Beach!!!

So, here I sit in the internet cafe in Cuba. I have 44 minutes left on my time card and I wanted to come in and let you all know that my video camera is quickly filling up with fun blog vids of mine and Bryan's vacay. Bryan had never been on a plane before, nor had he ever been on a horse before! I have video! I also have tons of pics!!! With that said, I am going to sign off for now, we get back this Thursday. Blog will follow shortly!! Ciao, amigos!

My mother told me to.

So here I sit. It is 3:46am on March 16th. I have just got home from work. I have been planning this blog post for months. Literally. Somewhere in between finishing the show in Niagara and doing another musical in Barrie and moving in with my boyfriend Bryan etc etc etc, I planned a blog. I did. And I know that none of you, if you are still looking for new posts and haven't given up on me, want excuses... and I offer none.

I wanted to come to you all fabulous with audio and video clips, which I have and my laptop won't let me upload... EVIL TECHNOLOGY. Tomorrow, I plan on stealing a half hours time with Katie's MAC and uploading all sorts of fun. I SERIOUSLY PROMISE...

Until then, here is a synopsis of what has been going on with me:
December 2010, moved in with the boy. It was an... adjustment. As of right now, we are AWESOME... as an aside, he proposed that I do a mini-blog-within-a-blog titled 'Grade8struggle' about the perils of dating a man in his mid-20's when you are in your mid 30's! Let me know what you think. Next week we go to Cuba for our one year anniversary. Can't wait. Boyfriend. Beach. Booze. Amazing.
January 2011, agent went into overtime and booked me for EVERY COMMERCIAL AUDITION POSSIBLE.
March 2010, finally booked one. For a french company called Fleury Michon. Check out their website. People, let it be said that the french have an amazing sense of humour. The entire day that I spent on set was filled with laughter. It is going to be a great spot, aired in France on TV and in the Cinema and as soon as I have a copy (i.e. it has gone to broadcast) I will youtube it and post it here.
Present: Katie and I are deep in rehearsals for our next show... in May... if the venue EVER calls me back. Also, we are hitting the studio on April 6th to record our fan faves CD! We have spent some time revamping our website so check it out and join our mailing list!!! (top left)

So, I will post again with fun vids, and for real, I am back. For real. Seriously. Back. I know, you don't believe me.

for real.

Closing and Mini-cations!!!

Who doesn't love a big kiss?!!! Right?! Heh heh. That pic was taken outside of the Hershey store in downtown Niagara Falls Canada! I was lucky, while doing the show, I had a fair amount of time to explore Niagara Falls and these are my observations: there are far too many mini-putts, wax museums, and tourist traps!! With that said, when Bryan came to visit and see the show, we went to a mini-putt, an arcade and Ripley's Believe it or not!!! Bwah hahahahaha... where I, of course, had to get my fortune told by Zoltar. I didn't turn into a 12 year-old, don't worry!!

Then, the next weekend, Mom and Auntie Florence came to visit and see the show, and we did the Butterfly Conservatory, which was spectacular! If you are ever in Niagara Falls, please go to the conservatory. It was totally worth it!



We also got super touristy and took the Maid-of-the-Mist! This was actually very very very fun and very very very wet! But look at how cute all of us are in our lovely blue ponchos:

So... the show has closed. I bid my character a sad farewell... This was, by far, the longest running show that I have ever done (barring the ships, of course) and my character became a part of me! Despite all the drama with this company, I will miss going to Niagara. I became quite close with the family that housed me. The dog, Gabby, was finally starting to take me seriously. I did try to record Lucy's meowing for you but it never came out clear enough to post!!

Anyhoo, last year, through the steak house that I work at, we had a company-wide incentive and our location came out on top. I was on the organizational team. I had no clue at the time about the benefits of being on that team until we won, and I personally won a fully-paid 2-night accommodation at the Westin Trillium House at Blue Mountain. It also included dinner for 2 at Oliver & Bonacini one of the nights. I have never been to Blue Mountain before and didn't know until we arrived on Monday morning just how fantastic this place is. First of all, the hotel is spectacular. Here is a pic of it from the little village:


I mean, COME ON. Lovely.

Bryan & I shortly after we arrived:


Being an Ottawa girl, and upon finding the Beavertail booth, I had to introduce him to a treat I have been enjoying for about 35 years!!! For those not in the know, a Beavertail is a whole wheat pastry treat. It is deep fried and served traditionally with sugar and cinnamon. I like to add fresh lemon juice to mine (called a Kilaloe Sunrise)... Bryan added apple pie filling to his.

And then, people... we went to the spa. This place is phenomenal. Called La Scandinave, they have a series of hot pools, eucalyptus steam rooms and a sauna. All of the treatments include all day access to the facilities, so I booked our massage in the afternoon so we could spend the morning tubbing and enjoying the grounds. It is all outdoor and at this time of year when the air is crisp, it was heaven.



