Turkish Delight!

Have you ever actually eaten Turkish Delight??? I have and I wouldn't recommend it! Not that it is that bad it just cannot in any way ever lead up to the magical delicious powers that it possesses in the classic CS Lewis story The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. That book is one of my absolute favorites. Not only the book but any and ALL movie adaptations. I actually like the small budget BBC version the best. Maybe because I watched it every year of my life, that I can remember of course. When I was in 8th grade at Hand Middle School for our dance performance we did a ballet version of the classic tale. I was Father Christmas. It was fantastic I had a solo and got to dance with some of my best friends! Speaking of Father Christmas I want to give a little shout out to this guy:

Black Santa. One of my coworkers at work has this guy on her door. He is my favorite. When I was a kid my dad would give us black Santa Christmas cards, it doesn't really have anything to do with race, it was just another one of his ways of showing us that things are not always the way people think. Open you mind a little more and accept the concept that if there IS a Santa, he might be black...who are we to put a color on his skin. So I have adopted this notion and love it more every year.

Christmas time is a lot different this year. First of all I cannot believe that it is the 6th of December already. I mean whoa time sloooow down. I do love this time of year though. I mean I am the brokest of the broke so it is forcing me to get creative with my Christmas presents this year. I am going to make some wreaths and other decorations as gifts. Making stuff n general is just so much nicer than buying something. I mean hey I love to be bought for but if you take time to think about me, and what I might really like and then you MAKE IT FOR ME...whoa. Awesome. My family hasn't decided what they are going to do for Christmas yet so it is kind of up in the air. Which is OK. No matter what it will be a world different than last year. In a gesture unmatched by any in my life my family showed me support by spending their Christmas Eve '09 on a plane. They boarded a plane and flew to China to be with me. Now it wasn't the smoothest trip, but honestly China isn't really one of those places you can just hop a plane and go vacay for a week. The language and the society are so different that it takes a lot more preparation. Unfortunately I was ill the week they arrived, not a surprise I was sick at least once a month. I also had only lived there a few months and so I was unprepared to show them around. I only knew a bit of the language and IT WAS FREAKING COLD!! But I will never forget that they got on that plane and came to see me all the way on the other side of the world.

One thing that I gained in China that I will continue to appreciate in my life is Indian food!! I mean I think Mexican food is #1 in my world but there is a serious lack of it in China. I didn't eat a taco for over a year...sad state of affairs! BUT almost as if the world was like sorry for taking away your favorite try this, and thus I was introduced to Delhi Darbar. It was a restaurant that after the first time I ate there I went to at least once a month and that was the bare minimum. It was the regular dinner spot for my roommate Lindsay and me. She, being from England, was well versed in the way of the curry. It never occurred to me that because we live next to Mexico that we would have more readily available Mexican food, where as England is closer to India and therefore they have more Indian food. Now I am not discounting that either country does not have varying degrees of each but between the two of us we just noticed that it worked out that way. and when Lindsay comes to the US she is going to get a major dose of Mexican deliciousness! Anywho back to Indian food. there were several occasions where David and I would start out to try a new restaurant and would just end up talking ourselves into Delhi Darbar. Well I fell in love, with the spices and the colors and the whole experience. Needless to say I have been craving since my return home. The other day on our ride home from work we were a bit out of the way and K pointed out an Indian food restaurant that he says is comparable to the greatness he enjoyed in Japan. So we decided that it was 100% necessary to have Ifood night, and we did. EG and I went to K&L's for dinner one night. K called in our order and brought it back for us. I ordered this:

Murgh (chicken) Tikka Masala, which was my favorite dish in China. We also had veggie samosas and lemon rice. We had some yummy red wine to wash it all down and I tell you what ladies and gentleman, I was one satisfied diner. K got us level 3 spice which was perfect although I think I will step it up to a level 4 next time. It needs to hurt a little bit right! One day I will go all out and get the vindaloo, hard core right.

