out at Caren’s house most of the day. Caren drove us to the Newark airport and Mom and I flew home.

That was the annual New York City trip. I had such a wonderful time. I love being in the city because I feel an energy there I don't feel anywhere else!

Demolition Derby

Last Tuesday started out just like any other day. I got up at 5 AM, exercised for an hour and a half, got ready for work, and ate breakfast. I got in my car and began my 25 minute journey for work. That is where the "regular day" ended.

As I was approaching 3900 South on Wasatch Blvd, the light was red. I slowed down and got in the right lane like a good, courteous driver does. Before I got to the intersection, the light changed to green. The car in front of me accelerated and went through the intersection. I was following them and then all of a sudden there was a truck in front of me in the intersection heading east on 3900 South and my car crashed into his truck. The only thought that went through my mind right before the accident was, "I'm not going to stop in time." After the accident, my first thought was, "Ouch, my neck hurts."

I tried to move my car out of the intersection, but that was all in vain. The car was totally immobile. A witness came up to me and asked if I was hurt. I said, "My neck hurts." She told me not to move. Then the driver of the truck I hit came over to me. He asked me, "What happened? I was reaching for my mug." I told him, "You ran a red light and I hit you." He said, "Oh" and walked away to the curb. The witnesses told me later that he told them he was talking on his cell phone, his mug had spilled over, and he was reaching for his mug when he ran the red light and I hit him. Smoke was coming from where my airbag went out on the passenger side (which I guess is normal) but the witness thought I should get out of the car.

My coworker, Jenn, was in a Hummer behind me. She saw the whole accident and stayed with me through the whole ordeal. She also drove me to work after it was all over.

Two police vehicles, an ambulance, and a fire truck showed up at the scene of the accident. I gave the police my information and just stood there on the sidewalk. The witnesses filled out their witness papers. I think the police talked to the guy in the truck more than me. The fire fighter checked me out (not in the way that a girl wants to be checked out) and told me they advise me to go to the hospital. I told them no and then signed away my right to sue them if I found out later that I should have gone to the hospital. The ambulance and fire truck left.

I had to figure out where to tow poor Sammy (my car). I decided to send her to a nearby body repair shop but I had no hope she would be repaired. She was totalled. After 13 years together, I felt horrible how our relationship ended. She had been so good to me through the years. She was very reliable and dependable. I will sure miss her.

The police came over to me, gave me the guys information, and told me he was cited for the accident and for NOT having insurance. Now that is the news every person involved in an accident that isn't their fault wants to hear.

I cleaned out most of my stuff from Sammy. Loaded up my sacks of car stuff into my coworker's Hummer and proceeded to work. Everyone at work knew what had happened. Jenn had the presence of mind to tell them we would be late. Everyone felt so bad for me.

As the day progressed, the pain in my neck, shoulders, and back got worse. I ended up leaving work an hour early and having my mom take me to the Urgent Care. After four x-rays and more touching than I care to have from strangers, it was decided that I didn't have any broken bones. I had just pulled the muscles and ligaments in my neck, shoulders, and upper back. I didn't even get any prescriptions for pain medicine or a muscle relaxer.

I went home and rested. About five days later, I continue to be on the mend. I am really stiff when I wake up in the morning. By mid-morning, I feel great. Then I get a pain under my left shoulder blade in the evening. I also got one bruise on my left arm (but I'm not really sure if that is from the accident).

If the accident would have happened one second later, the truck would have plowed into my driver's side. He would have totally taken me out. He wasn't even breaking when the accident happened. He was accelerating. One second seemed to be the difference between minor injuries and major injuries or worse. I am grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who spared me from a lot of pain and suffering.

Here are some pictures my mom took of my car at the body shop as she cleaned out the rest of my stuff from the car before we released her to be sold as parts.

Now I have the task of buying a new car. Does anyone have a suggestion on what vehicle I should purchase? I am not accepting any answers of a Hummer or a tank. Very funny! Ha-ha! I don't know whether to go fuel efficient or a nice ride. It doesn't seem you can get both. I went car shopping with my dad last Saturday so I have a pretty good idea of what I'm going to get. I'm just curious as to what you have to say. (Stephanie I already read your blog about the new car so I don't need you to repeat that!) I probably won't be getting this new car until after I return from Nashville in January.

