good tidings to you.

if pictures are worth a thousand words...

then these pretty much sum it all up. we are goofballs.

all photos by Debbie Huber Photography

sneak peek.

yesterday was pretty amazing because Debbie of Debbie Huber Photography snapped some Christmas photos of our little family of two. what i love about Debbie's photography is that she captures people just as they are. she doesn't make you do awkward posed photos, she just lets you do your thing and she seems to bring out the fun and the happiness and the love in her photos.

here is just a sneak peek of what yesterday was all about... and i cannot wait to see more!

crazy christmas

I can't believe it's almost Christmas. I'M NOT READY!
I haven't had the time to Christmas shop. I'm supposed to go over to Lauren's house to wrap presents with her tomorrow, but I have no presents to wrap yet.

I've just been so busy that I haven't had the time to shop AND I'm avoiding crowds like the plague. I hate crowds. I feel like that big guy in that Christmas commercial who's shopping with his mom at a crowded store and someone bumps into him when his mom says, "Let it go!" and he yells, "But everyone's bumping into me!!!" - that guy is totally me. I tried looking up that commercial on youtube but apparently it's not there. I laugh every time it's on tv.

This past weekend I basically moved all of my Christmas decorations over to our church to decorate for the Christmas party. It was an 8 hour day (thanks to Chanell, Lauren and Noel for all your help!) and then after the party was done we took it all down. On Sunday I redecorated my house. Oh and did I mention that I baked apple pie (which won the bake off in it's category!), jam crumb bars and chocolate cupcakes with buttercream frosting for the party? Yup.

Oh and I also memorized a monologue from Twelfth Night...
and worked on the dialect for my second monologue. If you don't get the famous deep southern drawl right for a Tennessee Williams play (in this case Summer and Smoke), then it's useless to even do the monologue at all. I've spent hours on both monologues. By the end of today I'll have spent close to 5 hours since this morning on them both. I have no idea how many hours I put into it this weekend. Tomorrow I'm going over to Sue's house so she can coach me on the monologues and I have to say I'm pretty nervous. I've worked with Sue many times, but the thought of anyone coaching me on audition pieces scares the crap out of me. I hate auditions (let's face it, who doesn't?). I really don't know how I've gotten any roles because I'm so bad at them... oh wait, I know why. Because most of the plays I've been cast in were only because the director knew he/she would cast me anyway, so it didn't matter if my monologue sucked or if I even delivered one. In fact, for my audition piece that was to get the part of my favorite character to date, I completely blanked half way into it. I just stared into space, then said, "I'm sorry, I can't remember a thing." and then the director said, "I'll see you at callbacks." I only got that part because of my appearance at the time and because the director (Sue) knew what I was capable of and that I could play that part. Thank God or I would have been so sad to not get that role.

But I digress.

I know the Twelfth Night monologue. I have it word perfect, but I'll bet you a dollar to a donut that tomorrow when Sue starts working with me on it I'm going to totally blank. I don't know what happens to me, I just freeze up. Auditioning is this weird thing that (I personally feel) does, in no way, show a director or casting agent what I'm capable of. Get me into the rehearsal process, give me direction and a little time to do my research and I'm good to go, but throw me in a room with a panel of people staring at me and I crumble.

This is the sole reason why I chickened out last year and didn't do any of my grad school applications and auditions. I told myself I wasn't ready, but really it was because I was terrified of that imaginary panel of people. This year, I'm forcing myself to take it step by step until I get to that day when I have to stand in front of all those judgmental orbs and pour my heart out... or stand there staring blankly into space.

And I've been one of those judgmental orbs! I've cast or helped cast shows before and I know that it's nothing personal. Everyone's just looking for the right type... but still it terrifies me.

