March-ing along

After the intense rehearsal and performance schedule for Jekyll and Hyde, the stress of the holidays, and the demanding and high-energy rehearsal and performance schedule for Noises Off, March (not counting the week I performed in Noises Off) was more than a little chill. One could say it was a little bit boring, in the best possible way. I spent some time with friends, ate a lot of junk, watched a lot of Netflix, and with two exceptions because of illness I reached my 10,000 step goal every day.

My adorable brother David gave me these flowers when he came to my play. He is such a sweetheart.

I've talked about Potbelly's sandwich shop, right? It's an East Coast import and I absolutely love it. I went three times in March and bought a custom-made ice cream sandwich every time. Delicious.

Shilene and I treated ourselves to The Cheesecake Factory and then the national touring company's Mamma Mia! Obnoxiously, the pleasant-and-neglectful server at the restaurant made us 20 minutes late for the play, but the plot isn't so complicated that we couldn't catch up. The musical was everything I wanted it to be: great music, fun choreography, a lot of laughter, eye-catching costumes, and a dance party at the end! I'd wanted for years to see it and I'm thrilled I finally got to!

I was on the back row and everyone was taking photos. Otherwise, I would have even told myself to put the dang camera away!

Kate and I found this sign at the Vintage Whites Market (which I will be going to again). Since we were there on Pi Day (3.14) and I LOVE pie, I needed a photo.

Because oblivious people kept walking in front of me and she couldn't tell if the photos were actually processing, Kate ended up taking, like, fifteen identical photos. So I changed up the filters on a few and posted them as a collage of sorts. I am quite fond of the result (and the besty who took these photos for me)!

Saint Patrick's Day was next. Corned beef and cabbage is one of my favorite meals. I've been known to request it for my birthday dinner. Bonus: It was an off week for family dinner, but everyone came anyway. We hadn't all been together since Christmas. Win!

Once upon a time, my dad asked me to make a list of life goals. I recently found the list and I'm proud to say they are all still relevant. I've accomplished a few of those things. I have a ways to go on others. Some will take the rest of my life.

Secret's out: Some of the blonde in my hair isn't natural. I'm normally more of a honey blonde. The curl is real, though, I promise!

Winter finally seemed to give up for good, and it's been warm enough I've started wearing a pair of sandals I bought on sale last October. It's nice to finally debut them!

It was a sad day when I dropped this red pitcher. I'd been intending to put red tulips in them that matched the shade exactly :(

I finished three novels in March, including the second two of Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn series which I highly recommend. Fantasy fiction at its best. Bonus: reading outside is lovely.

Work was a little trying, what with a difficult coworker and layoffs (I survived). Fortunately, my team not only finished our latest product release, but we also finally hired a product owner, so we went out to lunch to celebrate. This La Jolla Groves bundt cake was exactly what I wanted my dessert to be: moist, dark, fudge-filled, and just the right size. I'll be going back for another soon.

That's it from March! April will be filled with General Conference, Personal Trainer Food, birthdays, plays, and who knows what else? Guess we'll find out!

The Princesses visit my Holladay Haven

For the last several months, my 5 year-old nieces have been intermittently asking to come to my house. They have various plans -- usually to watch a movie or have a sleepover. I finally invited them over last week for the first time. What followed was a hilarious, activity-filled night!

Lindsey and the G-unit dropped Breezy and Zonks off at my house along with a Little Cesars for dinner. Right off the bat, the girls were very interested to know if I owned everything behind "all the doors [in my apartment building], and Breezy ran around to check out my bedroom and such. While he was there, I loaned the G-unit my copy of Racso and the Rats of NIMH because he'd liked the copy of Mrs. Frisby I gave him for Christmas. Then Breezy asked if I got her and Zonks presents, too... I knew I forgot something! Breezy was more than satisfied with the loan of one of my tiaras, but Zonks declined the invitation, requesting we start a movie instead. I let her choose the first - Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (which I highly recommend) -- and they watched while I set up the dinner table, and while we ate... and a little after, too.

Dinner consisted of pizza and ice cream
(chocolate sauce for Zonks and sprinkles for Breezy).
I offered them sugar snap peas, but both said they didn't like them.
Not to worry: I like them enough for all of us!

It was funny to really pay attention to the way the girls eat. They are different in so many ways. Zoe ate with gusto and fairly tidily; she ate everything and was the first to finish. Breezy ate slowly and often forgot about spoonfuls on the way to her mouth. I had to laugh at one point when the ice cream dripped off the spoon, she tried to mop it up with her napkin (still watching the t.v.) and then realized that the rest of the contents of her spoon had splatted onto the table cloth. She apologized, but this is not my first rodeo, and I just giggled and helped her wipe up.

I got my only cuddle as we watched the second half of the film together on my couch. When it was over, Breezy wanted to choose the movie, and asked that we watch The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea*. We had a small makeover session where I put some glitter on their eyelids and some lipgloss on their mouths.

No eyeshadow, a different tiara than the one she wore for dinner, and pink lip gloss

Lavendar eye shadow and purple lipgloss

Breezy got a little bored about halfway through the second movie, and was disappointed that I don't have any toys. I had some dress-up things that fit her, and she was very curious about my jewelry. Then she spotted the photo I have of "Bring on the Men" from Jekyll and Hyde. She wanted to know about the play and my character. Have you ever tried to explain the story of Jekyll and Hyde to a 5 year old? I didn't want her to have nightmares so I downplayed the scary things as much as I could. Thank goodness I had a fairly extensive character sketch to draw from. She was disappointed I didn't get to keep my costume, and asked a lot of questions about why the hat had so many weird things on it. Breezy is spunky, and simultaneously girly and messy.

