Another Day, Another Audition..

Hello lovelies!  My thought of the day today is "Why am I so rockin' & no one is hiring me??!!"  

Seriously.

I auditioned for Stages St. Louis this morning at Equity and then went to the Beauty & the Beast chorus call for Westchester Braodway Theatre.  Fun times, friends - fun times! 

So here's my schedule for this morning:

6:15 am.  Wake up, Get Dressed & Have Coffee with Roomie

6:30 am  Leave house & take the train to Equity.

7:00 am. Arrive at Equity Building and wait for 1/2 hour for it to open the doors.  (While standing in line with other crazy "I need a specific time slot" actors)

7:30 a.m. Go inside & warm up - literally.

8:30 a.m. Sign in for Stages St. Louis (got a 10:10 appointment)

8:35 a.m. Have coffee with good friend Drea at Pax.  Mmmm.... Pax... (2nd cup of coffee - are you counting??)

9:15 a.m. Take cab to Nola Studios for chorus call. (only 10 blocks from pax - friviolus??)

9:30 a.m. Get my card (number 44 baby! - this means I'll be seen aprox. at 11:10, because the see 40 girls an hour and the call starts at 10am)

9:40 a.m Walk Back to Equity & get pretty!

10:10  a.m. Sing for Stages St. Louis (I sang I want to Go To Hollywood from Grand Hotel -- and friends - I hit it out of the ball park!!  The song was fun, I showed tons of character & personality!!  Hooray!)

10:25 a.m. Walk back to Nola & get ready for that audition! 

11:00 a.m. Sang for Westchester Broadway Theatre's Beauty & the Beast (sang Meadowlark - and acted the pants off that one, too!)  

11:15 a.m. Found out I wasn't asked to stay & dance -so I went to work on the UES!

11:20 a.m Stopped at Starbucks on the way to the train for ANOTHER coffee (this time de-caf! Does anyone else love the skinny vanilla lattes as much as I do??  They are really qutie lovely!_

.... Which is where I'm at now!  

Overall, rockin' auditions -- some of my good girlfriends were asked to stay & dance.  Not so for Miss Musical...  But, obviously there's a "bigger plan" for me that I need to accept!  It's just frustruating in the mean time!  Back to work -- I almost got caught!!  Aaurgh!

Definition of Insanity...

According to our friend & founding father, Benjamin Franklin, The Definition of Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results....  

Which is the PERFECT Segue into Miss Musical's auditions in NYC!  Hooray!  

Today I pulled myself away from my perfectly lovely bed at the crack of dawn (6 a.m. if you're so curious) threw on my clothes and hauled my tail into the Equity Building to audition (again) for North Shore Music Theatre.  My lovely roommate, Roomie, accompanied me on the 6 a.m. N train.  

We were one of the first twenty crazies (aka. actors) that got the good fortune to stand in line before the equity building opened at 7:30 a.m.  Whilst this is very cold, it's also very good because it ensures that you have which ever time slot your little heart desires!  (I usually pick 10:10 - just enough time from the 8:30 sign-in to grab a Starbucks Latte and get pretty.)  

AND (joy of joys!) I got to also be seen for a company in New Jersey that's doing a new-ish musical that has a "dark comic" character in her mid to late 20's!  (Of course, I went - hello?! - 

Dark & Comic spells Miss Musical backwards!  ... wait a minute... no it doesn't!!)

So the North Shore audition went OK - sang 10,432

 Sheep & it went alright but the piano player took my tempo SO fast!  (His fingers were on fire - and my song was not meant to be a patter song).  He also looked as if he wanted to slit his wrists with the corners of my audition book....  

Ahh, those brooding musicians....  

I still smiled and thanked him on my way out. (while thinking "You screwed up my fucking audition!!!" as loud as I could in my head!)  

Oh, well, it's just an audition - and let's be honest even if they called me back Allie Frank the

 casting director (who shoots daggers at me with her eyes) would drop any notion of my getting cast in a heartbeat....  Sigh.... (now is a good time to refer back to the title of this particular blog...)