Well since I have been talking about Indian cuisine I might as well tell you about a book that read while I was in China, a book that in some ways changed my life. Shantaram. Lindsay found this book in a hostel that we frequently went to to drink beer and play pool. She read it first, and I tell this girl could read, the book is roughly 1000 pages and she finished it in like a month (it took me 4 months). She would sit on the couch and read and laugh or read and cry and she would just say, wait till you read it then you will understand. And understand I did. the reason it took me 4 months to read the book is because it forced me to take it slowly. I began reading and was instantly mesmerized by the writing. It is really thick at first but once you start to appreciate it you are hooked. I found it brought out the lit. minor in me. I would read it with a pencil and a note pad underlining and writing in the margins. Taking notes on things that I needed to look up or ideas to cross reference. It is seriously a brilliant and intricately told story. The first half of the book is one that I can see myself reading over and over again. The second half is thrilling but it in no way compares to the beginning. It is philosophical and beautiful and tragic and terrifying. And it all takes place in India. A land that I have always had an interest in but is made even more magical after reading this story. I would suggest this book to anyone and even gave it to EG as a gift, although I don't think she has even picked it up. It is intimidating, but once you start you will be transported to another world entirely! You can check out some info about it here, and to tell you just seeing this cover makes my heart beat a little faster

Well if you check it out happy reading everyone!

What are you reading, or what have you read that has changed your world a little bit??

xox

Time to remember...

What a week what a week. Last week really was special. It also already feels like it was nine years ago! Time is flying by so quickly. It is already December! I am not quite sure what I think about that, I mean it is great go DECEMBER but in general I like to savor my time and it is hard to do that when you blink and a year has gone by. I have to go ahead throw some mad props out to my dear friends April and Andrew for hosting the most amazing Thanksgiving extravaganza I have ever had. They were gracious, the food was amazing, Andrew cooked the most delicious turkey I have EVER eaten EVER! I am not exaggerating! It was his first try and it was the best. April out did herself. She is already a phenomenal cook but the macaroni and cheese, soup, dressing and especially the homemade sweet potato pie were so delicious. Also she made an amazing turkey salad for sandwiches the next day that rivals any chicken salad I have ever had! Watch your back Gourmet Shop ;)

So thinking back on a couple of past Thanksgivings, last year I was in China. Obviously. At the time I was the only American in our program so it was really interesting being surrounded by so many people who just do NOT celebrate this super American holiday. I had to teach on the Thursday but I had no problem with that because I was at Huanghe the primary school where I taught 3rd grade. I had three classes each class had aprox. 50 students in each and they were my little rays of sunshine in smoggy Xi'an. I taught them from the first day of their 3rd grade year to the last day and I watch them grow and change so much. Their little sparkling personalities shining and changing and growing and melding. I could see some of the students really take a great interest in English. They would ask questions and really try to talk to me! Oh brilliant! Anywho, I took that Thanksgiving Thursday and veered away from my usual lesson plan to tell them about this special holiday. I gave them vocabulary words like pilgrims, native Americans, turkey, family, thanks, feast, harvest. I, along with my assistant teacher, explained the history of the tradition and then how it is celebrated to this day in our country. After telling them how it is spent with your family, eating and giving thanks they asked me if I was going to go and see my family and friends. I remember getting teary-eyed in class and telling them no, that it was too far for me to travel. They were sad, they didn't understand why I would move so far away from my family. They wanted me to be happy, and I told them that I was very happy because I was extremely thankful for them. Then we went around the room and they got to tell me in English what they were thankful for, which with their limited vocabulary was a lot of the same things. Family and food, but when you think about it isn't that usually what we are thankful for as well?! After being a bit emotional it was time to have some thankful fun. So I passed out plain sheets of paper and told them to get out their markers. Then I went to the chalk board and traced an outline of my hand...then drew a face on the thumb and some little red chin turkey dangles and stick legs. When I showed it to the kids they all cheered and were so excited. Although I can't remember the actual Chinese name for a turkey I know that the literal translation is fire bird, interesting considering we fire them up each year! Well each student took to drawing out their own turkey hands. I wrote  GOBBLE GOBBLE in big letters on the board and by the end of class everyone was gobble gobbling around the class. It was the most fun. By the end of class they handed in their pictures, and almost all of them had dedicated them to me. They wrote in English and Chinese Happy Thanksgiving Sumner we love you. They wrote me messages saying how thankful they were for me because I teach them my language and because I am beautiful and funny. It may have been the most amazing day of my life.

