It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Lovelies - the blog title above suggests that it is indeed the Most Wonderful Time of the Year - HALLOWEEN!!!

I got my costume with the tall Englishman this weekend.  Here it is:

MEOW! ~ I look pretty rockin' in this, but it's not as hot as the chick who's currently wearing it.  And I'm going to need to wear spunky underwear - I'm trying to find black undies with the Batman symbol on the butt....

The tall Englishman is going as Batman, naturally.  Although his costume is WAAAYYYY too big for him, so I'm going to try and figure out a way to take it in for him!

Crumpet, our Puggle, is going as something totally non-super hero related: a Banana Split!  This is what it looked like before I figured out how to put the hat on correctly...

And THIS is what it looked like after I figured out how the hat works!

She hates it, but tolerates it quite nicely...  and I love it on her, so she's just going to have to put up with it!!

Guess what Opened!?

Other than Target, which opened in East Harlem in July, I am very excited and proud that a new Trader Joe's opened on the Upper West Side.

Though the Tall Englishman and I live closer to the one on 14th Street, but who cares?!   I love a Trader Joe's ANYWHERE!!  Seriously, lovelies... Mama Musical LOVES a good deal and a great product with a down-home marketing scheme!

It gets me sucked in every time...

So in LOVE!!!

Oh, lovelies, I was just sorting through my e-mail and ran across my old match.com folder...

You know the one.  That folder of e-mails that you hang on to so that if you're single and sad and having a SSM (sad single moment) you can look at them and feel like somewhere, someone thought "Wow - she's hot!  I'd like to e-mail her!"

Well, lovelies - I just deleted that folder.  For good.

BECAUSE - I have a lovely tall Ginger Englishman who tells me everyday how much he loves me and enjoys my company!  (I'm actually still pinching myself that I found such a great guy with a good heart!)

And more importantly, I have started loving who I am - in the happy times and in the sad times...

Even though I love the Tall Englishman more than life itself, I was sad the past 3 months or so.  It was a transition, a process that I was working through.  There was a lot of resistance that came along with moving to the Battery Park City neighborhood...

I was angry about my long walk to the train from our apartment on the river, I was sad about leaving my quaint Queens apartment that I'd spend 4 long years decorating and I was nervous and scared about not having my creative freedom be able to flourish in a community with fewer actors and artists.  I was so proud to live in Actoria - with all the other actors that it was really hard for me to move into Manhattan.

But the switch flipped when I started doing some of the stuff that I did in my single girl days - like going to see some theatre spur of the moment.  Or taking an acting class.  Or something as simple as having a manicure!  Doing things that were just for me really helped.

And when I started to say to myself "Yeah, so I'm angry/ sad/ frustrated/ hurt/ (fill in the blank) and I'm not going to beat myself up about feeling that way - because I feel that way just for now, not forever."  WOW.  That really helped.  A lot.

Now I actually am starting to see some of the positives to living in the Battery Park City neighborhood... Like the beautiful tree lined esplanade and the marina where the big boats pull in and out of the harbor.  And the dog run where my beautiful puppy Crumpet loves to play...  And the spacious apartment we have, which is really quite perfect for a new couple just trying to start their life together.

When I finally can see the beauty in all of this, my gratitude just bubbles over.

I have so much!  My life is so good!

I love my Tall Ginga Englishman, I love my time auditioning and I am now starting to love the next chapter of my life in a different part of New York City...

Taking it back to the beginning- I'm so glad I deleted those e-mails.  (But I did look at them one last time - and you know what??  They didn't make me feel nearly as good as having the Tall Englishman send me an e-mail or leave me a voicemail or tell me every night before we go to bed that he loves me...)

Oh.for.the.LOVE!

Lovelies, friends, countrymen... lend me your ears, tails, and snouts!

I have come across the most BRILLIANT of websites: Haute Diggety Dog!  They sell doggie things that are kind of tongue in cheek toys - like "Kate Spayed"doggie toy purses, "Grrrona Beer" dog toys, and "Arfsolute Vodka" dog toys.  I LOVE it!

Enjoy!

Ode to a Puppy...

Oh, lovelies... I swore I would never turn into one of those people that talks about their dog all the time, and here I am.  In Dog-Talking-Non-Stop-Mode.

I'm so annoyed with myself... but I secretly love it!

The poor Tall Englishman has heard non-stop "Who's a good girl?!", "Who wants a treat!", and his personal favorite "No, NO!  Crumpet!  No licking mommies ass!" as I clean up the poo on the floor....