Zonks was fairly content to watch the movie, though she moved from location to location, and had some fun with my umbrella. She's such a little lady. She's stylish and blunt and logical and patient and she knows what she likes.

We had time to watch a third movie before their parents came to get them, and the girls picked Mulan 2. For this one, they wanted to dress up like Mulan, so I grabbed long cardigans and scarves and bound them up as well as I could. They thought the long sleeves were funny. I was thrilled they wanted to dress up as the butt-kicking princess! We ate popcorn and peanut-butter M&Ms and chips and salsa. At one point, Breezy asked for a piece of paper and wrote this for me:

"I love you Megin. Pllez hav uanuthur prte."
Translation: I love you, Megan. Please have another party.
Yeah, like I can say No to that!

Towards the end of the movie they were both getting restless. I was glad Adam and the G-unit came just as it ended, because neither girl was interested in a book, and as I said I don't have any toys. Well, I had a few Happy Meal toys from McDonald's. Breezy asked if she could take one home and I said OK. She knows she is more likely to get something if she asks for it (over and over) and she isn't shy about asking! Adam started to protest until I told him it was a Happy Meal toy, then he and the G-unit relaxed. When Breezy asked about one other thing a minute later, the G-unit said in exasperation, "You can't have any more of Megan's things!"

Oh, how I adore those kids!

According to their mom, Zonks and Breezy had glowing reviews for their night with Aunt Megan! That's so nice to hear. I loved having them over. I think that next time I'll take them and their brother on one-on-one dates so they get to do what they want to -- they don't often want to do the same things at the same time. Plus, even though the girls are twins, they shouldn't always have to do everything together. I'm going to get to work on that this summer.


*Fun fact: I mentioned this movie ONCE about a year ago, and she has never forgotten, so it was fun to finally watch with the two of them.

"Sugar" trombone arrangement

Happy Friday, my sweeties!

Memes that make me giggle: What does it mean?

Stolen from Set Phasers to LOL

Also, I loved this article "How to act: stage stars share their acting tips." Definitely worth a read!

Conversation with my nieces while playing Pretty, Pretty Princess:

Me [finding chocolate on the game board]: Oh no! Please try to keep the game clean.
Breezy: Why?
Me: Cause I might have little girls someday and I'll want to play this game with them.
Breezy: You will have little girls.
Zonks: You might have little boys.
Me: I might, and I'll play the game with them.
Zonks: Boys don't like jewelry!
Me: Maybe not, but they like to win!

Love Breezy's optimism and Zonks's opinions. They are so funny and smart and they totally get me!

"Is it a party? Is it? How killing!"

Noises Off opened and closed within eight days. We had wonderful audiences who laughed generously and gasped at surprises. The madcap show was a bear to rehearse and a blast to perform. I loved these folks and my little role in the play. It had been awhile since I had last flexed my acting muscles with a speaking role. Felt good to collaborate and play and feel needed again!

I am forever grateful for the opportunity to participate in this play, and to work with such a dedicated and talented group of performers, production team, and stage crew. I'm looking forward to our next project together, whenever and where ever that may be. 

I'm also grateful to the many friends and family members who took the time to come and support all of us. Your kindness and confidence make all the stress, work, time, and injuries worth it!

Rehearsal and backstage (and a few onstage) shots for the show:

I kept missing rehearsals when people were taking photos.
Thanks to Madman, this is the first Chris and I were actually in!

The folks who were on time on the 2nd picture day (Nothing On cast photos)

We'd been rehearsing for about 6 (of 10) hours on this Saturday. It's fine.

Tech week is exhausting

Mark and I standing around backstage.
"Do something?"

McKenzie takes a photo from the balcony of Dain and I

Pregnancy selfie before Kristen reduced the size of my baby bump

I liked watching what I could from backstage before they filled in the windows

Dain and Scott.
"There's beer in the wardrobe?"

My direction for Kristen, Chris, McKenzie and Madman was to "look worried."
"Don't panic! Don't panic!

Nichole and Carrie.
I am forever grateful the sardines were plastic, because sardines are grossssssssss!

"It's the Golden Girls!"

The backstage was a maze, shielding the audience from the goings-on behind each entrance.
It took some getting used to.

Helpful directions to navigate the backstage maze

"BANG, you're on. BANG, you've said it. BANG, you're off..."

Entire cast selfie before our final dress rehearsal/preview night

One is truly expecting, and the other only pretending

Me and my darling Nichole

"No children, no servants. We're absolutely on our own!"

Only four of us in the women's dressing room!

Producer Stephanie gifted everyone with these fancy jackets

Fight call every night. The axe was scary!

Bird's-eye view of Poppy and Belinda on stage.
"Don't worry, my sweet. He truly didn't hear."

I love this shot of me in Act II

And this one from Act I

"You know how stupid I am about plot..."

Say good-bye to the Act III sheik/Virgin Mary/pregnant Princess Leia.
(We should note this is the second time Midvale Arts has cast me as a pregnant character.) :)

Stage crew member Ethan and his sympathy fake pregnancy. So sweet!

"Do you take this sheet to be your lawful wedded wife?"
Which one?

Night-before closing night cast (and friends) post-show dinner at Leatherby's