This week I'm relying on the kindness of others to get to and from work. I'm grateful I already had a trip to Lake Powell planned for the end of this week. Yea! It is just what my body needs to get some rest and relaxation. In my mind, there is no better place to get r & r than Lake Powell.

Seeing My Michaels & Supporting the Arts

I had a marvelous weekend last weekend. It all started with leaving from work an hour and a half early. That will start any weekend off on the right note. I drove to the infamous Pickleville Playhouse at Bear Lake. I saw the musical Thoroughly Modern Millie. My friend Michael DuBois was performing in the musical. He played the part of Trevor Graydon.

Those of us attending the performance that night got an extra exciting show all with the price of our ticket. Around fifteen to twenty minutes into the show, there was a commotion a few rows in front of me. People started standing up and moving around. I was like, “Geez, people lets have a little theater etiquette. You don’t just stand up and trade around seats in the middle of the performance!” Then a lady turned around and said very loudly, “Is there a doctor in the house?” She kept asking that and apparently there wasn’t. A girl sitting behind us got up and went to help with the commotion. A man had a stroke!

Finally a woman with an apron on (which means she was in charge at the theater) told the performers to stop the show, put up the lights, and turn the air conditioner to high (thank you!). The actors didn’t really know what to do so they just continued until they were told to stop. Someone called 911. They got someone’s electric scooter. Two men carried the man that had the stroke to the scooter. Then they scooted him right out of there! Then the show picked up where it left off.

This is what they mean when they say, “The show must go on!” It always weirded me out when people had heart attacks when I performed in the Christmas Spectacular. Heart attacks usually happened one to two times a season. Old men’s hearts just can’t handle twenty pairs of legs kicking. It’s a fact!

I really enjoyed watching Michael perform. He did an awesome job as Trevor Graydon! I “thoroughly” enjoyed his performance. I highly recommend this musical to anyone taking a vacation to Bear Lake or just looking for a great, entertaining evening out.

After I got done talking with Michael after the show, I drove to LeBeau’s for a milkshake but they had already closed. Darn it!

The following day, I saw the musical 1776 that was put on by the Utah Festival Opera Company. Michael Ballam was playing the part of John Adams. I loved his performance! I had never seen this musical before. I loved it! I was reminded how much I love American History. We can learn so much from studying it. After the show, I gave Michael a big hug and told him he did a fabulous job! He asked me what I had been up to and if I was doing the Christmas Show again. I told him I was still waiting to hear back. (This was before I heard back from Radio City.)

I had the privilege of working for Michael five years ago. I was performing in Utah Festival Opera Company's Wizard of Oz. During the day, I worked as the secretary in the company's office. I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to work so closely with such an amazing man. He's not only amazing when he performs but he is everyday, 24/7, all-the-time, when-nobody's-watching amazing.

My Favorite Phone Call

After a short time of waiting this year, Radio City called me. I have accepted a role in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. I will be spending the holidays in Nashville, TN. It looks like I will be having the 4th consecutive Country Christmas.


I have about 10 days of rehearsal in Myrtle Beach, SC, and will then be flying to Nashville for the remainder of the time. I leave the end of October and return home the end of December. I am very excited to be back in the Christmas Spectacular. I love to perform on one of the greatest stages in the US, The Grand Ole Opry.

It's a Baby....

Puppy! I was kind of feeling left out since some of my friends are having babies lately and posting all these cute pictures of wrinkly little babies on their blogs. I will show you the newest addition to the Winn Family. My brother Chris and Allen got a puppy. It is an 8 week old Pembroke Welsh Corgi and I think she is the cutest thing ever! Her name is Alice but I'm not sure if she knows that yet??

She is still learning where she should go to the bathroom. Apparently she gets this "look" just before she goes. That's the cue for either Chris or Allen to grab the puppy and head for the nearest door.

She doesn't like to walk on the grass. In Florida, they don't have the lush green stuff we are used to in Utah. It is more prickly and sparse. Apparently Alice has a hard time walking on the grass and opts to just fall over. I have begged my brother for some footage of the seemingly drunk pup walking the line but it hasn't happened yet. I'll keep you posted.

Alice's favorite place to nap is under furniture, namely the ottomon or the couch. We think she likes those places because it is dark, cool, and maybe a little comforting.

PS Thanks for thinking of me to tag, but I'm not going to do it so you might as well stop tagging me. Have a fabulous day!