Oh, dogs.  I love 'em.  But having one of your own is HARD WORK!  But so rewarding!  Last night she went on her piddle pad and I nearly cried I was so proud!  She's been pretty good at learning how to pee & poop on the pad - but she can't quite figure out that we go poop and pee outside.  Hopefully my mom's dog Marley will teach her how to poop an pee outside when we go to my parents house in Cake Eater, MN tomorrow....

Her first airplane ride.  I'm a little nervous, but also very excited to bring her home!  Here she was in her raincoat...  We couldn't get her fur wet for 2 days, as she had her frontline flea & tick medicine on her neck!

Here's hoping she doesn't howl all the time on the airplane!  Or poo.  Or yack... I have a feeling I might be cleaning up some puppy puke on the plane...

Long Time No Blog...

Well, lovelies... several things have happened in the past 2 months:

- I finished up my second show at the Pole of Totems Playhouse - loads of fun!

- Celebrated my 29th Birthday in 80's awesome style with loads of good friends at the bowling alley in Totem Pole, PA.  And the Tall Englishman and my awesome friend Linds-a-lou were both there...  I loved it!

- Moved in with the Tall Englishman in Battery Park City - it's domestic bliss! I love LOVE it!

- Have gone to a handful of auditions - and felt pretty good about 80% of them!

- Went to a Gender Bender musical theatre class - where you sing a song that's usually sung by the opposite sex in a musical!  It was AWESOME - I sang "Lost in the Wilderness" from Children of Eden.  And if I do say so myself - I ROCKED IT OUT!

- Scheduled LOADS of appointments when the Tall Englishman and I are home in Cake Eater, MN.  Mainly of the wedding variety.  Cake tastings, catering tastings, venue viewing, and most importantly - we are going to the Minnesota State Fair!!! (YUM - insert salivating Homer Simpson noise here...)

- Saw 3 Shows: Promises Promises (fun & plucky!), Addams Family (dark and funny), and the brilliant play "On the Levee" about the floods of 1927 in Grenville, Mississippi.

 It was moving and historically accurate - and overall one of the best plays I've ever seen.

OH- then there was ENGLAND!   That's a whole other blog post...

And last but not least... we got a dog!  Lovelies, meet Crumpet, the Puggle!

We Moved In!!!

Lovelies, the Tall Englishman and I have moved in together!

Or rather I moved into his spacious one bedroom in Battery Park City!  We have a beautiful view of the Hudson River and we can walk out our back door and see the Statue of Liberty!  We have been on several long walks on the riverfront of Battery Park...

We moved all of my boxes from Actoria, Queens the day that I came back for the Pole of Totems Playhouse.  The Tall Englishman was such a sport!  He carried boxes.  He rented the truck.  He sweated and put loads of effort into helping me with my moving process - and all the while he had a big smile on his face!

There have been some growing pains... I don't like all my furniture to match like the Tall Englishman does - I think having different compilementary items adds personality.  I think we should go on Designing for the Sexes on HGTV.  Now THAT would be fun!

I love knowing that I'm going to get home and be with him and knowing that I get to wake up next to him.  He's so good to me.  I'm so lucky that I get to have a lifetime of this!  

Tall Englishman comes today with Linds-a-lou!!!

Lovelies - the Tall Englishman is flying back from his boys week at St. Martin in the Caribbean today!  Then he's picking up my girlfriend Linds-a-lou and they're both coming to Central P.A. to be with me for my birthday weekend! 

Oh, did I forget to mention that??  Yeah, I'm gonna be 29 on this coming Monday - June 21st! 

The Tall Englishman, Linds-a-lou and all the kids at the Pole of Totems Playhouse are coming to my birthday party on Monday night!  It's an awesome 80's themed Birthday at the Bowling Alley! 

I love that!  And I'm going to dress up in my finest 1980's gear - side pony tail and all!  It's gonna rock!  (and be even better since my lovely friends are going to be there!  Hooray!)

It's made me think of all those 1980's TV shows I loved... Different Strokes, The Facts of Life, Family Ties, and of course.. who can forget... Designing Women.  Keepin' it classy Annie Potts.  Keepin' it classy.

Adventures in Pennsylvania..

Lovelies,  I'm horrible!  I've been here in Pennsylvania for nearly a month and I've only written one blog post: tsk.. tsk...

Well the main reason for writing only one post is that I've been in rehearsals during the day and shows at night for the past 2 weeks!  "Sisters of Swing" opened at The Pole of Totems Theatre on May 29th to lovely reviews.  It was so great to sing and work with  my two new "sisters" (although I did miss my old "sisters" fiercely...). 

