"What would we do, baby, without us?"

I finished watching all seven seasons of Family Ties on Netflix (yes, really) and enjoyed the whole thing. Well, it got a bit preachy a little too often, but that didn't kill the charm. I'm kind in love with Steven Keaton. I want to be as gorgeous and self-assured as Elyse. I see why Michael J. Fox was the breakout star (totes deserved it). The 1980s teenager fashion made me giggle -- wow, were Mallory and Jennifer covered up, and the big hair made them look much older than they were. Andy was adorable. 

But, my favorite thing was the guest stars: Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Courtney Cox, Timothy busfield, Peter Scolari, Crispin Glover, Dan Hedaya, Billy Campbell, Judith Light... it's like a who's who of Before They Were Famous.

Loved it!

In one of the final episodes, Alex asks what the meaning of life is, and Mallory shocks everyone with her insightful answer. I like her definition so much that I wrote it on my white-board calendar.

1. Be happy.
2. Try not to hurt other people.
3. Hope that you fall in love.

So long, Keaton family. It was fun to watch you all grow up and share in your adventures.

On to the next!

The most wonderful month of the year!

December is at an end and a New Year is baring down on us. I had a fun month, full of family and friends, parties, dinners, and plays, and two full weeks off from work. I'd say I cannot ask for more, but I'm still asking for a boyfriend someday soon (just putting that into the universe).

I scaled back the Christmas decorations in my condo this year, but I couldn't do without my tree or my Swedish star.
It finally feels like Christmas!

My mother made me this gorgeous angel. She reigns over my tree in goodness and peace.
My friends say she looks like me, but I think she looks like my mom (and a little like Glinda the Good Witch).

Larissa went all-out for her A Christmas Story viewing party this year. The details were perfect, from the movie-themed food to the leg lamp she borrowed from Kristen. I didn't do much movie watching, but I did manage to catch up with a lot of people I like!

Hostess Larissa, and Chris

The "soap" was molded chocolate. This face was me trying not to think about how many other people had put it in their mouths ;)

The G-unit performed in a special after-school choir over the holidays. He's a performer through-and-through, and the true child of his parents. He hammed his way through the actions and had a huge smile on his face the entire time. He even had a solo in one of the numbers. I'm proud of him!

This smile was right after he messed up the words. Luckily, the entire choir was singing, so nobody noticed except us... and only 'cause he started laughing!

When Brandon offered Nichole, Larissa, and me tickets to see him in A Christmas Carol at Hale Centre Theatre, we jumped at the chance! Nichole and I have fond memories performing in the play, and Larissa had never seen it before. It's a lovely production, and the story of Scrooge and Bob Cratchit has a message worth learning over and over. Maybe I'll audition for it next year...

My ward organized a special event where we attended an afternoon session at the Salt Lake Temple, and then ate a catered dinner at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. My date cancelled on me, but I made myself go anyway. I knew I'd have plenty of friends there.

This was the view from our ballroom!

My table, minus Trinnette (the photographer)

I wasn't going to let Trinnette get away without a photo!

Blueberry chicken. It was different, but I liked it.

We had chocolate mousse for dessert. It tasted like frosting and was fabulous.

Terrible, terrible selfie with some of the lights at Temple Square

Peter's company rented out a theatre and had the employees invite friends, family, and clients to view The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies the night before it opened. I was the only one to dress in costume, but I couldn't not do it. It was my last chance!

The office Christmas party was at Tucanos this year. It's the one time of year that absolutely everyone comes into the office, and I'm always surprised at how many of us work from the Salt Lake office. I ate lunch with the User Experience and Marketing teams. We were surprised to see so many women together at once, since some of them work from home and others work in a part of the office the rest of us don't get to very often. I nearly blew their minds when I told them there are three other women on my development team, and one more in customer service!
We were also gifted a box of Cummings chocolates and a coupon to see a movie at the Megaplex for free. Hooray for the holidays!

I cannot say no to this chocolate cake. Not when it's free and lasts for four days (if I can restrain myself)

My two-week vacation started the next day :D

My nieces convinced me to do the unthinkable: I downloaded some games onto my phone. Now Breezy asks to play on my phone every time she sees me.

Hair Salon is Breezy's favorite, especially the "blowdryer" function.
The top left one is mine. I've accidentally shaved heads more often than I care to admit.

This Frozen Princess dress up game is also pretty fun.
These are all my designs.

Zonks's favorite is Dumb Ways to Die. I couldn't not download it when she moaned "I looooove it!" We both laugh our heads off while I read the directions and she tries to save the poor characters from grisly deaths (wow, that sounds horrible, but the game is hilarious).