After finishing teaching I went home and met up with my roommate Lindsay and our friend/ coworker Rob. Both R and L are from England so they had no real commitment to this holiday but decided to share it with me. I am not sure if they will ever know how much that meant to me. Hotels in the city were pretty good about serving appropriate Western feasts. So we hopped in a cab and headed off to the west side of the city to the Sheraton, they were offering a Tgiving buffet with all you can drink wine and beer for $180 kuai which is about $30. I'll take it!!! We lived on the east side and just had to go straight through the city wall and out the other side to get to our dinner destination, but it still took an hour to get there. Traffic in China is the craziest!! Once at the hotel we were seated and served, we quickly hit the buffet where we saw some much missed delicacies, like SALAD and CHEESE. It was brilliant! I ate and drank and ate and drank...then ate some more. It was gluttonous for sure, and it may be a sin but I deserved it! The three of us had a great time. We made our way to the dessert table more than once. This was the first time we were introduced to some of the weird ice cream flavors they serve, mushroom and green tea and something purple but I can't remember what it was! After dinner I introduced Rob and Linz to the Thanksgiving waddle, what we all are used to, the trying to move after having eaten our weight in turkey in fixins. We took a cab to Oscar's to continue the festivities but I quickly headed home. I had had a gracious plenty and was stuffed and sleepy. The day had been beautiful but challenging. It was cold and I was so far from home. I was thankful to be there and for the opportunity to grow and experience the world in such a dramatically different way, but I was homesick.

It is a Thanksgiving that I will never forget!!!

Good Day Friends!!!

I am on my lunch break right now so this is going to have to be a pretty quick post...hahaha. Right. If I can get writing I am not going to stop myself. I would rather stay a little bit late at work to be able to finish my post. So what's been going on in your world? Not much or tons of stuff? For me it is a bit of both.

I want to start us out on a pleasant note so let me show you a picture I took yesterday.

We had an early afternoon rehearsal for Sealed for Freshness, and as I was walking into the building I saw this lovely picture...ah if I were to own a home I would have this painted on my bathroom ceiling! 

OK so let's back up a bit. I went to see the midnight Harry Potter showing last Thursday night/Friday morning...loved it, can't wait for the next one. Proceeded to be a lazy bum and sit around all day Friday just watching HP movies in reverse chronological order. It was nice, well except for the fact that my roommate and I don't have a couch so I had to spend the entire time on the floor...which I am generally OK with especially because it is a carpeted floor! I motivated myself to get up and ready to go meet with EG, B and MRJ. We had dinner at Hunter Gatherer. It was delicious and the place was packed so it is indeed a hot spot for a Friday night! Might be the whole they brew their own beer thing...too bad I am not a big beer drinker. After dinner we went to Workshop Theatre to see their production of A Few Good Men. It was well done. I mean there are always things that could be better in almost every show so of course it was by no means perfect but they did a great job with a hard script. Aaron Sorkin who is one of my favorite writers wrote the show as a stage play but looking back he must have had screen play aspirations in mind when he was pounding it out because it just screams film. Anywho it was nice...we had post-show drinks at Goatfeathers and I was home and in bed pretty early.

Why call it a night so early on Friday...well because my brother asked me to be a volunteer for the annual Shandon Turkey Trot. I may have mentioned it before. It was a lot of fun. I got up early and treated myself to some Starbucks coffee and went to my post. I was on the corner of Duncan and Holly. I just had to make sure that no cars tried to drive over any runners. I tell you what it was a total inspiration watching those runners out there doing their thing. It was chilly and early but they were there running it out. It really made me want to get out there and do it too! I just might. There were kids out there with their parents and I really cannot think of a better way to spend time with your kids then partaking in a community event like this one! You get involved and you are teaching them about health and fitness two of the most important things we can teach our kids.