I tried not to let Angry Pianist bug me - and went into the second audition for New Jersey McWeird - O Never-Heard-of-Em Theatre company.  Fortunately I knew Steady Eddie was in the room playing piano.  He's my new Favorite!  He rocks it out & is SO good at taking tempo & going with the actor!  So I did the Boyle A or B technique (where I offer them song A or song B) and they chose Song B.  

Song B. was Lay Down Your Head from Violet.  It went beautifully - I felt like I truly did my best acting work of the day in there.  The top vocal wasn't what I wanted - came out very soft - but really, who cares - I still hit it & they all said they liked the song!  Hooray!

Oh- and on the way out I ran into the very nice gal who ended up getting the part in a show we were both auditioning for back in December.  (It was between me & her for this one part of a peroxide blond - she got it, but is just lovely - so I really can't be mad or bitter!  Even though I am just a smidge...)  We chatted for a bit & she seems to be having a busy new year!  (as am I - hopefully some things will be "meant to be" for me & will be unveiled as time moves on..)

Also, ran into the Twins today -- I love those girls!  They are so darn funny & nice!  Have become really good friends to me!  Hooray!  

Question for my readers - this guy has been asking me to go out for a drink with him.  He works in the business & I really prefer not to date in the business.  Plus, I really just don't want to date right now....   The idea doesn't excite me anymore...  So do I tell him "Sorry - but thanks for the offer" or "Sorry, thanks for the offer but I try not to date in the business".  Or if you have a third option you'd like to share - I'm all ears!  

What the HE - double hockey sticks?!

Hello my Lovelies,  

I had two BRILLIANT auditions this morning - for the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis & also for Forbidden Broadway!!  Both were Very exciting for different reasons!

SO, Guthrie audition was first!  I was one of the first in line to sign up (got there at 6:30 am!).   I sang "Perfect Relationship" from Bells are Ringing and used what I had learned in Waldmans' musical theatre audition class to make is come alive! 

 

Was just great to have something to focus on other than my nerves!  (The associate artistic director at the Guthrie makes me come very close to wetting myself because I'm so nervous when I audition for him -- I just care so darn much about that theatre & I REALLY want to work there!  And having JMS on your side is the ONLY way to get into that  place!!!)  

I tried to plant a little seed in his mind today with singing a song from Bells are Ringing -- since I am the love child of Faith Prince & Sally Mayes -- I'd be a GREAT Ella!  (Not tooting my own horn - just speaking the truth!) 

 But wouldn't it be fun if they did the show & magically I got to play Ella!  Oh, a girl can dream, can't she??!!  (Big dreams people, big dreams...)

Then I trucked my cookies over to the 47th Street theatre where they're currently showing "Forbidden Broadway: Rude Awakening".  

I went in and sang my funny song "Lily of the Valley".  It went fine - the guy said I had a great last note!  (hooray for belting an E at 11 in the morning!) 

 Then he asked if I did any impressions - I said I did Liza.  (Which I do from time to time... when I'm drunk!) and it was OK - I talked like her - and broke into singing "LIZA" once or twice mid-sentence.  They seemed to enjoy it!  I really kinda sucked at thinking up clever things to say on the spot- nothing special.... But I still felt good about it!  

Now I am at work & clearly - not working...  But I was working for a considerable part of the

 day!  Ran errands, played with HHC and TSC and am doing other personal assistant-ish kind of stuff...  Fun times people!  

Onto the North Shore audition tomorrow!  Hoorah!!

You Can't Live in the Past!

Lovelies,  I auditioned at Equity this morning (and it was the right building this time!) for a show called Fugitives.  GREAT contract, GREAT people to work with, overall it was... well should've been - great! 

SO, I was waiting in line ready to do my song I had prepared (Imagine My Surprise from Personals) when I realized that my cut was VERY long and nowhere close to 32 bars...  I decided to sing the song I've been working on in my Build Your Book class instead (Lay Down Your Head from Violet).  