I bought this cookie 'cause I was worried I wouldn't get any gingerbread this year. It tasted ok, but it prompted this amusing story:
"Dropped this cookie while walking up the stairs to my apartment (it was in a tiny bag). I exclaimed, "Oh no!" and one of my neighbors came running out to see if everything was ok. I was a little embarrassed to explain my reason, but she joked she would have been sad, too. I asked if she was the one doing laundry and she said she was, so I thanked her for the lovely detergent smell in the stairwell. Then we introduced ourselves. Nice to know another neighbor."

"For today's #creepshow, I parked for church, and these pigeons (plus a bunch more) immediately flocked to land on the street right next to my car. They then began circling and landing ON my car, so I backed up a bit so they'd get off, but they settled back in after I parked the second time. So, I drove away to park up the road. Happily, they didn't follow. But, wow, it was weird!"

I invited Larissa to join me for a day at the movies. We saw The Imitation Game, ate lunch at Five Guys Burgers and Fries, then her husband, Rob joined us for Interstellar. It's been a long time since my last double-feature, and I loved having Larissa with me!

I love this time of year when gas prices are as low as they've been all year. I remember a time when I thought $1.99 per gallon was a rip off! Filling up my gas tank for less than $20? Yes, please!

Some other notable events were watching the entire series of Ugly Betty -- which I LOVED -- and joining Aaron, Heidi, and Dave in seeing Into the Woods, which turned out to be a pleasant surprise. I've been saying since day one that I was cautiously optimistic about ITW. It's a tough show, but the movie got the tone just right and that is the most important thing to me. 

Christmas was everything I hoped it would be, and New Year's Eve was delightfully spent playing board games with my besty, Kate, her husband, and his family. Such a nice way to end the year!

All the world's a stage for the BBC

This is beautiful. Benedict Cumberbatch recites the "All the world's a stage speech" from As You Like It while clips from various BBC series illustrate the meanings behind Shakespeare's words. It's a powerful video.

Post by BBC One.

I wish I knew what more of these programs are! I recognize Doctor Who, Sherlock, Call the Midwife, Pride and Prejudice, and The Hollow Crown -- I haven't seen this last one but desperately want to. Surprisingly, there is no Downton Abbey.

Excuse me while I go watch a bunch of television now...

September tybbling*

Possibly my biggest accomplishment during the month of September was to watch the entire series of Battlestar Galactica before it was no longer available to stream on Netflix on October 1. Kind of a miracle considering I had little time between rehearsals, work, my birthday, and Salt Lake Comic Con. The sacrifice was worth it, though I still cannot believe that one of the characters survived until the end; I now consider myself a BSG fan. "So say we all!"

Labor Day was aptly named, as I spent most of the day cleaning my house. I LOVE bank holidays, especially when I'm in a show -- they're about the only time I have to get my home near the level of cleanliness and organization I prefer. Oh, who are we kidding? There's never enough time!

Clockwise from top left: laundry, paper shredding, swept the fireplace, healthy lunch and an episode of The Wonder Years, my first (and last) foray of the summer to my complex's pool, reading the source material for my show, playing with Victorian hairstyles, a lovely and clean apartment.

My darling home

My trusty humidifier died on Labor Day. It saw me through 7 autumns and winters.
So long, old friend.

I shot this photo on ward temple night. Isn't the Salt Lake Temple gorgeous?

I supported Next Stage Productions' (and my Robin Hood friends') first show: A Midsummer Night's Dream. It was set in 1969 which worked really well, especially in the hands of those talented folks. Wendy and I both loved it.

My siblings gifted me some wonderfully useful items for my birthday. I spent most of one Saturday cooking up meals in my new crock pot. Such a relief not to have to eat out during my last two weeks of rehearsals -- just cook up some chicken curry, stuffed peppers, and taco soup and I'm good to go for awhile. Thank goodness I can freeze these things. I love a little variety!

Spent some time in a recording studio with my female costars for Jekyll and Hyde.

My selfie skill is terrible.

Marcie Jacobsen: "I want you to scratch like a cat when you sing this part."
Done and done!

When the production team told us to plan on all day for our technical rehearsal, I had no idea it would go from 9am to 10:30pm! Fortunately, it didn't feel as long as it could have.

Early on, Holly Jo mentioned there were donuts in the green room. I thought there would be a box of donuts... I was thoroughly unprepared for this table of treats!
We ate most of it, but not all. Self-restraint for the win!

The board fed us pulled beef sandwiches and peach shortcake for lunch. YUMMMMMMMM!

Each cast ran through the show in the afternoon/evening.

Pizza for dinner!

Inevitably, we finished and published our latest software release at work during the final week of rehearsals (when I didn't get home until after midnight each night). Without fail, the releases always work out to be at the least convenient time for me. C'est la vie. The release went well. But, by Wednesday, this was the only expression I could muster at work:

Too tired to care if I look angry.