After the last runner finished I headed over to my parent's house because my step-sister was in town with my two nephews. One of which I had not seen since my return from China. He is 11 now and it is absolutely amazing to see how much he has grown and changed...and matured. That boy is a rock. He has a great head on his shoulders...the term "well adjusted" pops into my head! My other nephew is 5. He is a nut case in the most brilliant of ways. He would own the show Kids Say the Darndest Things. He is constantly entertaining us with some funny story or joke...I mean he is five but he can get us rolling. He says things like "WHAT THE.." and "YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME.." adorable.

Well they were in town because we were all heading to Charleston for a celebration. OK follow along while I spell this out. My step-mom Anne's older brother Allen and his wife Sharon were celebrating their 50 wedding anniversary. 50 YEARS!!! Crazy talk!!! Anyway, Anne and Allen put together a surprise party getting a lot of the family together without Sharon knowing. It was held in Charleston, SC (one of the most interesting and beautiful cities in the world) at the Confederate Widows and Orphans home. They have a connection to this place but the details are a but fuzzy...I think someone told me while I was carrying boxes and trays into the room to set up...this place was absolutely majestic. It had a lush garden court yard area  and it had an old charm of hard wood floors giant spiraling staircases...and it is located right on Broad St. one of the oldest streets in the city. I snapped this picture as we were carrying in decorations at dusk:

That is a beautiful church that was right down the road and a Palmetto tree, many of which line the street. I love this town. I would love to go down there for a weekend and just walk around. There is so much to see, so much history and quirky little corners. You should definitely treat yourself to a trip there! The party was lovely and Sharon was surprised, but before you know it the weekend was over and I was on my way back to Columbia. I rode down and back with my dad, which was nice because I was able to ask him a whole host of questions.

The show I am doing (see above ;) is set in 1968 and my character would have been around 25-30 years old which is the same age range of my dad at that time! So I picked his brain a bit. Music, mindset, lifestyle...just some preliminary research. My father is a wealth of knowledge about so much stuff. I just love picking his brain!

After we returned to Columbia I went to the gym for some BodyFlow action, which I love. It is a mixture of yoga and taichi. I need that so much. I love the way stretching feels. But it hasn't done too much to help the piercing pain I feel in my back...constantly, like the muscles in between my shoulder blades are on fire. Not sure what to do about it, but something must be done!!

After the gym I rehearsed and went home to watch the AMAs which was fun. I haven;t seen an awards show in forever so it was entertaining. I loved some more than others but was just excited to see some fancy foot work and magical production. I would love to run a show like that, by run I mean stage manage! #Aspiration

Not it is Monday. I actually made it up this a.m. and went to the gym now I am plowing through my day. I am going to rehearse tonight then go grab a drink with a friend, JH. He is down from the District and I look forward to his entertaining with.

Other than that I am just making it through the week until...THANKSGIVING! I have so much to be thankful for...so I know you will get an ear/eye full of that on Thursday...unless I am in a food coma and it gets posted on Friday...

Well I look forward to talking with you again soon!

xoxox

PS a guy just walked by my office with some amazing cologne. The odor is splendiferous. I tell you what men's cologne can really get me. #blush

This is where the title goes!

Sometimes I look at the clock at 8:20 a.m. and think gah I'm ready for a nap! Well I have been awake for 3 hours and so it is kind of warranted. Even though in the 3 hours that I have been awake have not been very strenuous. I woke up, cooked a couple of eggs played on the net, showered and came to work...but man I am exhausted :)! So I am borrowing my friend K's car while he and his wife go to the beach for a week for the Tday holiday! It is going to be pretty exciting, going wherever I want whenever I want...I mean I get around (haha) enough to get things done but now with a car I can do things like spend an hour walking down the grocery aisles or strolling through 5 points. It is at my leisure. I would really love to live in a place where I could have that kind of autonomy naturally. In Columbia you need a car for life. It is like having a part time job when you don't have a car...I have to plan around rides and I know it frustrates people and I hate that, but it is a necessity. I can't afford a car. period. I mean buying a car, car insurance, gas...whoa it kind of makes my head hurt. AND when I have a car I spend more money. If I can't really get around I can't really by stuff. I am not an online shopper so I have to get there to buy. Which I am a bit nervous about having the car for a week but it actually doesn't matter...you have to have money to spend it and I sure don't have it!

