Noises Off opens tonight!

After weeks of rehearsals, and blood, sweat and tears (mostly from our stalwart production team and crew), the set is ready, the jokes rehearsed, and Noises Off opens tonight. I'm excited to share this hilarious script with the general public, and totally rock the performances with my fellow actors and crew members. I hope people enjoy our little show!

Let me know if you decided to come. I'll keep an eye out and say Hi afterwards :)

Spring weather in February

The groundhog saw his shadow, but the "six extra weeks of winter" doesn't seem to apply to Utah. We barely had six weeks OF winter!

I want to be thrilled that Utah is having an inexplicably warm winter. In the part of the Salt Lake valley that I work and live in, it's only snowed once and that was serendipitously on Christmas Day. I want to be thrilled that I don't need to wear a scarf, or a coat, or earmuffs when I go for a walk.

But we had a snow-lite winter last year and I'm worried Utah won't have enough water for the summer and fall... or next year if the east coast continues to steal all the Utah-like storms. The whole "I like snow in the mountains but not in the valley" line of thinking is obnoxious. If we get snow in the valley it means we're getting quality snow in the mountains, too! Good for the economy, good for our health, good for the environment. 

I'd be thrilled if this amazing 60 degree weather were happening next month instead of in February. I like experiencing all four seasons. It's unnatural not to see snow in the winter, especially in Utah, "The Greatest Snow on Earth."

(And I think that "I hate to drive in snow" is a terrible reason to hope we don't have any. News flash: NO ONE --  including an otherwise lover-of-snow like me -- enjoys driving in the snow. Get over it.)

Fortunately, I'm hearing that we're doing ok in the mountains, so I'll try not to stress too much.

Meanwhile, the trees and flowers are starting to bloom. This means that my allergies are starting to flare up. Allergies that haven't had time to recover from last year. For the first time ever, my eyelids itch. A lot. What the heck does a person do to keep her eyelids from itching?! Some kind of topical cream? The anti-histamine isn't cutting it. Boo.

And you just know that in about two weeks we'll get a freak cold snap, and all the flowers and tree blossoms will die. That's going to mess with Spring, and then no one will be happy.

I will admit that I do NOT miss the inversion that comes with cold air. But with my allergies I avoid leaving the windows open anyway... guess I can deal with that sacrifice.

You can't tell me Global Warming isn't real. 

Severus Snape, a hero

Snape is one of my favorite characters in the Harry Potter book series. In every debate I had, I, like Lupin, insisted that if Dumbledore trusted him, Snape was worthy of that trust. I guessed the reason Snape hated Harry as much as he did. I even wrote 3/4ths of a fan fiction about Snape and Lily's friendship at Hogwarts (no, you cannot read it).

So, this video give me all the feels. I love it. I wish it were longer.


Isn't Alan Rickman shattering? His performance is just gorgeous. I could and will watch this video over and over again.

New Cinderella

I am ridiculously excited about the new live-action Cinderella movie! It looks so pretty and I'm thrilled that they aren't making her an action hero. Her superpower is being kind and patient. A girl doesn't have to fight to be strong -- there are other ways of getting what she wants. I hope the movie is good (I was so disappointed with Maleficent).

Post by Disney Princess.




And the official trailer:


With any luck, I'll be adding this DVD to my Cinderella collection next year... six different versions of a classic story isn't too much, is it? I didn't think so.

Jazzy January

The new year started off quite nicely. Enough Noises Off! rehearsals to keep me busy, and enough free time to hang out with friends and relax. Oh, and Salt Lake Comic Con Fan Xperience. Plus, I'm off to a good start with my goals. However, I'm disappointed we've had hardly a hint of snow. I suppose I should enjoy the spring-ish weather more but it doesn't feel particularly like winter.

New Year's Day

I ate lunch with my family, and then spent the afternoon and evening with Kate and Brandon. We watched The Man Who Knew too Much and The Man Who Knew too Little (two very different and satisfying films!), played with their baby, and decorated and ate sugar cookies with mustaches on them.