Now I like singin' it, but have this crazy mental block with some of the high notes.  (I've got the notes, but the vowel placement is weird and when I sang it in college I didn't have all the notes -- blah, blah, blah - now I can sing it, but can't seem to muster belting the whole middle section without a great sense of anxiousness when I reach the top notes.)  

But I sang it, it went OK.  (the piano player did a great job- he's very talented!) 

  

I was so pissed at myself when I came out of the room, read the breakdown & realized that they wanted a spunky & energetic ex-cheerleader type!!!  D'oh!

And here I'm singing a freakin' lullaby!  Go figure!  (I should've sung "Born to Fly" - as they were looking for a pop/folk sound!) 

 

Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda.... the story of my life!

But I must leave that now - there will be other auditions tomorrow and hopefully I'll start to feel better soon!  (singing with a sinus infection is not fun - I sound like Fran Drescher most of the time!)  

On a positive note I've been playing Oregon Trail for the past half hour at work - so that's unproductive and fun!  :)

Until next time, I remain your (stuffed up, mucinex loving) blogger

Ms. Musical

Meltdowns are Not Fun...

Have you ever had a melt down?? I'm not talking an angry melt down where you yell at someone else. No, I mean the meltdowns where you look at what you've done in a situation, realize you've gone horribly wrong and figure that the best thing to do is ask for help. And then NO ONE helps you!! Aaurgh!

This happened to me this morning... I tried to be brave and push the "I'm gonna explode I'm so angry at myself" into my little toe, but that didn't work. Thus I let myself follow my worst recipe: 1 cup of Crazy and 2 scoops of Paranoid!

Here's the story:

I went to the Grease Chorus Call and I knew I was on the list at least twice. (I put myself on twice because in case I'm running late then I get a second chance!) Well, I get off the train, head into the Equity building - where I think the audition is at -and I'm EARLY for once! I was thrilled....

(Because you see, Ms. Musical actually HAD to be at work on the Upper East Side at noon to receive a delivery that was for the family. A very heavy delivery that involved Ms. Musical and two handy men lugging it into the service elevator.... Bottom Line: I had to be DONE with the audition by 11:30 so I could be at work by noon.)

And then I got to the top of the stairs & didn't hear the chatter of a million female voices.

Something was wrong. Very wrong.

I ran to the Call Board where all the Audition Notices are posted and realized that the audition was at RIPLEY GREER!! (And of course it's a 10 minute run from Equity. And of course I hit ALL the red lights going there. And of course every slow moving cripple in NY was in front of me whilst I was running! Uugh!)

So I made it to Ripley Greer - at 9:40. The list was finishing up and my name(s) had already been called. Total bummer. Thus I was number 92.

Here's the deal: they usually call 40 girls in an hour... So that means I would've gone somewhere around 1pm. Usually OK, but with Special Delivery on the UES this was NOT going to work!

So I go politely around the room and ask nicely if anyone would please switch with me, as I have to be to work at noon and I really need to audition before 11:30 am.

Here's the response I got: Sorry. Sorry, I have a doctors appointment. Sorry, I have to work too. Sorry I have a callback. Etc, etc... They were all like this. (Except for one girl who told me that I should've known better and been more careful with my preparation..... Nice compassionate response, right?!)

Then I run into my roommates friend from North Shore. She saw that I was stressed, asked what was wrong and I just went abso-freakin'-lutely CRAZY. (see special crazy recipe above)

I was CRYING and in a tiff.... Then she told me "It's not a big deal. It's just an audition. The dance call is next week. Why don't you mail a note to the casting director & not worry about it." Very sweet & kind of her to help me - I calmed down a little.

So then I gave my card back to the monitor, in tears & said "It's not going to happen today, I guess."

And then she made my WHOLE DAY!!! She said "Oh, I'll switch with you! I'm number 60 - and I have to be here anyways! Why don't we switch?!"

I was shocked. And thrilled. And grateful.

So I said Thank You MANY times & got ready for the audition! Hooray! A bad situation turned into a great one! SO - I did what any nice Minnesota Actress would do - I tromped into the Ripley Greer Cafe and got the monitor a sizable gift certificate and a very nice chocolate bar!