So, I am getting a little choked up with sadness that I am no longer up north, and have worked 2 doubles in a row since I have been back in the city. Our very first away-trip together was fantastic. You know how traveling tells you a lot about someone, and considering that we are moving in together it was good to learn a little more about him.

Today, we are driving even further up north and I am meeting HIS ENTIRE FAMILY. eep. Will blog about that this week!!!

Good News & Bad News...

So, what do you want first, the good news or the bad news?!

*insert jeopardy theme music here*

Okay, the bad news first. After a thrilling 22 days, we have lost Bernadette Waters. She is survived by her friend and colleague Barbra Streiswim who continues to eat bubbles despite her obvious grieving. I had finally put them both in the same bowl, and Barbra ate all the food leaving Bernadette to perish. Prayers were said and the burial was a quick one, attended by one mr. Bryan.

Now the good news.... are you ready people? I don't know if you are ready...

Bryan and I are moving in together!!! Eeep! (that was a squeal of excitement)
The place we have found is spectacular and we go to meet with the super on Tuesday to drop off our letters of employment and the deposit... I can tell you this much, it has a fireplace, hardwood floors, dishwasher, two bedrooms, one with an ensuite bathroom and central air and heating. Rent is inclusive and there is laundry in the building. Of course, the moving-in-together discussion has brought about some relatively funny conversations... this being the most recent one:

Me: So, um, I get to decorate, right?
B: Maybe... why?
Me: Because I want to live in a grown-up apartment...
B: What is wrong with my stuff?
Me: Welllllll, your foam evil-dead-the-musical axe doesn't really go with my original pieces of artwork.
B: Do I get any space to decorate?
Me: Sure, you can have man-land (i.e. the spare bedroom, i.e. the video gaming room)

Bryan wants me to tell you all that I have also given him restrictions on man-land. i.e. I have told him he can't paint it black with glow-in-the-dark nebulas and black lighting. I am not being un-reasonable, am I?!!

So there you have it... after 10 years of single-dom and living alone, I am shacking up with my boyfriend. I am very excited about it!!

In other news, the show in Niagara is ending this coming weekend the 14th-16th of October. I have very much enjoyed doing the show, and will miss my character very much.

Let's see... I will be posting again on Wednesday with WW results...

Hmmm... I think that is about all for now...

Shows shows shows!!!

I know I have started all my posts with "So much has been going on"... but really, seriously, so much has been going on...

Let's start with Niagara. So, after 7 full-day rehearsals, we successfully mounted the show. I continue to drop lines. I actually made the comment this week, that I have done the show completely word-perfect, but never all in one show!! One of these weekends, I will do it... I have faith in my memory! One of the main problems is that our audiences have been dismally small. As in anywhere from 5-8 people small. Which hurts my heart. It is hard to get up there and leave your heart on the stage when you have 5 people out there who aren't laughing or clapping after every song... alas. 3 weeks left, we can only hope for some bigger audiences! I would like to add on that going into this contract, I was angry and feeling unprepared, and I am really enjoying doing the show. It is a great show and a great role. The music director is an awesome, very talented man who has written some fantastic songs for the show, and the other guy in the show who plays both of my exes has been a treat to work with. I look forward to being on stage with the both of them every night. With that said, there are some major problems with the head honcho that I am dealing with on my own.

Okay, 2Divine, on the flipside, was the complete opposite. We had something like 93 people out to the show and they were very rowdy and fun. I even have pics and vids!! Look:

This is probably us doing our opening number: "One Night Only" from Dreamgirls with our fabu accompanist Aaron Eyre!!

This is us doing Journey's "Don't Stop Believing' with my friend Tim Beuckelare on guitar!
And because I was totally lax with the teaser videos, here are a couple of my fave videos from the show:







There are many more, so please feel free to watch them all!!!

Also, total bonus... I got a couple of crazy fish out of it!! Last year, we made these pink pouffie things to decorate the stage with, and we couldn't think of how to decorate the stage this year... Katie had a brilliant idea to have goldfish. One for her side table, one for mine and one for Aaron's piano. We named them Ste-fin Sondheim, Bernadette Waters, and Barbra Streiswim. We donated Ste-fin Sondheim to one of my friend's 12-year olds, and I adopted Bernadette and Barbra since miss Katie has a cat. I haven't owned a fish before, and I have to tell you, they are a little crazy. Bernadette tries to escape from her bowl, and she eats bubbles. When you put the bowls together they swim right up to each other trying to figure out why they can't touch. (Don't stress out, I am buying a bigger bowl for the both of them to fit in together!) Here they are, the one on the left is Bernadette and the one on the right is Barbra:


Then there was the JDRF Benefit Gala for the Steakhouse. It was a very successful evening. We raised a significant amount of money for Juvenile Diabetes and the event itself was really fun. A lot of great talent was showcased and I am happy to have been a part of not only the organizational team but the performance squad as well! Whoo!

This is me and one of my co-organizers, Jenn:

I suppose that has been my last 3 weeks. Add on a cold and a seriously strained voice and that about wraps it all up in a nutshell.