It felt a little reckless to spend $13 on a pair of sunglasses

I tend to either lose them quickly or scratch them up (in which case I never lose them). However, I adore this pair and decided to treat myself. It's been a whole month, and nothing yet has happened to them. Phew!

Hello, meals for the rest of the month

Thanks for saving me from having to cook during the first month of rehearsals!

Traditional Kiss Me Katians' brunch at Jeremiah's in Ogden

My pancakes and syrup were the last carbs and sugar I'd eat for 32 days! Perfect last meal.

Since I was already in Ogden, I swung by the Ogden Temple

Such a lovely building in a neat part of town. Hope to do a session there sometime this year!

One of my co-workers informed me that the ice machine was broken

...but when I walked past I saw what he was too tall to see. So, I grabbed a straw and broke up the ice. Short person for the win!

Sometimes I'm sad I don't work in the east coast with these ladies

We have so much in common! (Lesley is my fitbit buddy at work.)
(Sorry the newest e-mail is on the top. I know it's confusing.)

A Saturday afternoon of gabbing, tasty food, clothes-swapping, and beautiful-baby ogling

Girlfriends are the best!

My sister-in-law organized a step challenge

My siblings and Lindsey's family all bought either fitness devices or step counters. The competition was fierce and fun. In a weird turn of events, I won with 359,564 steps!

I am calling it. Megan is the Step Champion for January. Good job, Meg! You can choose to pick the challenge for February or receive a pair of socks picked out by your nieces. Either way, let's have the Feb challenge announced by tomorrow to begin Wednesday. Good job everyone.

And, of course, rehearsals with a group of very talented individuals

I'm excited for the show to really come together now that we've finished blocking!

February will be filled with more rehearsals and opening weekend for my show. Hoping for more lunches with girlfriends, the odd date or two (uh, odd happenstances, not odd men, I've had enough of those for awhile), good food, a lot of snow, and bonding with my cast mates. Looking forward to it!

Megan reads Yes, Please!

Yes Please by Amy Poehler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Oh, Amy Poehler. You're like the big sister I never had (and a lot like one of the sisters-in-law I DO have). Listening to this audiobook made me feel like we were simply chatting about Amy's experiences and opinions on life. She has strong feelings about a lot of things, and we agree on a lot of things. I laughed out loud more than a few times. Plus, listening to her, and Patrick Stewart, and Carol Burnett, and Kathleen Turner, and several others read her words was just fun. I could have done without all the swearing, but it's evident it's a part of who she is, and for the most part it's pretty charming. It was nice getting to know her better!


View all my reviews

Personal Trainer Food round 2: 32 days without sugar or carbs

Finished my second round of Personal Trainer Food (PTF) last night. I'm happy to say it was a successful endeavor. I didn't cheat, and the jeans I was forced to buy in November are nice and loose again. Woot! Back to the skinnier pants!

My last PTF meal (this time):
Buffalo chicken sticks with ranch sauce
and yellow squash with pepper jack cheese 

My first cookie in over 32 days. Delicious.
Totally worth the wait. Thank you, Larissa!

I did a few things differently this time:

1. I stuck to it for the full 28 days and then some. PTF sends 28 days worth of food. Last time I did the diet, I squeezed it between my Utah Shakespearean Festival trip and the Salt Lake Comic Con, so I only got through 25 days. This time, I really, really wanted to be faithful until I'd eaten all the food. What with two Fast Sundays, dating, Salt Lake Comic Con Fan Xperience, and a couple of family dinners, the 28 days was stretched out to 32 (I ate approved food during those events). Those last couple of days I found myself planning what junk I'd eat as soon as I finished, but I'm happy to say that I'm not in a big hurry to go overboard with carbs and sugar again. It helps that I already have some events planned where I know I'll be eating sugar. I've waited this long that a few more days doesn't seem horrible. Anticipation is the best part, right?
2. I weighed myself at the beginning and end. PTF tells you not to do that because it's such an imprecise method for measuring fitness (they recommend you measure yourself and pay attention to how your clothes fit), but since I didn't the last time I had no idea how much progress I had made. I was curious. This time, I know that I lost 7.7 pounds in 4 weeks, and 2.8 in the extra four days. That's a total of 10.5 pounds! Now to keep it up.