I ended up giving a very good audition & got to use my new song: Aretha Franklin's "Since You've Been Gone (Sweet Sweet Baby)" and they LOVED it!

Guess it goes to show that good things come to those who cry... WAIT. Yes, I mean wait....

Musicals & Movies...

Lovelies,  I'm higher than a kite right now on Claritin D, so please forgive me if my ramblings are rather esqued today! (God Bless it!)

On Friday evening my friend Emmers and I attended the show The Fantasticks at the Snapple Theatre Center.  I have only heard three songs from the show and know very little about it.  It was like nothing I've ever seen before!  My friend Blondie, who played Luisa "The Girl", was wonderful!  She has such a beautiful voice and excellent charming stage presence!  Was such a treat to watch her!  (And she's the understudy - so doubly impressive!)  

The show itself was written in an older style - but was still very enjoyable!  Bare bones set was used quite nicely - lots of levels used!  The other actors were all well cast & did a great job with some material that they would for sure have to put a personal touch to in order to be effective!  (And they did just that!)  The two older men who played the actors were SO funny!  Very Carol Burnett Show- esq!!  Lots of shtick, but very charming!

I think my favorite songs from the evening were "Much More", "I Can See It" and "Try to Remember"..... I'm trying to remember more about the show right now & due to my case of Claritin D  I am not recalling as well as I should!

Onto Saturday: I woke up with a fierce sore throat and stuffy nose!  Uugh - being sick is the pitts.  But I worked for Metro Mom for a few hours in the afternoon running errands in Tribeca!  I LOVE that neighborhood!  It's very NY! 

I went to Mail Boxes, Etc., the Dry Cleaners and finally had to do a return to Saks Fifth Avenue!  I'd never been in it before, so I didn't know what to expect - it was BEAUTIFUL!  They have their own zip code for the shoe department!  (Isn't that great?!)  I went to the VERY expensive 

swim wear department and I was sure they were going to escort me out due to not wearing fancy frou-frou clothing!  But they were very nice & helpful!  

On my way out I stopped at the Chocolate Cafe on the 8th Floor!  Brilliant!  They have all these chocolate treats that pass by you on a conveyor belt!  Love that!   I tried the Vanilla Creme Truffle and the Strawberry Chocolate Truffle - both were positively orgasmic! 

 (Now I like the fellas, but they aren't nearly as reliable as chocolate for that euphoric sensation! )

After which I went to hostess at the Pan Asian Palace for seven hours & then it was off to bed with me!  

Sunday brought with it an audition for "Damn Yankees"  (I sang Mambo Italiano), seeing the movie "Juno" with Bri-Bri and his roommate!  He is such a nice guy!  (Probably because he's from Minnesota, too!)  By the way - the whole movie took place in & around the Twin Cities!  I was SO homesick after the movie!  (What I wouldn't give for a dipping plate at Filigo's right now!)

Then I went home, ate yummy Thai Curry, and did my laundry!  This was quite the chore, as I'd rather sit & veg. out -- but it HAD to be done!  ( I was running low on undies & socks!)  Then I turned on my steamer, crawled into bed & read the last part of "Memories of my Melancholy Whores".  (Excellent book!)

If anyone has any remedies for my nose/ throat/ cold from hell issues please let me know!

A Comedy Tonight!

Friends, lovlies, musical theatre lovers... This was sent to me by my dad earlier today -- SO funny!

I think it's tagged "Only in Wisconsin". But I think it really could be "Only in Minnesota!"

Funny, no?! I was howling at work! Enjoy!

I'm Back & Ready for Action!

Hello Lovelies!

I just want to let you all know that I had a GREAT audition today for Shrek the Musical.  I was the most confident I've ever been in an audition and... (duh-da--dahhh!)  I had fun!  LOTS OF FUN!  

I sang Thelma Houston's "Don't Leave me this Way".  It went so well - the piano player was rockin', the music director was dancing in his chair!  The casting director was smiling.  And I just felt like I was flying! 