So my typical day was as follows:

- Get up at 9am
- Get to the theatre by 10am
- Rehearse from 10 am - 3pm  for the play "45 Seconds from Broadway"
- Go home and nap and/or shower
- Eat dinner or go and get dinner
- Leave for the theatre at 6:30
- Do hair/ make up/ sound check from 6:30 to 8pm
- Show from 8 to 10:30 pm
- Get home at 11-ish.
- Read/ Watch TV/ Catch up on e-mails until midnight.
- Go to sleep between midnight and 1am.

And do it all again the next day!

I've never done summer stock before, where you rehearse for one show while you doing another.  And let me tell you lovelies - IT'S HARD.  Really hard.  But it's worth it.  And I'm grateful that I had a smaller part in 45 Seconds, as I was one of the leads of Sisters and it would've been difficult to have leads in both shows....

Here's what I look like in 45 seconds - we're going from Upper West Side theatre lady...

My body was not happy that I wasn't getting as much sleep as I should have been, but I made it though and now I can try and get over my little summer cold!  But I'm able to sleep in every morning now, and my schedule is much less grueling... which is fun for the days when we only have one show!  Then we can do awesome outings, like go to Gettysburg for the day or visit the Round Barn here in Central Pennsylvania...

I love my job.

Engaged!!!

Lovelies - it's been a while since the Tall Englishman popped the question, but I'm still thrilled that he popped it, nonetheless!

It was the most beautiful, romantic, fun, perfect moment!  One of the happiest days in my life so far, although everyday with the Tall Englishman is one of the happiest days in my life! 

We went on a night time beach walk after one of my shows and as we were walking along the beach we were talking about life, love and how fortunate we were to find each other when we did!  Then he hugged me and the hug took a little longer than I usual.  Then he got down on his knee in the moonlight and proposed to me!  It was the most sweet, thoughtful proposal any girl could ask for! 

I started saying "YES, YES, YES!" even before he got the last part of the sentence out - but I could barely breathe!  It was like someone had knocked the wind out of me!  But in the best way possible!  Then I hugged and kissed the Englishman.  As soon as he put me down (when we hug I come off the ground sometimes) I decided that we were a team and I proposed to HIM!  Got down on my knee and everything!  It was pretty cute - and he said "Yes! I wiggedy will marry you!" 

And HOLY MOTHER OF JEEBUS - the RING!!!  My engagement ring is a whopping 4.8 karats of aquamarine loveliness with about 1 karats worth of diamonds surrounding it!  It's on a beautiful white gold band and I just love it!  It looks antique-y without actually being an antique.

After we went to Bobby's (this little bar on the beach) and had a bottle of bubbly with the crew and band members of Riverside Theatre who just happened to still be out partying!  It was great to share our good news with my co workers right away!  Then we went home, loaded facebook full of awesome engagement pictures and told Sissy S (who was my roomie down in Vero) our good news!

Hooray lovelies!  I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with the Talll Englishman... 

Opening weekend AND Disney World!!!

Lovelies!  I had the best opening weekend of Sisters of Swing!  The Tall Englishman came and gave me the most lovely flowers!  See!

And he came to every evening show that I had opening weekend- on Thursday, Friday AND Saturday!  What a GUY!!! 

During the days we went to the beach, sat and had a mid-afternoon cocktail and went to the awesome ice cream store Cravings in Vero Beach!  I loved it!  Here's some beach play time pics:

Here's a pic of the awesome strawberry ice cream AND the pink piggy sprinkles that I got!

And then we went to Disney World, lovelies!  It was truly magical as it was the tall Englishman's first time there!  Well, I love a good trip to Disney, not gonna lie!  Plus I got to see my friends Lo and Chris who live in Orlando and work at Disney in the entertainment area there!  Such a fun time!  And we stayed at the Port Orleans resort the night before we went to the park!  Was great - we had an excellent dinner in Downtown Disney at the resturaunt Bongos and then headed off to Port Orleans - Riverside. 

Oh, and I may have looked for some shoes online... Manolos...  Can I justify that my wedding "something blue" shoes will be more expensive than my wedding dress??

Preview night tonight!!!

Lovelies - it's Preview night of Sisters of Swing tonight!  I'm so excited!  Last night we did a full dress rehearsal and it was fantastic!  I really loved being back doing the show with Sissy S. and Sissy P.  They are both such fun to play with onstage!  And the folks here at Riverside theatre are just so wonderful!  Such kind, helpful and positive people in the tech area and also in the administration!  I'm so lucky to be working here!

