Welcome to my world

Last night was my 4th intro acting class.  It was a TON of fun.  We also got our first scenes…I’m so exited.  I’ll be meeting with my partner after work tonight to go over the scene.  Next Monday is our 5th class and we’ll be doing a rehersal of our scenes for our classmates, and then on our 6th class we do the final production.  We also got on film for the first time last night.  It was very enlightening…but let me tell you – I HATE seeing myself on film.  That was weird and kind of scarey – but the over all exercise was fun and encouraging!

I’m also joining the ongoing class which is held on Thursdays.  For that class I need to have a monologue…Yikes.  I’m trying to find a good one….Any suggestions?  For a couple of weeks, I’ll be doing double duty – but I can’t wait to be honest.  I’m getting so much out of this, and really enjoying myself.  GOD how I’ve missed acting!

Thanks to Joe Blaylock for this website.  What a great idea.  For anyone who has suffered with poor eyesight (that would be me), the idea that I couldn’t afford to have my eye’s fixed is one of the scariest ideas.  It’s always good to see that there are still people out there that are more concerned with the effect they can make on others…

So I am back to work after having a fantastic week off.  It’s really not as bad as I’m making it out to be…I have Wednesday and Thursday off for New Years…so seriously.

So Pete and I took most of last week of to head down to Memphis to spend the Holiday’s with his family.  It was a great week!  We left Saturday morning with Stanley in tow and headed down to Evansville.  We spent the night with Steve and Lindsay (Thanks Guys) and had the opportunity to see my Nephew Rowan, Jess, Andy, Aunt Amanda, Paul, Lora, Chris and Emily. It was fabu to see everyone!   We headed back out Sunday morning to Memphis.  We had beautiful weather.  We arrived in the afternoon to Memphis and Susan and Thomas we extremely excieted to see their Granddog Stanley and kind of happy to see us! LOL  We spend a wonderful Christmas with the family and got an opportunity to see friends and to see Pete’s Grandmother.  So it was wonderful!!!  I love Christmas.

We headed back Saturday morning for the 13…Yes I did say 13 hour drive back to Michigan.  We arrived about 10:30 pm on Saturday, unloaded the rental car and went to bed.  We were both bushed!  Woke up at 5 am to NO POWER.  We had a major windstorm that killed power to many places around Detroit.  Like 55-60 MPH winds.  It was crazy.  It wouldn’t be so bad, except that EVERYTHING in our house is Electric.  Yup Heat – Electric, Water Heater – Electric.  It was nuts.  We got up about 10:30 and got changed and headed out to breakfast, then did some errends.  We got back to house about 3 to find…still no power!  So I hung out on the Couch under 3 blankets with a book…and by 6 was an ice cube.  So we headed out to Mr B’s (Local pub) for dinner.  By the time we got back…WE HAD POWER!  YES!  I could do laundry, turn on any light I wanted to, take a hot shower, and have heat.  Real heat!  It was fabu!

So Today, Pete and I are back to work after a fantastic and pretty much uneventful holiday!  We are heading out tomorrow night to Wolcott, IN to spend NY with Amanda, Chris, Carrie and Miles and some of the folks there.  So that should be fun!  You all have a fantastic time and stay safe New Years Eve!  Miss you!

Downtown Rochester Lights

So last night – Pete and I headed to Downtown Rochester for the Festival of Lights and Lagniappe.  Lagniappe stands for a little something extra.  If you go shopping that evening (which we didn’t) each store gives out a little something extra.  We go to see the official lighting of downtown.

Each storefront has these entire sheets of lights, and at 7pm, they do the official lighting.  It’s really spectacular.  We just love it.  Then everyday at 5pm, they light up downtown until sometime in January.  This pictures doesn’t do the scene justice, but it really is quite beautiful.

So what has everyone been up to?  In November we celebrated our 5th Wedding Anniversary.  We took a weekend trip to Chicago and had a fantastic time.  We ate a some wonderful resturants – Heaven on 7th, Roys, Billy Goats, and went to the Art Institute.  The rest of the time we spent wandering around Michigan Ave and other streets.  It was such a beautiful and relaxing weekend.  We loved it.

Pete spent most of the month traveling.  He spent a week in Chicago for a training for work, then a week with My Step-father, Uncle and some buddies Pheasent Hunting in S. Dakota, then a week in Evansville working out of their office.  So we didn’t see each other much.  But overall it was quite productive!

We spent Thanksgiving Day with my mother’s side of the family. Somewhere around 30 of us in my Grandmother’s home with a fantatstic fest, Trivial Pursut (The origional Version) and Euchere!  It was fun.  Then we had My Dad, Step-Mom, Grandmother, Aunt, Uncle and their 2 kids to our home on Saturday.  I cooked a fantastic Turkey with Port Gravy, Cornbread Stuffing and had tons of other food.  It was a really good time.  Sunday was spent relaxing.  We took a quick trip to the mall, then Pete played video games while I napped on the couch.  We got about 3-4 inches of snow (LOVE IT), and have had flurries ever since.  It really is quite beautiful. I just love Winter!!!

Okay – back to work!!!

This poem has shaped my thinking for the past 10 years.  I saw it performed for the first time in 1995 in Ann Arbor Michigan at the National Poetry Slam.  My friend Jess and I went for the afternoone to check it out, and were sitting in Not Another Cafe on South U.  It was amazing.  All of the poets from all over, performing their hearts to a room full of strangers.  I have NEVER forgotten the power of that afternoon.  Patricia Smith was one of the performers, and as she came to the stage she performed her piece – Skinhead.  It’s one the hardest poem’s for me to hear, or read.  But it really is the most powerful.  I thought I might share this with you all…hopefully it will move you as much as it has always moved me!