 It was quite possibly the most energized, yet relaxed audition I've ever done!  

If I don't get a callback for this it won't bug me - I felt so good about giving a REALLY good SOLID audition!

When I came out of the room one of the guys waiting in line said "Damn Girl!  You can really sing!  Well... for being a white girl!" 

 It was the nicest compliment I've had in a long time!

Waiting for the audition was another story!  

People not in the business sometimes ask me "What's it like going to an audition?"

Well, friends, it's like waiting at the airport for your plane to take off.  You have a sense of 

anticipation that something is going to happen.  You want it to go well.  You have hundreds of other people there with you who are just as anxious and ready as you are.  And most of the auditions I attend have women as the 

majority - this makes for VERY interesting conversation and people watching!  

I'm quite excited to get the thank you notes out for this one!  (I always mail off thank you's with my business card after every audition - good times!)

Friends - I gotta find an agent!  Actors Connection?  Submissions?  Actors Access?  There's lots of ways- now I just have to DO IT!  I have to start being submitted!  Hopefully this will come into my life this year!  (note to self: things to continue praying about.  1. Getting Agent 2. Getting a job in Theatre)

Until next time I remain, as always, your tune humming blogger,

Miss Musical

Beggars Can't Be Choosers - oh, wait it's New York. OF COURSE THEY CAN!

Friends, as you know from previous blogs of mine, I am on the way to a healthier (and thus happier) Miss Musical! SO when I got my small veggie platter tonight at Food Emporium I was delighted!

I had a big wonderful plan in mind to eat it while watching my downloaded Mary Tyler Moore episode on the subway ride home from work.

Well, this homeless guy who's begging on the 6 train notices my lovely organic veggie tray sticking up out of my purse, comes up to me and says: "I take food as well as money."

Now, I am a good person. I am a giving person. I am a kind person.

I give on the subway and the street quite a bit....

But I was NOT willing to part with my veggie tray! Which I had just paid an exorbitant amount of money for! And I was kind of mortified that he singled me out on the train! (I must look like a nice "push-over" Minnesotan girl.)

Thus I told him "Sorry sir - I won't be able to help you out tonight."

And he says - right to my face - "You're selfish."

So I did what any good tune humming blogger would do....

I said "No I'm not! I'm an unemployed actress & I'm kinda poor, too. I have credit card debt, I live with a roommate and I only buy a new pair of shoes once every 6 months. So please FORGIVE ME if I don't want to give you my organic veggie platter that I spent a whopping seven bucks on!"

He didn't bother me after that. And the lady sitting across from me applauded.

I feel rotten for not sharing, because that is what a truly good person would've done... Now I've got a serious case of the "guiltys"...

I don't get why I feel so bad about not giving the fella those veggies. I've given away so many thing on the subway from my stash that I bring in my purse - chewy bars, granola bars, bananas, soda, oranges (all un-eaten and still wrapped, of course). Why do I feel so bad about this one incident?! Ugh. Hopefully I'll sleep it off....

Until next time, your tune humming blogger,

Miss Musical

PS - I had two LOVELY auditions today and my Lovey UES family came back from St. Barts! Was great to see their son HHC - he's almost 2 and a bundle of energy! He sang me a song tonight which was to the tune of "ABC's" and only had the lyrics "Miss Musical Happy! Happy Miss Musical!" And he strummed along on his little ukulele -- it was pretty cute!

Cashmere Mafia and More....

It was a GREAT weekend, my friends, a great weekend! I have been taking excellent care of myself this past weekend - so that's always nice & enjoyable! Also, I found out that I was accepted to a "Build your Book" musical theatre class that is VERY hard to get into! (FYI - Build your book is another term when I add sheet music to my audition book and work on new material for musical theatre!)

Saturday was quite eventful for me. I woke up late (I am the queen of sleeping in -- don't know how I'll ever manage when I have a family & little ones someday!)