Sylinda and I briefly stopped by the new aquarium last weekend. It was crazy-crowded, either due to the rain and cold outside or it being Saturday afternoon or both, so we bailed in favor of going out for lunch instead. Barbecue on a rainy day is always welcome!

G'day, Bruce!

Cast members were allowed to invite a few people to see our final dress rehearsal. We stopped the show twice, but it felt really good over all. I am soooooooooooo ready to open!

Pre-show hair. The goal is to get it as big as possible.
Did I succeed?

Thank you, Drew, Luke, Nichole, and Larissa for coming!

The bulk of October will be filled with Jekyll and Hyde performances. CenterPoint Legacy Theater keeps saying they anticipate adding performances, so as of this moment I'm considering my Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday nights as booked through November 1. I have no idea if I'll have time to celebrate Halloween; I plan to decorate anyway. Guess we'll find out soon enough what other mischief I may get in to ;)

Do you have any Halloween traditions apart from jack-o-lantern carving and dressing up (yourself or your kids)? I'm not a fan of haunted houses, but is there anything else you consider a must do?

Enjoy October! Autumn is truly upon us now!

*Tybble: to babble through the written word, such as an e-mail or blog post.

Memes that make me giggle: A cow's opinion

You'd be surprised how often I think this about people I don't agree with.

They're all just "moo."

Today is the 20th anniversary of the day the Friends pilot first aired. Even now, it's one of my favorite shows. I find ways to insert quotes into my daily life, and I maintain that I learned my brilliant comedic timing from Matthew Perry's Chandler. In college, I had a major conflict with some roommates who didn't approve of the show and wouldn't let me watch it in our apartment. During my first job, I bonded with another girl over our love for it. I was very upset with my mom for not keeping me posted on character developments while I was on my mission -- she promised to tell me if Monica and Chandler got engaged or married (which they did). Friends was weirdly important for me during my young adult years. Watching those fictional characters make mistakes as they tried to figure out their lives gave me permission to not know what I was doing, too. Like them, my life did not go according to plan, but it somehow turned out okay. I needed that validation back then. I still do, sometimes.

Happy birthday, Friends. Thanks for being there for me "when the rain starts to pour." Still hoping to find my own lobster!

Memes that make me giggle: Chief Wiggum's slip of the tongue

"Bake him away toys" is one of my favorite ever lines from The Simpsons. I quote it a lot, and then I always giggle, regardless of whether anyone else gets it. Maybe next time you will and we can laugh together :)

Happy Monday!

My first business trip!

I've been a working professional for over ten years, and I finally got to take my first business trip! I work at a software company large enough to have offices all over the world, so I've grown used to having relationships based solely on e-mail, video chat, and telephone. Back in November, I mentioned to my boss, Judy, that I'd like someday to meet everyone face-to-face. I'm the only writer in Salt Lake; sometimes it gets lonely. Judy's response was that she wanted the same thing and was planning a workshop/conference to accomplish just that!

I flew to New York City first some fun with friends and to see the Broadway shows. I'm glad I did the fun part first, 'cause I was exhausted by the end. I was almost disappointed I couldn't go home...

...The day I spent travelling from New York City to Washington D.C. did NOT get me pumped up for the business part of the trip. I packed the night before so I could get up early and have plenty of time to find Pennsylvania Station and board the train to D.C. I was sad to say good-bye to Kristen and Theresa. Kristen reviewed the subway map with me to help me figure out how to get there. That didn't keep me from getting my suitcase stuck in the turnstile (I'd managed to keep my purse and computer bag free), forcing me to back out and buy another ticket because the machine wouldn't let me use my unlimited pass again (it was trying to keep me from letting multiple people in with one pass). Then I got on the wrong train and ended up in Queens. Then I walked a block on the wrong direction looking for my connecting train. Then I had to ask a bunch of people where the Amtrak trains were. I made it safely to the train, and panicked when they started listing a bunch of stops that didn't include D.C. I asked the lady next to me where we were headed, and burst into tears when she said "Newport, Virginia." Turns out, it was a commuter train that made a lot of stops, including Washington D.C. What can I say? I was tired! Next time I take a train I'll have a better idea of what I'm doing and hopefully enjoy it more.

Isn't Union Station lovely? It was so grand and spacious!

I decided to forgo the underground in D.C. since I just wanted to get to my hotel, so I hailed a taxi to take me to the suburb where my hotel was located. Of course I got a driver who wasn't familiar with the suburb. We tried to use my GPS to find it, but I kept losing the signal. After an hour and $80 we finally made it.

At least I got a lovely drive-by of the Washington Memorial!

The Lincoln Memorial

I wasn't prepared for my accommodations in Virginia. I'd claimed the rollaway bed in our tiny room in NYC. My room in Virginia was definitely a suite, complete with couch and a t.v. that swiveled to face either the couch or the king-sized bed. Hooray! More hotel rooms like this, please!