A few things I want to remember for next time:

• Dijion mustard is delicious with beef. Mustard has a lot less sugar than ketchup, and far less than barbecue sauce. I thought it could be a permanent change, and then I walked past a barbecue joint and remembered how good the sauce is. Moderation in all things.
• Cheese is a decent late-night snack. It isn't the same as chocolate, of course, but still a delicious treat.
• KALE CHIPS ARE DELICIOUS! I might like kale chips more than I do potato chips. Must try more flavors (the curry version was enough to convert me).

• Most Mexican restaurants have fajitas. Hooray!
• People will be more supportive if I call it a "challenge" rather than a "diet." It doesn't sound as judgey. I don't expect people to eat the same things I do. I encourage them to eat however they like and hope they'll give me the same respect. It's so lovely that my friends and family support me as much as they do. I know it's uncomfortable when I talk about missing certain foods or ask to smell restricted stuff!

My dedication to eating healthy has been renewed and reinforced, and I don't plan to give up on my fitbit fascination in the near future. My clothes fit again. I feel better about myself and more in control of those two things at least. The new year is off to a good start.

Already looking forward to the next time, most likely in late March or early April. Anyone want to join me? It isn't at all easy, but it works and, as I've said before, the food tastes good.

Salt Lake Comic Con Fan Xperience 2015

When Salt Lake Comic Con announced that the Fan Xperience would take place only 5 months after the September Con, I groaned. I understand they wanted to take advantage of celebrities already being in town for the Sundance Festival, but for me it was too close to Christmas to spend a lot of money again. So, I determined to skip it this time.

And then my beloved Stephanie J told me she had been given free Gold passes and asked if I wanted to go. I said yes. Go with Steph? And for free? Duh!

This is what I posted on Facebook:

And in a crazy, random, happy happenstance and invitation from Stephanie, I find that I'm going to Salt Lake Comic Con on Saturday after all.
Let the I told you so's commence.
(Also, tell me if you'll be there so I can look for you!)

Thursday

When you get the Gold pass, you have admission for all three days. I would not have gone on Thursday, but I pulled a Monica and accidentally bought a photo op for the wrong day. They only did exchanges in person. Whoops! So, I walked over to the Salt Palace, checked in and picked up my swag (a t-shirt, Comic Con cash, and a lanyard), and headed to the photo op area as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, they only had one person working as customer service, the machine was down, and they didn't tell anyone ahead of time that since Morena Baccarin had cancelled they would automatically be refunded for her photo op. So, I was in line for an hour and a half. Fortunately, I struck up a conversation with the girl behind me, Ashleigh (perfectly dressed as a female Mal Reynolds from Firefly) and pretty soon my Comic Con BFF Theresa joined us. In a crazy twist of fate, turns out Ashleigh is the cousin of one of Theresa's good friends. Our minds blew. Turned out that Ashleigh was not a Doctor Who fan, and kindly gave me the VIP Doctor Who poster. I squealed so loudly that people turned to look at us. I love it the poster, and I love that a random encounter turned into a new friendship. That's my favorite thing about Comic Con.

Theresa as Scully from The X-Files, and new friend Ashleigh

I need to start putting these things up in my spare bedroom.
Proudly display my badges of nerdom.

On my way out, I spotted these Velociraptors. I had to take a photo to share with Larissa.
"Ran into a friend of yours. He asked me to say Hi to Rob for him ;) Love you!"

Friday

I thought I might slip away from work for an hour or so to see Harry Potter's Tom Felton panel. I even wore my adorable hybrid Doctor Who/Up! t-shirt just in case. However, since I'd spent so much time there on Thursday, I decided to be responsible for once and stay at work. Theresa was kind enough to send me this photo and a few comments about the panel. I appreciated it, and I hope someone posts a video somewhere soon!