I do miss New York, though.  I miss seeing the Englishman everyday and I am THRILLED that he is coming down to Vero Beach TOMORROW! 

Today I couldn't sleep in, so I went to the little hot tub in our condo complex- and Sissy P. was there!  We had a nice chat and the I came home, took a shower and got ready for the day! 

Then I did a target run and got all sorts of fun things to put in a beach bucket for the Tall Englishman!  I just wanted to have some fun stuff for him to play with - beach toys, some snacks, a couple beach balls and some gum and his favorite gum and soap! 

And tomorrow at this time he'll be here!  I can't wait to hug him!  And it will be opening night tomorrow!  I hope we get as good of reviews as we got in Minnesota... but I hope even more that that audiences will like the show as much as we enjoy performing the show!

Fancy dinners and long rehearsals!

Lovelies, we had the fancy tech dinner on Saturday night at a lovely couples home in beautiful Vero Beach.  The entire cast & crew was invited, as well as the production staff.  And lovelies - it was BEAUTIFUL!!!  This was the view from their second story of their 5,000 square foot home:

And they were just sweet as pie - the Mrs. was such a gracious hostess!  The theatre is lucky to have them as patrons & board members! 

The tech rehearsal ran smoothly on Saturday as well  - we took some silly pics in our costumes!  Here's my "Mama Rose" pic a la Gypsy. 

We also had a great day at the beach and the pool at our little villa on Sunday (our much needed day off!)  I love that I get to work in PARADISE!   We piled in the car and went to South Beach  - of Vero Beach, lovelies.  Not south beach in Miami...  but maybe on a future day off we'll do South Beach in Miami!

Here's the view into our courtyard at our little villa!  I love living with Sissy S.  She's really quite cool and easy to get along with!  I can't believe that we open the show in TWO DAYS!  AND the Tall Englishman will be there for OPENING NIGHT!!!  I miss him so much, lovelies....  I can't wait to see him!

Tech, Tech, Tech...

Lovelies, it's that time again - Tech time.  For those of you theatre lovin' folk, Tech is the time when the lights, sound and costumes are all set up for the show - and the actors have to walk through the whole show while they figure out the right combo of lights, sound cues, etc to make the show perfect.  It's called Cue-To-Cue and it takes a full 10 hours with a 2 hour dinner break - add that and it's 12 hours all together.  I wish we were doing a 10am to 10pm, but here in florida they do a 12am to 12pm.  Which adds up for a LONG day.  Especially when they do it two days in a row. 

I remember doing the cue-to-cue at the Guthrie and being so SO excited about it.  And also in college, and even during my first few professional shows - because this is the time when the show truly comes together.  But I hear so many people hemming and hawing about Tech that it has seeped into my blood and now, like most actors, I scowl a little when I hear that word. 

BUT that said - we had a pertty smooth tech yesterday and it was actually a little enjoyable!  Today we're back at it again and tonight we get to go a a board memeber's house for a home cooked Tech dinner!  (so nice of the theatre to do that for us!  Will be great!) 

My body has decided to wake me up at 8am, so I'm going to try and go back to bed, lovelies.  Hopefully I can sleep until 11 or so before we have another long and productive 12 hour rehearsal.

On, a happy note - check out this awesome pic Sissy S. took of me at the beach yesterday!  After seeing this I didn't feel quite so bad about gaining 10 lbs. since January....  Le sigh.  On another happy note - the englishman is coming to see me in a mere 6 days!  Hooray!

Vero BEACH!!!!

Lovelies I'm having the most delightful time in Vero Beach, AKA - God's waiting room...  Yes, the main population is sprouting grey and white hair, but it's really a delightful and beautiful town!  And SO clean (compared to NYC).  And the Target here is just beautiful! 

Sunday night I flew into Orlando and I was supposed to drive to Vero BY MYSELF at 10:30 at night in the rain.  Well, that just wasn't going to happen.  So I called my girlfriend Lo whom I stayed with last year when I went to a friends wedding at Disney and she said I could stay the night!  Hooray!  So I stayed, saw her new house - which is Beaoooo-tiful!  The next morning, I did a HUGE target run and $300 later I had a case of the guilties.  To add to my guilt I got a McDonalds.... 

A Quarter Pounder with Cheese Meal.  I don't care what anyone says - it's worth the 18 points on Weight Watchers.  You just have to eat greens the rest of the day!