The hotel was in the middle of a green, leafy nowhere, so I had to walk at least a mile to find some food (tired and hungry is a bad combo for me). Thank goodness for Pei Wei. I ate there on Monday AND Tuesday night because I couldn't find anything else. It was pretty cool to watch t.v. again. I haven't had cable in several years, and I forgot how nice it is to watch programs in real time!

I'd planned my New York trip before Judy confirmed the final dates for the workshop, so I arrived a day early. On Tuesday, I worked from my hotel room and ate french toast for breakfast and lunch. It's my favorite! I very much appreciate my company for my extra night in the hotel.

Wednesday and Thursday were the main event: the workshop that gave all of the writers in the company (except the four in India and the one in England) an excuse to all meet each other. My office is the furthest west; except for one writer in Mexico, everyone else is on the East coast. It was so great to meet everyone in person! I've been with the company for four years, and we merged with another two years ago, but I'd never met any of them -- not even my boss -- face-to-face (the man who hired me was in the Salt Lake office, but he was let go a few years ago). It was great to see their faces and hear their voices and feel like I actually know them, rather than being some creepy voyeur who gets e-mails about their work and personal lives but otherwise isn't involved in their lives.

The workshop was great. We learned techniques for improving our documentation so that it's more useful to the clients. My boss was kind of amazed at how eager we all were at the end to go home and apply all we'd learned. We were excited to chop up the doc and delete as many screenshots as possible!

One of the exercises involved us splitting in to groups and using
a set of instructions to put together a Lego tow truck.
I posted this photo on Instagram. My favorite response was:
"Oh, wow. That looks like a terrible accident. Is that guy ok?"
Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!

We had dinner together Wednesday night at Ozzie's, an Italian place my boss likes. I thought it a little funny that I was one of a handful to not order an alcoholic beverage, but I got a lecture because I ordered a Diet Coke :P I know aspartame is bad, but I was on vacation!

Yes, I ate two donuts.
I am ashamed.

Thursday morning, we invited some of the other local employees for a party my boss called "Doc 'n' Donuts": a chance for them to meet some of the writers they work with. The people working on my current projects are all based in Salt Lake City, like me, but my boss did introduce me to someone I might need to know for a future project. It's always nice to be included!

I admit that I spent about half of the meet and greet catching up on e-mails from
my SLC co-workers. Thankfully, my trip East didn't put me too far behind.

By Thursday night, we were all stuffed to the gills with food*, and those who lived close enough to drive home were ready to leave. The plan for the handful of us out-of-towners who weren't going home until Friday or later was for Judy to drive us into Washington D.C. and see the monuments on The Mall at night. Judy had some work to finish up, so the rest of us dropped our stuff off at our rooms and took a shuttle to a local strip mall to find some dinner. My companions were really nice and let me pick the vendor because I really, really wanted a sandwich from Potbelly. I didn't care that I'd had one in New York the week before. I don't have Potbelly in my hometown so I was going to take advantage while I could! The local ahead of me in line was adamant that I get the "Wreck" sandwich. I love the Italian, but I took a chance on the Wreck anyway. It was delicious. So, now I'm going to conclude that everything there is delicious. My coworkers liked their choices, too, thank goodness. I always worry when I recommend something or someplace that the other folks won't like it. Lucked out this time!

  

About that time, Judy called to let us know that she had at least an hour of work to do and then would need dinner, and with the traffic in the city we wouldn't get to the Mall until a ridiculously late hour. We told her not to worry about it. The hotel shuttle was no longer running, so we wandered around the strip mall for a little bit, and then walked the 2.5 miles back to our hotel. As I said, the area was gorgeous and green, and fairly warm. The highways all had sidewalks, and I was in good company. It was a nice, peaceful way to spend the evening. We arrived back at the hotel just as the sky officially became dark, then sat around and chatted for a bit before calling it a night.

Elizabeth, Elias, Tina, and me.
I am sad that I didn't get a photo with Judy, or one of the entire group at the conference,
but these three folks were awfully nice!

I slept in a tiny bit on Friday morning, but still was up in time to finish packing and eat the fancy hotel buffet breakfast before my taxi whisked me away to the airport.

Just as I was boarding the plane and starting to feel sad that the adventure was over, I spotted this guy's hat:

"God is Good all the Time"

I have to say that I agree!

So, there you have it: my big event in May. For a long time, I thought in terms of "before my East coast trip" and "after my East coast trip." Now that it's after, I'm going to have to start planning something else to look forward to!

*They brought out new food for every break, and a huge lunch both days. I didn't notice the effects of the rich food on my body while in NYC because I walked all day, but eating and sitting in meetings in Virginia about did me in. I gained several pounds :P