Theresa: "For you."
Theresa: "He just admitted to being Gryffindor!"
Me: "Had you not heard about that? It's so funny!"
Theresa: "No, I had. He was just really cute about it."
Theresa: "He keeps greeting the ladies that are asking questions 'hey lovely'.
It makes my heart happy. Shall I leave you alone now?"
Me: "Nope! Text as much as you like, I just don't want you to feel like you have to."

Saturday

Steph and I arrived early so that we would be sure to get into the Billie Piper panel, since I was worried a lot of people might crash Billie's panel so they'd be sure to be there for the Carrie Fisher panel right after (a lot of people did that).

Billie Piper is most famous as Rose from Doctor Who and was adorable and down-to-earth in her British former-pop-star way (she wore spats and a leather jacket -- whaaa?). As always, I couldn't help taking a few notes, and as always they're not nearly as funny or charming out of context.

When asked about her audition for Rose, and advice she may have: "I was high on sugar, pretending I was not well... so maybe try that for an audition?"

How she manages being an actress and a mom: "Badly."

Whether she's still friends with other Doctor Who stars: "You know, just hanging around with Matt Smith, like you do... I know, I'm being really blase about it."

Which of her songs she likes the most: "The rave-y versions of my sweet little pop songs were always such a treat!"

Why Britain has so many successful shows: "It's a small island and everyone's quite grumpy quite consistently. We have a very dry sense of humor."

Most people stayed for the next panel, but I managed to find closer seats anyway. Seventh row, baby! Couldn't resist taking a photo of this unicorn -- I had to share it with my Jekyll and Hyde cast :)

While waiting, the man in charge of keeping people entertained asked "Who has been to every Comic Con here in Salt Lake?" A bunch of us cheered.

Then he asked: "who is here for the first time?" Steph "Woo-hooed" so loudly the guy looked at her and said, "First time? Today? Just thought 'Hey I have nothing else to do?"

Steph responded, "I'm here to find a date!"

He didn't quite hear, "Blind date?"

The audience shouted back, "She's here to find date!"

And he said back, "This is the place to go!"

It was a beautiful, beautiful moment.

Producers Dan Farr and Bryan Brandenburg announce Carrie Fisher

Star Wars' Carrie Fisher's panel was hilarious, mostly because you didn't know what she was going to do or say next. Almost as soon as she got onstage, she asked the audience if anyone had a Coke. One guy did, and when he gave it to her, she grabbed him and kissed him, and it was not just a peck! He wrapped his arms around her and the crowd died! She said, "You give me what I want, I give you what you want!" Sadly, the moderator decided to ignore the dozens of people lined up for questions and just asked his own. It wasn't a very long panel, but it still seemed a jerk move.

Quotes from Carrie:

Which Star Wars film was your favorite? "Empire." The crowd cheers, 'cause we all agree. 

Moderator: "It has an epic, Gone with the Wind feeling."

Carrie: "Which one was Mammy? Chewy? That makes a lot of sense!"

Apparently, if you had a photo with or met Carrie, she doused you in glitter.

Moderator: "They've got glitter all over them and they say, 'I just met Carrie Fisher.'"

Carrie: "Everyone needs to glitter at some point! It's the law! Come see me!"

After the panels, we spent some time walking around and visiting friends working there.
First, we stopped for photos with the TARDIS.

This little girl was dressed as Maid Marian from Disney's Robin Hood, complete with a fox tail!

"MUCH bigger on the inside!"

When we realized that the photo op lines were crazy long, we decided to jump in for our Tom Felton photo (his was the one I had to exchange because I'd accidentally bought the Friday one). The line stretched most of the way down the main floor, in spite of the photo ops being on the far side of the building. It was crazy. And worth it. 