Wow, that was quite a tangent. I wasn't planning on this post going in that direction, but whatever.

~~~

Anyway, what I meant to write about was how I've been too busy to shop and too busy to blog lately. So since I skipped Monday's WW post, I shall publish it here on this post.

{Week Five}

- 1.4 lbs

Change since week one: - 4.6 lbs

Change since 2006: - 34.6 lbs

I lost this week! I'm so happy that my low carb/low sugar intake is really working. Granted, I did pig out on desserts this past weekend at the party and the next day (hello carb and sugar heaven), so I won't be surprised if this week isn't so successful. This week and next I'm weighing in on Saturdays instead of Sundays because all of the holidays and parties are falling on Saturday and Sunday. It'll just give me a bit of an edge. By the first of the year I'll be back to weighing in on Sundays.

I'm really finding that lowering my carb and sugar intake is really a lot easier than I imagined it would be. If I ever have a hankering or want to cheat, I just remember that on my weigh in days I can indulge and that seems to help me feel less deprived. There are definitely weeks when I want that cupcake or even something as silly as a marshmallow and I go for it, but that's okay. Just as long as I stay in moderation I'll be good.

Even if next week's weigh in isn't so good, I'm not giving up. I'll get right back on the horse, and if it is okay, then all the merrier.

drought (and a fresh new look)

{image source}

it may seem as though i have fallen off the face of the earth.

or that i don't care.

or that i have given up.

or that i'm just too busy to put in the time and effort it takes to keep a blog running.

and read other blogs.

i'm going to be completely honest here.

for a while i didn't care.

i did give up (almost).

i have been extremely busy.

i haven't read any blogs. at all.

i passed up opportunities to be featured on some really great blogs.

i passed up many opportunities to write what's going on in my head and in my heart.

i literally avoided even looking at my computer.

for the past couple of months i have been busy rehearsing for the play i associate directed at VUSC and supporting the cast and crew by seeing as many performances as i could.

i have been so busy that i only just began my Christmas shopping (two down, i don't even want to think about how many more to go).

i haven't even thought about sending out Christmas cards.

i only recently decorated my house for the holidays.

i have been doing well at WW, as far as i know.

i have spent all of my free time with David (the hubs), Bogart (the kitteh) and with Lisbeth Salander (those books are crazy good).

and some time with the Bard (Shakespeare, that is).

i have been working on some monologues, doing as much as i can in a short period of time and too little hours in the day to prepare for grad school applications/auditions.

i have been thinking a lot about the play that i am going to start writing this year with the help of one of my favorite college professors, Warren "Sir" Doody (the "Sir" is an inside joke, sorry to be so elitist).

i have been asked by my mentor, head of the theatre department at VUSC, and founder of American Coast Theater Co., Sue Berkompas, to play the lead in one of ACTC's summer 2012 plays, which just so happens to be written by Sir Doody himself (i'm a lucky gal these days).

all of that to say, i've been busy. 

i've put he calls me wifey on the back burner.

i got lazy.

i hope you all can understand.

but being busy wasn't the only thing keeping me away.

i've written drafts of the reason(s) why, but never had the nerve to hit publish.

maybe this season i will.

but not today.

so to hopefully kick start my blogging again, i have refurbished the place. 

i've spruced it up a bit to help me get back into the swing of things, to cease this drought.

i needed a fresh start.

i needed a new look.

i hope you like the new look of this space.

White Christmas

I've been avoiding this post simply because I took so many photos in New York and, although I knew I'd share my favorite shots with you all, I also knew that it would be difficult to narrow them down and I would end up posting way too many.


And I was right.


This post is VERY image heavy, so I apologize, but I just can't help myself.


There was just too much inspiration all around me, it's hard for me to whittle it down.


So here we go...

{Strawberry Fields in Central Park}

{My sweet mama <3}

{Museum of Natural History}

{This one's for Kacie}

{David & I are both very fascinated with Native American culture/history}

{View of Macy's from the top of the Empire State Building}

{We found a pub we loved with actual Irish bartenders & patrons}

{The Rockefeller Center tree}

{The inside & outside of St. Patrick's Cathedral, 

where we went to mass on Christmas day}

{One of my favorite buildings, The Plaza Hotel}

{Honestly the best breakfast I have ever had in my life.

Remember this post?}

{Greenwich Village area/Bleecker St.}

{Washington Square Park just after it had begun to snow}

{The blizzard was on it's way}

{Bryant Park}

{Yes, it was that cold}

{Quite literally in the middle of the blizzard, in Times Square.

It was very post-apocolyptic}

{Chelsea Market, one of my favorite spots}

{Bleecker Street Pizza, literally the best}

{Our favorite record shop in our favorite part of Manhattan, The Village}

{In St. Paul's Chapel, where the firefighters of 9/11 rested}

{Lady Liberty}

{From inside Central Park}

{A couple of my favorite dudes outside of the best cheese shop ever}

{The view from our hotel window}

{The New York Library}

{From inside Bryant Park}

Hipstamatic & Instagram Favorites

{Times Square}

{They mate for life!}

{Can you tell that I'm kind of, sort of a little obsessed with owls? Well, I am}

{My favorites}

{Macy's window displays}

{Bryant Park tree}

{Rockefeller Center tree}

{Washington Square Park}

{I'm not kidding, the best breakfast I have ever tasted.

I won't show you what my plate looked like afterwards}

Hope you all enjoy!