Here’s a link to the wording for you to read as well….

Doesn’t even begin to describe the elation and the emotion that I feel this morning.  It’s amazing how much our country came together and came out so support the candidate of their choice.  To stand up and say this is how I feel.  I am completely amazed, awed, and feel a renewed hope for our country.   Congratulations to President-Elect Obama!  What an awe inspiring evening, and an amazing change for our country.  I can finally say that I am Opotomistic instead of Cautiously hopeful!

I think the cliche’s aside – what has caught all the emotion in my throat the past 24 hours are these 2 issues:  1. When I was a child, I heard all about the struggles of the 60’s.  The demonstrations, the race issues, the sex issues, etc.  The fighting and struggles that had gone on before I was born.  I heard about this from my parents, my family, thier friends, my teachers and read about it in the history books.  And I think what is the most amazing part of this to me, is that not only are we watching history be created, we activley participated in it’s creation.  I was in the voting booth and in line yesterday.  I have followed this race closely, and done reasearch on it.  I have argued my point and my feels with friends, and family.  And in the end – I was a part of this.  In 15 years to 20 years, when my future children are reading the history books, I am going to be able to say to them…Mommy was there.  This is what it was like, these were the issues, this was the backlash.  2.  The fact that we have now come full circle!    How amazing is this.

Historical footnotes aside…there is a part of me that just must say Nyanna Nyanna Nyanna!

Good Morning Everyone!

I awoke this morning to 45 degress and dark outside.  Got up at 6 am, showered, and got ready and headed out to my precint to vote.  What a fantastic situation.  I only had to wait 45 minutes, and interestingly enough I was #45…maybe I should buy a lotto ticket tonight!!!!  I have heard so much about voting over the past 2 years, who you going to vote for, are you going to vote, etc.  And it got me thinking.   In 2000 I had the opportunity to vote, but I took the stance of “Well I don’t really like either of them, and I haven’t done my research, so I won’t vote”.  And then I had four years of not being able to bitch.  Hindsight is 20/20…and that situation helped me to firm up my belief, that if you don’t take an active role in your government – you have no reason to bitch!.  So in 2004 I voted, knowing that since I lived in a primarily red state, my vote might not count, and it didn’t.   But I felt that if I feel that way, other people may feel that way, and if you don’t try, you can’t change a DAMN thing.  So here we are in 2008, dealing with a highly emotional and historic election.  Had to come along sometime.  And I voted.  I was there in line at 7:05 this morning.  I waited patiently, and was very nice to the precint staff.  I extremely large ballet, and walked to my little box.  Now did I have all the information on every election. No.  But I don’t have to vote for everyone.  I voted for the ones that were important to me, I voted for the person I want to see as my next president, and I voted for the propositions for my area.  I turend my ballot in, and walked back to my car – with a smile.  No matter the outcome, I will never repeate the year 2000 and not vote.  I took an active  role in my government today – I hope it goes the way I want it too…but if not, I have the right to bitch for the next 4 years!!!

GO VOTE People!  Get out there, and VOTE!

Tomorrow we get to pick the next leader of our country.  Get out there – stand in line, take your lunch early!  VOTE People VOTE!!!!  If you don’t vote, you don’t have the option to have a say in your govenernment – and that mean you can’t BITCH! LOL.

I’ll be standing in line at 7:00 am to cast my vote – and I’m voting for Obama!!!!  VOTE!

Wow!  Didn’t realize that my last post was on September 30…Jeez!  What have I been doing this month….Met up with some friends from High School – which was really cool!  Hope to see them again really soon!!!

Pete is off to Naperville for this week (and will be back on Thursday), and then he leaves on Saturday the 1st until Saturday the 8th for South Dakota to go Pheasant Hunting with my Step-Father.  And I’ll be leaving on Friday the 7th and coming back on the 9th to Evansville for a friends Wedding.  Then Pete and my 5 year….YES 5 YEAR….Wedding Anniversary is on the 15 – so we’ll be going to Chicago for that weekend!  And then the next week Pete is going to be in Evansville from Monday until Sunday, and that Thursday my Mom and I are going to the Tina Turner Concert (6th row from the stage on the floor – thankyou very  much!).  Whew!

But the real reason for this post…is that i just had the most absolutely fantastic weekend!  In July I had bought 2 tickets to a concert near us for my sister and I, that was on Saturday.  Well Chels has just moved to Atlanta after her wedding to Nate (who is awesome), and just wasn’t able to head back up here.  I totally understand, so I asked my friend Amanda to come up for the concert.  She drove up on Friday, and her Pete and I went out to drinks in Downtown Rochester (which was great)!  Then on Saturday, we went shopping, and then to eat with Pete before the concert.  Which concert you ask?  WHY…Only the BEST group in the world!!!  That’s right ladies – I’m talking about New Kids On The Block!  I got the tickets for Nastalga’s sake.  Wasn’t really sure what to expect.  But really the concert was fantastiac.  They did a really good mix of thier old songs, and songs from their new album.   They looked great and sounded fantastic.  I got us absolutely the coolest seats!  We could see them so well…and I screamed myself horse.  I stood dancing, singing and screaming for 2 and a 1/2 hours on Saturday – I am soar, horse and feel so happy! It was a great time, a great memory – and I am so glad I could do that.  They really are a good pop band!  And I love that about them!  And they are still really good looking!!!

So all in all – it was a great weekend.  I thank my friend Amanda for coming up with me and having such a great time!  And I thank my fantasticly wonderful husband for putting up with me!  He even took care of me the next day with debilitating cramps and no voice!    I love him!!!!

…from one of the gals at the Lush Forum….Gotta love em!