Some say money can but happiness some say it can't...I believe both...I mean I don't have any money, honestly I am not just saying that I don't, and I am happy. I love fashion and clothes and shoes and things of that nature and I used to spend tons of money on it...all the time. But I can't do that now. You see I broke that habit cold turkey while I was in China. I mean I am a foot taller and twice as big as most of my Chinese female counterparts. So there is no market for big girls in China, so there was no product. I mean I could find the random shirt/sweater/shoe but it wasn't often. So that helped to break my clothes shopping habit. Also, you know not being able to speak the language was a bit of a deal breaker too...! So it used to be a new dress would bring me joy and it still does but I realize it isn't a need. I can be fine wearing the same clothes I always wear. I used to say that clothing is an extension of my personality, and since I am always changing so must my wardrobe. Well my clothes still express "me" but it is being able to find new ways to work what I already have creating a more accurate parallel!

On my list of things to do now that I have borrowed car...go to a place that serves coffee and read a book...if I was in China I wouldn't even think twice I would go to the Starbucks by the Bell Tower

and get a venti coffee and a blueberry scone and sit in a cozy chair for hours...and I mean hours. Whether I was with David or Kara we would write and read and research and enjoy the company and the familiar surroundings of the American company! But the Starbucks in Columbia are not set up for that kind of lounging. They want you in and out so they can turn that profit. I haven't found one yet that I would feel comfortable just hunkering down and reading! And since Adriana's (best Cola coffee shop ever) closed while I was in China, I feel like I have no where to go...help!!! Suggestions???

Well hopefully I will find somewhere...other plans include but are not limited to going to Big Lots just because...I have a couple of things I need and I have a list so that I can't over do it!!! I will most likely go back here:

The Asian market that my friend K found on his bit about town the other day!! See Kent lived in Japan before I lived in China so we have sort of an Asian connection. This place has a mixture of Korean, Japanese and Chinese products. I am pretty sure the family that owns it is Cantonese, from the Hong Kong-ish region of China. Meaning they are Chinese and speak the Chinese language but it is the Cantonese subset...like Mandarin is the primary language spoken in the large country, also Mandarin is the little bit of Chinese I learned, so unfortunately I won't be able to practice my mad skills with the family....but being able to walk into the store and for a brief moment reexpreience my life in the East is a little treasure in this town!

Tonight at Midnight I am going to see the Harry Potter movie. Ummm PUMPED. I have read all the books twice, I love them and think not only are they great stories but they are literary, layered and well written. I have seen all the movies and wasn't really happy with the last one but in general I wasn't really happy in life at that time...I was kind of a hater! So anywho I will be there tonight...and am thoroughly excited. I am sad that EG and B aren't coming...but they have grown up stuff to do tomorrow!

Other than that I am not really sure what I will do with all my spare time this weekend. I need to hang my art...can't believe I haven't done that...OH wait, duuuh! I am doing exciting things this weekend. On Saturday morning I am going to stand on a corner and make sure runners don't get hit by cars while they are partaking in the Shandon Turkey Trot!! After that I am going somewhere to do something but I just remembered that it is a surprise so I should not say...I mean I doubt that it will make a difference to you guys so if you read this don't get too excited!!! Well get excited about life, anytime!!!

Here is a picture of some of the delights from rehearsal the other night:

The script on the left. The wine on the right, where I like it...and a little tiny Delicious cupcake made by a fellow cast member. She said that she didn't mean for the icing on the tiny cake to match the script but I think she really did...and kudos for her!! It was Dewey our director's birthday...we don't usually drink at rehearsals...usually!