When we finally got into the room with Tom, suddenly Back to the Future's Christopher Lloyd popped in and asked for a photo with Tom. I love that Christopher dresses like an aging rock star. We all freaked out and wished the workers had let us keep our phones (a big no-no in the photo op area). Christopher said he'd want a signature later and Tom was cool and yet excited about that. When Steph and I walked up for our turn, Tom walked over to his girlfriend to check in for a minute. They'd been hurrying us through, but I got up the courage to ask him to wear my Gryffindor scarf. Obviously, he agreed.

New Gryffindor Tom Felton wears the scarf my mom made for me. Doesn't he look handsome?

Then we jumped into the line for Billie Piper's photo. While in line, Steph mentioned that she had watched Evita and realized that Billie had a small, uncredited role in the movie. When we reached Billie, Steph said, "I loved you in Evita." We all cracked up, and the photographer took this photo:

Seriously perfect.

You've probably noticed that I didn't cosplay this time. Since it was Steph's very first Comic Con, she wasn't planning to, and I know what it's like to hold your friend's purse while everyone takes photos with or of them. Steph insisted she wouldn't mind, but I opted for a nerdy shirt and my Gryffindor scarf. It made for a nice change, actually! Obviously, since our photo ops were with Billie Piper and Tom Felton I wore the Doctor Who/Harry Potter shirt Kristen gave me. It felt right.

Since I only had a few days left of the current round of Personal Trainer Food, I took snacks with me: meat sticks, pistachios, sunflower seeds, cauliflower and carrots, an apple, and a water bottle. I shared with Steph and a few people around us in the many lines. By the end of the day, I had eaten all but the pistachios and some of the carrots. It pays to plan ahead.

We walked around a bit more and found a lot of friends (most of whom were waiting in lines for photo ops).

Patti R in steampunk attire

Theresa as steampunk Cinderella

I don't know these people dressed as Harry Potter's Albus Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall, but I needed a photo with them.
The lady made the costumes from scratch and they were gorgeous.
I was thrilled to get to hold the Elder Wand!

Kristen (far right) and some of her friends from This is the Place, dressed up to advertise for The Witches' Ball

The DeLorean from Back to the Future

We even met a few celebrities at their tables. Steph declared that she wanted Billie to sign her photo, but Billie had already left. Then we saw that Karate Kid's Ralph Macchio had almost no line, so we had a little conversation about Utah's weather and grabbed a photo. He was extremely nice.

The man doesn't age

I decided not to resist getting Chuck/Arrow/Superman Returns star Brandon Routh's signature. I really wanted a photo but he wasn't doing selfies. I became that fangirl who stars in awe and has nothing to say. It was a little awkward but he was very nice. His manager asked if I wanted it personalized, so I squeaked out my name. Then Steph told me to ask for a hug, and I did. Then she gestured at Brandon like, "You know you want to hug me" and we laughed and he hugged her, too. (Steph is pretty much the coolest.) As I walked away I finally found a voice and told him I hope he lasts on Arrow for a long time. Then I ran away to die.

Fun fact: I have now been hugged by TWO actors who have played Superman!
(I hugged Dean Cain at the first Salt Lake Comic Con.)
And yes, he is gorgeous in real life. Hence the fangirling.

By the time Steph decided she needed to be glitter-bombed by Carrie Fisher, they told us she wasn't allowing any more people in line. I knew the guy holding the "End of Line" sign, and he would have let us in but he thought they wouldn't allow free meet-and-greets when she was so tired. Actually we were the "just-missed-it" girls a lot that afternoon. It became something of a joke for us. Oh well.

We finally left at about 6:30, hungry, sore-footed*, and happy. It was an awesome day. I'm grateful that Steph invited me and she wanted to be so involved. She made the day what it was.

Note to self: Don't plan any events for at least two days after a Con. It takes my feet and my energy levels that long to recover, especially if I'm dieting and the next day is Fast Sunday. Still worth it!

*We may not have logged as many steps as we would have liked (fitbit buddies), but we both hit 10,000 while walking back to the car. Turns out, standing in line doesn't yield much stepping!