Then I.....(get ready for this friends!!)

did laundry,

changed my sheets,
went to the tailor and had alterations done,
folded laundry,

went to grocery store,
went to the bank & deposited my paycheck,

made lunch (tomato & mozzarella with basil & olive oil! Yum!)

went to the gym for 45 min AND showered!
(And all this BEFORE 4pm! Hooray!)

THEN I went to work at the Pan Asian Palace in midtown until midnight!

So that left today, Sunday, with almost nothing on my "to do" list! I Love that!

I met up with my brother for church at St. UES Church (which reminds me A TON of St. Fabulous Church in Minnesota - love it!). After the service bro & I went to eat at the lovely Pershing Square Cafe across the street from Grand Central Station! The 20's & 30's group was meeting there & it was our second time attending the monthly brunch!

Great fun & good fellowship & EXCELLENT food - who could ask for anything more?!!

After the brunch my bro went on a run in Central Park and I walked from 42nd Street to 86th Street to look at Barnes & Nobel -- my fav. bookstore -- but I got a little distracted along the way so I stopped and tried on clothes at Express, Zara, NY & Co. and looked at Beauty Stuff in Sephora. (Damn you Lexington Avenue and all your fine shops!)

Well, one latte and 35 blocks later I was at Starbucks on 77th and Lex waiting for Bro for a little while, but that was OK, considering that I had the new issue of OK magazine to read! (I love me some trashy tabloid magazines!)

THEN Bro picked me up and we headed off to do a Sam's Club Run in Jersey where he lives. When we got there at 6:15 they were CLOSED! Can you believe it?! Closed! Now, I know it's a Sunday night and I know that it's right after the new year, but C'MON! 6:00 closing??!! In New Jersey of all places... Uugh. So we trucked it to the Wal-Mart next door. (This was not nearly as exciting of an idea as Sam's Club, but then again, not too many things rouse me like a good old fashioned bulk market run!) Plus, because I am a faithful Minnesotan, I like Target more! I suppose that Wal-Mart does have lower prices - but they just don't have the fancy Red-Dot-ness that sets me all a twitter! Anyone else with me on the Target lovin' there??

So tonight I came home from North Peach, New Jersey and made it back to Actoria at 9:25! Hooray - my gym closed at 10 -- this gave me exactly 30 min. to burn off some of those calories I wasted on the "skinny" latte's that Starbucks is advertising in their windows now!

300 calories less and feeling great I went home from the gym and promptly sat myself in front of the tube to watch the new show Cashmere Mafia. (Not as cool as the 612 Mafia, but who is, really?!) It was a really fun show! And fun to see where they ate -- I always like to try the places featured on shows!

So that friends was my fun & exciting weekend! Now it's off to bed for this girl. I must get my beauty sleep. Will see all my acting buddies tomorrow at "A Catered Affair" Chorus Call. Hooray! (Thinking of singing Lily of the Valley and wearing my new purple dress from Calypso! Fun times at Telsey & Co - fun times...)

As always, your tune humming blogger,

Miss Musical

Divine Intervention

Hello my lovelies,

Well, I had a bit of a slow start this morning... (all those of you who thought I'd be joining you in the equity line at 8 a.m. - News Flash - I was STILL sleeping!)  Arugh.... if this auditioning thing weren't at the ass-crack of dawn I might have an easier time getting up for them.   So I crossed both my audition appointments out in my planner...

 Does anyone else out there feel guilty when they have to cross things out in their datebook?  I get a big pang of guilt when I do this?  Usually because the event was important to me and that means that I didn't push myself hard enough to attend.  Especially feel guilty when it's an audition.  (My method to usually get my butt out of bed is to tell myself "If you sleep in you're not going to audition & if you're not going to audition, you can't get the job!")  

BUT a nice surprise today was running into my dear girlfriend Hurstie on the subway!  I haven't seen her in forever (well OK- two weeks) but I missed her & was intending to call her over the weekend!  She used the term "divine intervention" to describe our chance meeting.  I like that!  I think I'll steal it & use it for my own!  Now who would think - out of all the subway cars in NYC we happened to get onto the same one and we "Happened" to sit across from one another!?!  Love that!