Last image for you...

FUN WITH MIRRORS!!!! There is a mirror on our side deck, great for getting natural light when you need to do things like pluck your eyebrows or check your makeup line...or just stand there and take pictures of yourself...whatevs.

Have a wonderful Thursday my dears and I will be talking to you!

xoxox

Jealous? You should be!!!!

My best friends April and Andrew are hosting Thanksgiving dinner for a few friends!!

This is the menu, I am bringing comfy pants and dessert port!!

Little bit of this and A LOT of that...

Hello there! So I woke up early this morning to get a head start on my writing because it has been a while since my last post...well my not so fantastic computer had other ideas about how it wanted to spend it's morning. Updating itself, slowly so so slow! It is quite frustrating but I can't get too mad I mean hey I have a computer. However, if I want to continue to up my regular writings I am going to need a new piece of equipment. I am going to hope and wish upon every star that I get one for Christmas because honestly I cannot afford one. I live meagerly, I make little and spend little and I am not in debt so I am lucky!

Well let's talk about things that have happened recently! My show at Trustus closed which is very sad indeed. The time spent with that cast and crew was some of the best. I have to send out big props to my friend Trey Hobbs who proposed to his girl friend this past Sunday. He told us about it during rehearsals so it was really nice to have that come to fruition while he was still in my daily! You see when you do a show with a group of people you create a bond. You really do, whether good or bad you bind yourself to these people for however long the process. There are always promises to keep in touch and for a reunion but that usually doesn't happen. I mean you become facebook friends you keep in touch by liking statuses and stalking pictures but you lose that closeness! There are many people that I have done shows with that I became super close to and now they are barely in my periphery! But that is kind of how life goes in general.

I have always been one of those people who has my set of constants, those close friends who know EVERYTHING about me and who can be counted on for anything. Then the rest of my world is filled with an ebb and flow of personalities. I love to give and get from each person that becomes a part of my life, and although people are in no way disposable you can get to a point with a person where you have gathered all you can and you move on. Hopefully there is no resentment and it isn't seen as an abandoning but an opening of other avenues. Does all that make sense? there have been many a friend that I will spend endless amounts of time with then one day it just kind of tapers off. Not so much as I get older but definitely in my youth! I will always count those dear souls as friends and am glad to have had them, they for sure left an imprint on me and an experience was gained. Oh dear how I digress!

Saturday was a relaxing, much needed, girl infusion with my friend April. She is part of the ADG and one of my best friends. She and I started off our day at The Gourmet Shop which has the most delicious EVERYTHING but they are famous for their chicken salad. It is so good I debated on capitalizing it like a proper noun! But I have to admit this was the main reason we were there:

It is the Mimosa Kit and it is only $11. That is totally BA!! After this delight April and I made our rounds around town different stores with different needs. One of our stops was Pier 1, oh I could spend hours in that store. I spent the majority of my money split between Target and The Dollar Tree...hey that is how I roll!

OK I know this:

is TOTALLY random, but on Friday B and I had a totally random run in with each other and sat outside Sbucks sipping coffee and enjoying the beautiful weather and relaxing conversation. As we were sitting down I noticed this little guy just chillin'. I have no idea who put him there or what he is there for but he is brilliant! HIGH FIVE!

So back to the Saturday happenings, show closed and GAMECOCKS WON!!! Hell yeah y'all! We beat Florida to take SEC EAST and will play Auburn in the SEC Championship game. I am so happy for my team. It has been a roller coaster ride in college football this year. It seems like every weekend something crazy is happening to the stats. I like it like that, it shouldn't always be predictable. You need a good season like this to shake things up.

Sunday was a day of Trustus gatherings. Although you would think that now that my show is over that my time at the theatre would decrease exponentially, and it will, but not on STRIKE day. The Sunday following the close of any show is strike and company meeting. Strike is what you do to tear down the set. It is bizarre walking into the theatre and seeing the stage that held so much creativity so many funny moments and tearful endings is being ripped to shreds! It is what has to happen though, I am sure I could tie this into my life somehow. Like actors and theatre people love new beginnings, love to create new things, they use each show to gain something to acquire experience and skill. Kind of like what I do in life. Hmmm, interesting.

