Let's Go -- GNO!

Closing night was awesome because SO MANY of my friends were there! It was the only night I was nervous, isn't that weird? I just wanted them to have fun and to think I was great and I wanted it to be a really good closing performance. It went well, and all of the other cast members were totally jealous that I had my own fan club! What a way to end the run!

With Tiffanie and Z

Back row: Tiffanie, Sarah, Emily H, Debbie, Candice, and Stephanie J
Front row: Rachael, Olivia, Emily B, me, and Mandee

After the show, these lovely ladies waited for me in the lobby while I changed -- man, that costume took forever to take on and off -- and turned in my skirt and vest and zils. Thirty seconds later I realized I should have kept the zils so my friends could play with them, and then I thought, "Hey! I could make my own!" I said good-bye to my castmates. I would have been sadder about it if I hadn't known I'd see a bunch of them on Monday for the other cast's closing night and at the cast party in January.

Turns out, the ladies had met at Rachael's house and carpooled to the theatre. The plan was to go back to Rach's and hang out, so I got to drive Rach and Sarah over. Laren met us there and we talked and laughed and ate Reeses peanut butter cups, chinese pretzels, chocolate chip cookies, and clementines, and drank fizzy fruit juice and V8 Splash. I adore these women! We totally talked until after midnight and I had a great time. I cannot begin to say how grateful I am that they all came to the play, and that we got to hang out together afterwards. My friends are awesome and I don't get to see them enough! Thank you Rachael for organizing the whole thing, and thanks everyone for being there! You have no idea how much I needed that Girls' Night. You are the best.

Beauty and the Beast opens tonight!

Hello all!

Tonight is opening night for Beauty and the Beast at Taylorsville High School. Our darling Hugo from Bye Bye Birdie and his brother Not-Hugo are starring as Lumiere and the Beast, and I know it would mean a lot to both of them to see their friends there! It runs tonight through Tuesday, October 28. Tickets are $8 at the door, but Austin said they are less if you ask him to get some for you ahead of time.

Hope y'all can go as I'm sure it will be fantastic. I'm planning on Monday. I'm so excited!

A Glorious Saturday

Saturday was glorious. Not extraordinary by any means, but glorious nonetheless.

It started out with my Mary Kay consultant, Shannon, picking me up at 9:15am to take me to a pampering session. Her sister and mom were there, with at least 50 other women and consultants. We played with the products while the director talked about Mary Kay business opportunities and how great the products are. She didn't have to talk fast to convince me -- I love the stuff! I bought way more than I should have... well, actually no. I bought pretty much what I'd planned to buy, but since I hadn't written down the list ahead of time I was pretty surprised at how much it was! They had a couple of games where we could earn raffle tickets, and we also earned tickets when we asked questions. I ended up with about 23 tickets and managed to win the first prize -- sunscreen! Wah-hoo! It was SPF 15, but hey, that good enough to put on for driving in the car. They even fed us lunch. Not a bad way to spend a morning and more of the afternoon than I expected. By the way, Shannon's trying to expand her business, so if anyone's looking for some Mary Kay products, I'm happy to give you her number. She's darling.

I wanted a pedicure, but I despise having to talk to the manicurist while they're working. I really just wanted to read, so I went to US Nails at Fashion Place Mall, which ended up being really overpriced, so I prolly won't go there again. Meanwhile, the manicurist didn't talk to me at all. He did talk with another lady who apparently worked there, but didn't do any work while I was there. She just talked really loud in a grating voice and accent. I could tell at one point the two were arguing, and I like to think he was telling her to stop talking because she was annoying the customers, which was true. Meanwhile, my toes are now a wonderfully garish shade of red. The manicurist even complimented me on the state of my feet -- I guess some people don't keep them as clean as I do... ick. I'd be more disgusted, but then I put my hands in people's mouths as a job every summer during college, so I guess I have no place to talk (hehe, no pun intended).

I read on a park bench in the Mall for a long time. Then I grabbed some food at Chick-Fil-A and kept reading. Then I went to Murray Park to read some more. I'm reading Stephanie Meyer's The Host, and I quite like it. Ms. Meyer's plot lines always surprise me; I try to guess what's going to happen, but I never can. It's an intruiging premise, I like the characters, and I'm just thrilled to be reading for fun again! I also took about an hour to try to catch up in my journal -- emphasis on the word "try", but I did get a good chunk done.

It was nice just to hang out at the park. I spread a blanket up next to a tree so I could lean on it. I happened to be next to the riverbank, and spent some time watching the ducks. I do like to be outside. Don't necessarily like hiking though I will do it but I don't mind camping and 4-wheeling. But I digress. I actually took some video of the ducks 'cause they were cracking me up.

Oh, and I have to post this, because I think it's hilarious:



Why is there a hair dryer in the restroom at Murray Park? I dried my hands with it anyway, but I wondered who had messed up: the manufacturer for printing hair instead of hand dryer on the label, or Murray Park for installing hair dryers in the restrooms...

Before I knew it, it was 6 o'clock and time to get ready for the Bye Bye Birdie cast party! Yaaaaaaaaay! I've missed my Sweet Applians! I got to choreographer Stephanie's house about half an hour late, but there was still plenty of food left! I was so happy to chat with these people I got to spend two-and-a-half months growing to love. I miss them -- it's been so long. Still not quite used to not seeing them all the time! Everyone looks gorgeous and happy and if I type anymore I may start crying. Thanks Stephanie and Kate for putting together the event, and to Stephanie, Steph, and Candice for letting me be a part of Taylorsville's Bye Bye Birdie family!

When I got home, I finished writing the journal post I'd been working on, and watched a few episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. I stayed up much too late, but what do you do? I'm young, I'm single, and I don't have church until 1pm.

See what I mean? A glorious day.

Worst Sneaker Ever

I am a little worried that I may have hurt people's feelings by trying to sneak out of Denny's last night without saying good-bye to everyone. I didn't want to make a big deal about leaving, because I was afraid a bunch of people would jump up to hug me and say good-bye and stuff, and it would take 20 minutes for me to get out of there. I chose not to say good-bye to anybody, because I'd feel like I needed to say good-bye to everybody individually. Plus, I had already had one big crying storm that night, what with the big engagement, closing the show, and a shortage of sleep, and I didn't want to start crying again in the restaurant! (Thanks again, Tiffanie, for reapplying my make-up before the show...)

So, I really, really hope the entire cast makes it to the party, because I really do want a proper good-bye!

Or better yet, just continue friendships I intend to keep for the rest of my life. I have really enjoyed the cast as a whole, and all of the individuals involved. I feel incredibly blessed that I've gotten to make so many good friends.

(I promise to post more on the closing of Birdie soon.)