We have a lovely condo that we're staying in.  Sissy S. and I are roomies and Sissy P. and Litch (the man in our show) are staying in the condo building next door!  I really loved spending time with Sissy S. last night!  We chatted until late in the evening and I've so enjoyed having my HUGE bedroom with en suite bathroom!  (and a WALK  -IN closet!)  And I've so loved having a fountain right outside our window - plus the awesome balcony that looks out onto it! 

We're off to the beach in a bit...  Here's hoping that I can still squeeze into my bikini without becoming "that girl".  (You know, that girl on the beach that's wearing a bikini which she so obviously shouldn't be wearing and you say to your friend "OHMYGOD - look at THAT GIRL!!" and then you judge her...)

Yeah, I don't want to be that girl.  I'll ask Sissy S. if I should ban the bikini today - she'll give me an honest answer... 

Here's to a beautiful MONTH in God's Waiting Room.... eerrr... Vero!

Don't Cry for Me, and other updates...

Oh, lovelies, how rotton I've been about blogging!  So sorry for that...  but in other news...  Hawaii was a BLAST with the tall Englishman!  He is truly delightful and I am thankful for everyday that we are together.  For those of you who might be interested in checking out our hawaii blog:

http://www.oahuhawaiiadventure.blogspot.com/

and I think that you'll be pleased with what you'll find!  We really did have a wonderful time and I'm so lucky to have made so many memories with him so quickly!

Also - and I know, I know the Englishman and I have only been dating two months - but we've told each other that we want to spend the rest of our lives together.  Isn't that great?!? 

Some people have given me a little greif on this issue, but most people say "When you know, you just know".  And lovelies - I KNOW he's the one for me!  And the best part is that it's all real.  It's not in my head - he loves me, I love him and we're going to spend our life making each other happy!  (oh, dear - I just re-read that and I sound like a total cheezeball...)

Anywho - I recently came home to Cake Eater, MN to rehearse for a week for Sisters of Swing.  The theatre that I worked for in December is bringing the show to an awesome theatre in Vero Beach, Florida!  (I get paid to play on the beach!  Sweet job, no??)  We're doing the show from April 29th until May 16th in Florida - with two weeks of rehearsing in florida prior to opening! 

So when I was home I decided to make an audition happen! Yes, lovelies, I took matters into my own hands and e-mailed the Minneapolis director requesting a private audition, as I was going to be out of  town during the regular auditions.  And the show was (drumroll, please) EVITA!!!  

Lovelies, it was like a homecoming for me!  Singing those songs again after not playing Eva for 8 years - what a treat!  And a trip down memory lane...  I got to sing Don't Cry for Me Argentina AND the end of Rainbow High (which has the Buenos Aires reprise).  I did the best that I could - and considering that it was 10am and then end of Rainbow high is a high belting thing...  I rocked it! 

It would be such fun to play it!  But one step at a time, right my lovelies??  I got the audition (an appointment audition at that).  I rocked the audition AND now I just get to sit back in awesome Florida and do an amazing show (sisters of swing) with a brilliant cast and my tall handsome Ginger-haired boyfriend is visiting me here for my opening night in 9 days!  So grateful for such an awesome life!

8 days until Paradise!!!

Lovelies,  we're now eight days away from when the Englishman and I leave for Hawaii!

We had another excellent date last night!  I love that Wednesdays are our date night!  And Saturday nights and all day Sunday!  He is just so darn great and thoughtful!

Yesterday we met by the Metropolitan Museum of Art and had a quick stroll around Central Park.  Then we stopped by the Boathouse to warm up by their little fire in the bar area.

Was so nice and relaxing there!  And the Englishman said exactly what I was thinking: "You know I was very happy before, and I'm happy now, but you make me so blissfully happy."  I don't need him, lovelies, but he sure rocks my world when we're together!

We went for dinner at Atlantic Grill - I had the terryaki chilean sea bass.  OH YUMM-ER-IFFIC!!!  And we split the most lovely sushi roll - had asian pear, tuna, lobster, cucumber, a mild wasabi sauce and an apricot puree on the top!  I almost died when we had our fantastic dessert: it was like a big banana yummy ice cream tower!

Then we were going to see the Blind Side - but I was just tired (and wanted to smooch & cuddle a little) so we got a cab back to my place and "listened to music" together for a bit.  That's what the kids are callin' it now-a-days right??  "Listening to Music??"

He went home and I spent an hour watching Millionare Matchmaker on hulu.com.  And organizing my summer clothes for the awesome trip!!  I will be hula-ing all the way to Hawaii in 8 more days!  Alo-ha- hey... Hawaiian day...  La, la, la, la!  (That song has been stuck in my head for days!)