So we proceed to tear down the set and clean up the theatre. Wiping down vacuuming up chatting enjoying the company. Then around noon everyone gets lunch. I walked across the parking lot to Publix, for the 3rd time that morning, to get lunch. It was yummy as always, thank you Publix Deli! Then we sit around and have company meeting. We talk about what is going on at the theatre, all the good and A LOT of the bad (money problems always) then we find out what is going on with everyone, how are the upcoming shows going, who is doing what around town. It is an opportunity to share what you need and hopefully to get support from a family type of grouping! Then we post-mortem the show that just closed. It was really great this time, everyone really seemed to enjoy the show! I kind of felt like some people were holding back because they didn't want to be negative which you know what every now and again just keeping it on the bright side can be a good thing. We tell people that we want to hear the things they didn't like as well as the things they did, which I understand we need the criticism to grow...BUT sometimes it is just nice to enjoy something and keep your dislikes to yourself.

My Trustus day is not over yet! Kay and Jim Thigpen co-founders of Trustus decided that they needed to throw a company party, and that they did. We drove out to their home out off Clemson Rd. and had hot dogs hamburgers yummy dips and delightful conversations. It was really nice. I spent most of the night in a big comfy recliner by the fire! It was so nice! People kept giving me a hard time about not moving from the chair but hello it was comfortable and it is in the living room so the conversation was constant, changing and entertaining. AND I had Becky's artichoke dip near by!! We called it a night pretty early, around 9 p.m., I mean it is Sunday night people don't really want to throw down on a Sunday night, especially when you have been up all day working, and you are coming off an intensely draining but fantastic show! I slept soundly that night!

My Monday was good! It consisted of a lot of this:

PAPERCLIPS!! I know not as exciting as you would think but hey I like to mix it up!! Let me tell you some of those paper clips have sparkles on them! But to go along with these paper clips would be tons of paper cuts...it is like a paper cut party on my hands. Which reminds me of a story my high school biology teacher told me about a guy who had a paper cut that was infected and he didn't treat it and they had to amputate his hand...good grief. I carried neosporen around for years. (and I know exactly where it is located at my office!)I love my job. It isn't too challenging just some of your typical administrative stuff but the company I work for does so much good on a daily basis that just being a part of that is truly inspiring!

The rest of my Monday was spent with fabulous friends at Village Idiot for $1 slice night! It was deliscious!

Tonight I will make my way to TACO TUESDAY at The Whig, shocker, then on to my 2nd dialect rehearsal for Freshness. It is our director Dewey Scott-Wiley's biday today so we shall have ourselves an extra special good time!!!!

Have a happy Tuesday out there folks!



LOVE and stuff!

Before I start this thing off right I want to throw a little something your way:

How about a little LOVE on a Thursday morning! This is my friend MRJ ring and she is letting me wear it for a while. (And by letting I mean I ganked that junk)
But today is Veterans Day so I am also sending this love out to all those that served, are serving or will serve. You are heroes, and brave beyond what anyone can truly imagine!

And now it is time for the show…

Yoooooooooooooooo! Today is totally one of those days, and what I mean by that is my head is somewhere else. I feel like a Pisces! I don’t mean anything negative by that, my best friend is a Pisces, what I mean is one of the delightful, but sometimes troubling, characteristics of this sign is forgetfulness. I call it living in the clouds, a perpetual dream land. I am kind of having one of those today in that I have forgotten stuff dropped stuff misplaced stuff all morning and it is only 8:30. It is going to be a long day. I have an excuse though; I am still getting over a head cold. I used a Netti Pot for the first time this morning, darn I should’ve taken a picture of it, and it has my face feeling all kinds of weird.