In Weight Watchers land, I actually stayed exactly the same for the entire rehearsal process despite the fact that I was eating out and eating fake frozen food, and not having much time to actually grocery shop. Not bad. I'll take it!

Feeling Screwed... and not in a good way....

So... I did not weigh in this morning... because I am currently on a megabus to Niagara Falls to start rehearsals for that show...



Let me tell you a little bit about what has been going on. I got this show. It is very exciting, as I will be playing a lead role and it is a significant contract: 6 weeks. So, about 4 weeks ago, I emailed the director asking all sorts of questions... where will I be staying, when do we get paid (weekly, bi-weekly, end of contract,) How am I getting down there to Niagara... you get the idea. There were emails back but not all of my questions were being answered. As most of you know, I like to know what is going on... not that I don't love a good surprise, but you know what I am saying. As of 2 days ago, they still didn't have a place for me to stay. Keep in mind that rehearsals start today. I had a panic attack on Sunday at rehearsal for Katie and my cabaret show (which is the 19th, plug plug plug). I have had to take 2 weeks off both jobs to go to Niagara to rehearse and mount this show (we open next Thursday) and they had nowhere for me to sleep? Last night at 8pm I got a phone call telling me that they have a house for me to stay in.... and it is going to cost me $75 a week. Maybe someone should have mentioned that to me. Maybe I would have been prepared if I had had notice that I was going to have to cover my own room and board.Why hold auditions in Toronto for a show in Niagara if you are not prepared to house your actors? I get that this is a non-union gig, but I am getting paid not a lot of money to do this show, and I am booking significant amounts of time off of 2 jobs to do it. I was livid when I got off the phone. Bryan did a pretty good job of cheering me up, but this morning, I am leaving to Niagara with a shitty taste in my mouth. This is not how I should be starting this gig. I should be excited. Am I being unreasonable? Seriously, someone tell me if I am being unreasonable....

Anyhoo, that is where I am now. On a Megabus to Niagara which I am not being re-imbursed for.

Crazy Town...

My life has been a crazy town.

Okay, let's rewind... I had a birthday. Usually, I have been very pro-my birthday!! I love birthdays in general, EVERYONE's birthday. And mine is no different... I love my birthday. This year, Bryan and I went to the Science Centre for the Harry Potter exhibit, which was actually pretty good. I wished that there had been a little more interactive stuff, but it was neat to be so close to some of the coolest props! And really, who doesn't love the Science Centre?!

Then, we went for a quiet little dinner, and I was caught off guard by some birthday blues. The 35-years old and still waiting tables thing. I thought I would be somewhere completely different by the time I hit 35, and here I am, and not much has changed in the last few years. I know that I am completely responsible for this. I have made decisions that have brought me here, and not been as pro-active as I could have been... Anyhoo, after dinner, Katie and her boyfriend Ben came over and the four of us whooped it up with some serious Wii fun!!

Then, I had a doctor's appointment. The usual annual check-up, no biggie... except this year, she made an odd "hmmm" when she was feeling my neck. I don't like odd "hmmm"'s. When she told me that my thyroid is palpable, I had no clue what she was saying. And let me tell you, when you are googling 'swollen thyroid', there is WAY too much information and not any of it helpful. Basically, it was all 'you could gain wait, you could lose weight, you could be tired, you could have cancer, blah blah blah'. So, she gave me a requisition for an ultrasound which happened last Friday. The ultrasound technician said it is a definite nodule on the right side of my thyroid gland, which happens to be wrapped around my vocal chords. I have noticed some exhaust in my voice, and I have been very tired physically. Whether this is my thyroid thing or just working two jobs and rehearsing for the cabaret and spending time with my script for 'Angie', I don't know... now we just sit and wait for the blood test and ultrasound results!

Speaking of rehearsing with Katie... I know I have promised some video... I have been technically waylayed. My video camera isn't working. I captured two vids, and then when I got home, the battery died, so I changed it out, and now it won't turn on. So, I have had to improvise for the sake of my blog. I have used one of my rehearsal audio recordings. You have to forgive it, it was sitting beside my face, so you mostly just hear me, (sorry Katie!) and it was our first time through on this particular song, but here tis:




So, now I know how to do this iphone thing, I will try to record some video and more audio in our next rehearsal and see how it goes!!! Oh technology, how I love and hate you.

I start rehearsals for the Niagara show on Monday, and to be honest, I have no clue where I am going or what time I should be there. I hope that I hear something soon, but as of right at this very second, I haven't heard anything. Kinda frustrating. From an obsessive compulsive viewpoint, having been raised in an extremely organized house, I have (sometimes un-real) expectations.

Oh, and then there was my actual birthday party!!! This year's theme was '35 and still alive' and it was a 1970's theme. Here are some pics:

So, I guess that about rounds it up. I am down another .5 this week, which is good, considering my crazy town life. I'll take it. Blarg.