THAT my friends, is why NYC is so great!  One day you can be chuggin' along in your daily routine and then the next moment be catching up with a friend!  (It's happened to me quite a bit!)  

So perhaps not attending the audition this morning wasn't as terrible as I thought.  If I had gone I would've never seen Hurstie!  Now there's some divine intervention for ya!  (I'm going to go and cross out that audition in my datebook now....)

High on Coffee....

Oh, friends! I'm so zinged up on coffee right now that my hands are a little shaky typing this! This does not bode well for addressing-by-hand all of Mrs. UES's new years cards.... I can barely sit still!

I've had two waters and a "calming" tea with no caffeine in it. Uugh... I was totally able to pull off two cups before I left for MN and now it's just too much! (Perhaps this is a good thing, as I really should be drinking water instead of coffee...)

Was intending to go to an audition today at the York Theatre Company - but decided to get these New Years cards written instead. I will, however, be attending the Smokey Joe's Audition and the She Loves Me audition tomorrow at Equity, if anyone would care to join me in the Equity line at 8am. (Uugh - it's that season again... the dreaded "let's get up early & audition season!) But one never knows, does one! I could actually get a job doing theatre this year!

Now THAT would be something to blog about!

Other plans for the day: (and not necessarily in this order)

1. Finish addressing cards

2. Drink More water

3. Go to post office & mail off random things that others have left with me (washcloths from my estate management days, a book from a girlfriend, late Christmas gifts, cards, etc)

4. Workout

5. Shower (this will for sure be AFTER workout - and for all those of you who really know me, YES I will shower today!)

6. Burn some CD's.

7. Go & buy half caf. coffee at grocery store! (God love the Folgers half caf!)

8. Return the Tudors Disc one & get Disc 2 at Blockbuster! (I watched the whole freakin' thing last night! That show is not historically accurate, but it's so HOT that I don't care if Bessie Blount has her kids too late or if Mary Boleyn's two kids aren't even mentioned!) They could make it a reality show titled "Who wants to be a Mistress turned Queen?!"... Aah good times...

Friends - moral of today's blog - when drinking morning coffee make SURE to monitor intake of exactly how much coffee you ingest. I'm gonna take some water & a downer pill now...

Until we meet again, your tune humming (and caffeine loving/hating) blogger,

Miss Musical

Healthy Food and Working Out!

Hello my lovely readers!

Well it's time for an update on my weight loss, let's get in shape, it's the new year plan! I'm still quite inspired -which is good! Hopefully this idea will carry on in the coming months!

Today I went grocery shopping and got wonderful, healthy foods that will help my body be as productive as possible! (Lots of Veggies, Fruits, lo-fat Cheese, Turkey burgers, lean Chicken and balsamic vinaigrette and olive oil!)

I just watched Oprah (fabulous episode today) and my snack was a bunch of baby carrots & sliced up broccoli dipped in Hummus! Yum!

So far I'm trying to combine the Abs Diet and Weight Watchers... I like to eat - not gonna lie - but since moving to NYC I've found myself grabbing french fries and pizza WAY too often. So when I was home Mom suggested I try the Abs Diet. I tried it for 2 days - that was a joke - you couldn't have Starbucks or diet soda (both things that rock my world). So I decided to take most of what Abs Diet suggests (berries, green veggies, green apples) and combine it with weight watchers points! It's working - I hope... Am planning on weighing myself in tonight!

I'm off to pilates tonight - this is easy when UES family isn't in town & I get to work at home. But next week I have started to schedule workout time into my day (usually the mornings I don't have auditions).

Previously, I've tried to workout after work in the evening - around 9 to 11 p.m. - this is NOT a good time for me. SO we'll see if I can haul my tail out of bed to workout in the mornings at the Rock in Actoria. Hopefully the pilates workout will be good tonight & I won't get so zinged up that I can't sleep! (that's the worst - was up at 3 a.m. last night because of a late night workout!)