It is great really a nice holistic, natural, way to clean out your nose/sinus area. My friends swear by it! You just mix a little saline solution with warm water in this nifty little tea pot type deal and well honestly stuff it up your nose. Before you even know it you are rinsing out your face. I am all about the face so why not give it a good cleaning every now and again. I just wish I had one while I was in China, I am sure they do I just never found one, because the pollution that tainted my nostril was evil! Well with the Npot and the other all natural meds I am taking like this little packet of JOY:

EMERGEN-C What???!!!!!

I am going to get back on the full force wellness train before you know it! Which is a good thing because next week is going to be a jam-packed week of good times. I am going to go see a lot of theatre I hope, support the arts whoop! I am going to spend lots of time with friends, yeaaaaa!! And I am going to get stuff done…gah what a week! I can’t believe it is already hard into November. I am already trying to figure out what to do for NYE. I know I am going to stay in town for Thanksgiving, which will be great because I am pretty sure a LOT of people are coming into town that I am going to want to see…and ring their necks with hugs!

Christmas is still kind of up-in-the-air. I mean my parents totally teased me with a trip to Grove Park Inn in Asheville but that has been derailed! Boo! But hey I am just thankful that they are factoring me in on holiday plans at all. I mean they always do! Last year they flew to China to see me on Christmas; it doesn’t get much more factored in than that!

But NYE, I love New Year’s Eve. It has the possibility of AWESOMENESS, which means it also has the possibility of let down. Too much anticipation can be a bad thing…but I am not going to think about it that way! I am just going to be thankful for whatever it is that I do, and whomever I am with I will enjoy myself! Although I really hope it is super fun!!! What are you doing? I really wish I could spend NYE with my good buddy DCW but it is doubtful, him being up in Boston and all that. It will be weird without my Lindsay, my adorable roommate from China, but she lives in England. Oh how great would it be to fly over to England for NYE? Right after I win the lottery ;)

So anywho I am making plans. I enjoy making plans. You know what I also enjoy breakfast. And I get a yummy breakfast sandwich ever now and again from this little quaint cafeteria on the first floor of my building.

Some mornings, some special early mornings, the woman is baking fresh chocolate chip cookies to sell for the next couple of days. Today was one of those glorious days. The whole lobby of my building smells like warm surgery sweetness, and for that I thank her, and tip her kindly!

Tonight begins closing weekend for my show. I am not doubt going to get emotional…well honestly there isn’t much that doesn’t make me emotional, but this show will really be a sad one to close. I am going to miss the music and the lights, the actors exploring different choices each night. I am really going to miss the backstage entertainment in my life. But you know I have made a new little set of friends since this show began and for that I am extremely pleased. I think I will keep them!

I am nervous about the Gamecock football game this weekend and am almost glad that I won’t be able to watch it! We are gonna do it though, we are going to take the EAST!

A little addendum to yesterday, I never did get the TV working so I sat in front of the computer with two chairs creating sort of a lounge couch type deal, snuggled under my down comforter all day. I had some delicious soup for lunch and some shrimp and grits (YES) for dinner. I watched 5 episodes of Glee on HULU and completely freaked out and now I am going to have to HUNT down season 1 and watch them ALLLLLL. (I told you sometimes I freak out and go crazy on TV on DVD!)

I am going to get to it now, and by it I mean the work they pay me for!

But I want to leave you with this picture. It is one that my sister-in-law Tracy framed and gave to me one Christmas:

It just might be my favorite picture of all times.

There you see my brother smiling and staring out of frame, I know in my heart-of-hearts that he is smiling at my Nanny. He and my grandmother were best friends. Then there is me in the middle, what a mug. Oh my look at that face, I still make that face I am sure! But oh the true glory of this picture is on my left, no it isn’t the cake or the laughter, but it is my mother. In all her beauty. She is absolutely radiant and this is how I remember her. She had a smile that would knock your socks off and a wit that would slap you in the face. I miss her ever day for she was my best friend. I look at this picture every day and I smile and smile and smile! To see my brother’s laughter, my chagrin and my mother’s smile is a treasure. One that was captured here thankfully because it is a moment never to be regained but forever remembered!

xoxox