If anyone has other good healthy food on the go ideas, please let me know -- I'm always lookin' for healthy quick bites in NYC!

As Always, your tune-humming blogger,

Miss Musical

New Year and New Beginnings

Hello my lovely readers,

So I was fortunate enough to visit the fam back in Cake Eater, Minnesota for Ten Whole Days! I arrived an angry Christmas hating New Yorker and left with my faith restored, my spirit calm and my outlook more positive than it's been in weeks!

Some of the highlights of my trip home were:

* Attending "Sweet William" at the Guthrie theatre with my mom. It was a lovely play all about the life of the Bard with smatterings of his monologues throughout the narrative of his life's story.

* Going to Christmas Eve service with my family at St. Fabulous Church. (It really is quite fabulous!) They do a cantor of the history of the world before Christ and all the events leading up to it (Adam & Eve, Sarah & Abraham, Ruth, Noah, etc..) and then the grandest part of the whole thing "on the 25th day of December, two thousand years after the time of David, Jesus Christ was born!" ... Then the hand bells start to ring, THEN the organ starts playing "O Come All Ye Faithful" in a way that says "Watch out bitches, it's Christmas!".

It's really quite moving, and standing there with my family I found myself overwhelmed with gratitude for my life and family... Got a little teary... Just a great service overall

* Going to the annual Christmas bash at Salsa Gal's house & getting a little drunk with my pals from Cake Eater High School!

* Having Dinner with the Senora family (see previous blog)

* Going shopping (Twice!) with the Coffee Man. We went to Mall of America and both days were tons of fun! I love a good shopping spree & helping others spend their hard earned money!

*Fun Drinks with Q-er and her husband. We went to Santorini's. It's going to be torn down soon... (no more Kareoke -- sniff, cry!)

* Dinner with Director R.Go and Law Girl (both pals from Cake Eater High) at the 112 Eatery! Friends - this was one of the BEST meals I've ever had! We had the 112 French Fries, the Bree Cheese Burger, the Lamb Chops with yogurt sauce... and a couple glasses of wine (ahem...)

* Christmas Eve at my cousin's house - great time with the family! And when we played the Naughty Santa gift game (where you can steal or keep your gift) I asked to stop after the first round of steal or keep...

This was quite a funny event, as I gave a little speech about the past Christmas's and how I've bit my tongue while other family members do a second round to get the item that they want. This usually results in me loosing my coveted gift to an older family member.

Well this year there was NO MORE of that!

And so I got what I wanted: Eat, Pray, Love and the first season of Entourage.

* Going to my first MN Wild Hockey game!! Coffee Man has season tickets & he took me to the game on Saturday night! Cold Beer, close seats & sweaty men in big shoulder pads -- I was a very happy girl! AND we WON!!! In overtime! (SUCK IT Oilers!!)

Now one would think that opera lovin', knitting fan, quiet night Miss Musical would hate this sport. Well, friends, loving hockey is part of being raised in the great state of Minnesota & I'm almost sure I knew what Icing was before I was four years old! Plus it didn't hurt that Cake Eater High won state my sophomore year! (Suck It Hill Murray!)

Am I a sore looser?? No. But am I a LOUD winner! YES!!

Oh- where was I?? Oh, yes, more highlights!

*Watching the movie Fargo for the FIRST TIME!! (Yah, You Betcha!)

*Getting my hair done at H-Salon with my fav. stylist!

*Hangin' out with my Mom, Dad & Brother & reading the paper on Sunday morning.

All this said, my first day back in NY yesterday was great - but I miss my family like crazy already.

I'm gearing up for a fun week of getting the New Years Cards in order for my lovely UES Boss (aahh... the joys of being a personal assistant). Only 325 more cards to address... Wish me luck, dear reader... Wish me luck... Good thing that the family comes back from St. Barts on Sunday - I'm getting lonely without them!

Well, guess it goes to show that you can take the Girl out of Minnesota, but you can't take the Minnesota out of the Girl!

As always, your tune humming blogger,

Miss Musical