Los Angeles

You know why I'm not blogging as much as I used to? I think Facebook has taken over as the place I go to post weird comments and humorous anecdotes. Find me on Facebook, I'll be your friend.

I'm here in Los Angeles visiting my dear friend, Kathie. Kathie let me stay on her couch the first four months I lived in Chicago. She is a wonderful friend who was so generous with me when I first moved. Nothing has changed. I'm sitting on that same couch right now and she's shown me what Southern California has to offer. So tempting to move here! Especially thinking about what February weather would be like here versus a Chicago February.

Here are some pictures from my trip! I'm off to Dallas tomorrow morning to see Drewby graduate high school. Thank God for this amazing vacation!

99 Balloons

Today Eliot's story will be told on Oprah. Please set your DVR's or if you're in Chicago, you can watch it at 11:00 tonight.

Two years ago today Eliot went to be with Jesus. You can watch his story below. It's a beautiful story of one strong little boy and two loving and courageous parents.

The Mooney Family

Congratulations to Matt & Ginny Mooney! Their daughter, Hazel Emerson, was born yesterday. You may have followed their son, Eliot's story last year. Please read his story if you have not already. This is a truly blessed day for the Mooney family!

Dancing at the Revolution Opening Night

The show finally opened! We opened to a full house that included Dad, Auntie and a few friends. The theater is quirky, eccentric and has no air conditioning. I was basically wiping the rivers of sweat off my face the whole play. It wasn't our best performance by any means. Definitely not mine. But we got the jitters out and each show keeps getting better and better. It's amazing how different each audience is and how each show brings out something new in the play. I'm still making discoveries which keeps doing the same thing every night interesting.

I will post pictures sometime of myself looking like a school marm. The wardrobe and the hair does nothing for my looks!

Thanks to everyone who came out to support me and to those who will be making the trek soon.

Oh, dad and Auntie grew up a block away from this theater. It was fun hearing about what the neighborhood was once like.

Algebrating Saturday Night

Saturday night + sunburn + Lindsay's birthday + Strongbow cider + improv show + 60 degree weather + crummy audition + trip to anthropologie + omlette n' mash =














OVER THE TOP people. I so almost had him.

Pictorial

Finally! Photos from my birthday week (which is still continuing...hence the elastic waist pants) and from Easter (hence the elastic waist pants). Click here to view them all!

Please Pray

There are two great things about having this blog:

1. People I haven't seen or talked to in years get to read about my underwear problems or my boob size.

2. I can share stories of friends in need of prayer...and I know you'll pray!

This morning I received an email from my dear friend, Alyson, telling me that her old roommate and best friend may have cancer. I asked how to pray and she said, "just know that she's my 'Becky' and you'll know how to pray." (Beckles is my BFF in case you're wondering) Here's her email below so you'll know more of the details:

I received some pretty devastating news today. One of my best friends, Lisa, went into surgery today and turns out they removed a tumor from her lung that they are fairly certain is malignant. It will be a couple days before test results are back to confirm. It was about 4 inches. She's 31 yrs old.

Lisa and Leanne were my roommates before I moved to Chicago. Leanne is the one whose dad died this past October of cancer. Needless to say, both Leanne and I are taking this quite hard. Not only have we each lost our dads to cancer, now our best friend quite possible has it, too. And, to speak for myself (but I think Leanne is the same), I find it quite challenging to be hopeful. But, I feel this overwelming responsibility to be strong and hopeful for Lisa and her family.

So please pray for hope, healing, peace and wisdom...a miracle!...and anything else you think might be helpful.

Thank you!

Celebrate by Eating

GEEEEESH I haven't updated in a while! That's what turning 32 will do to a girl. Actually, I've been busy celebrating by eating 32 pounds of everything. And Beckles was in town all weekend. You know you're best friends when one person hops out of a cab and you realize that you have on THE EXACT SAME THING! Seriously, even bazillions of miles away, we still end up wearing the same thing. As roommates we'd walk out of our rooms, look at each other, and one of us would say, "I'll go change." That sealed the deal that we are indeed kindred spirits (ah, Anne of Green Gables).

I'll post pictures tonight of my party on Friday.

Place My Hands Where?

Riddle me this: How on earth does one turn the scene I picked for my On Camera class into a seduction scene? Little innocent Kate Winslet telling little innocent Johnny Depp that she wants to keep pretending they're a family until she dies doesn't exactly seem sexy to me. Somehow teacher Doug thought so.

Thinking I'd have to gear up and get some fat tears ready for a dramatic part, I selected Fernando as my scene partner. He's a good friend. We've never done a scene together in class. It will be fun. Next thing I know Doug is telling me to play a seductress. Katy is to seductress as Ben and Jerry's is to health food. Then he tell us in front of the class to "pretend you're naked...." Uno momento. I'm sorry Doug, could you repeat that? I thought I heard you say, "pretend you're naked." Oh he said that alright, AND SO. MUCH. MORE. He was getting all Nora Roberts on us. I cannot repeat the words whispered to me in the corner that night.

Never would Fernando and I have guessed that in Monday's On Camera class our relationship would become so. much. more...in front of seven other people...and then have to watch it played back to us on video. Magic. I will never forget this as long as I live.

Why is it that I have to take acting classes to get a little action around here? It's a tough job.

Good news, we get to do it again next week. Then he's putting it on DVD for us. DO NOT count on me posting it...EVER! I'll show a private screening at my place and all proceeds will go to charity.

I Have Funny Friends

This is an email I received this morning from a dear friend of mine. I absolutely love the honesty and visual pictures (and yes, I did get her permission...and no it isn't Becky). The funny parts are bolded for those of you who are lazy or may have a boss lurking around your cube:

Things are well and I am ready for some downtime. I just need to get through the next two weeks and then I am home free until January 3rd, 2008!! Uhhhhh...just the sheer thought makes me want to tee tee in my Snow White panties!! I am sitting in St. Louis wasting yet more of life in an airport. I have done quite a few things this morning that have made me quite productive. I am sitting close to the Starbucks in a booth and getting the smells of yum coffee and the sounds of great tunes. For free too! Apparently the booth phone tells me it is 72 degrees in here.
I beg to differ and if that's the outside temperature, someone needs to exchange the 7 for a 3. Not pretty out there. Luckily my plane is coming in from PHX, so no worries about weather delays there. I am headed to Orlando until Friday.

Someone just ordered a gran-day. That was painful, kind of like when smart people would order fa-gi-das from me. Uhhhhh, they are not relatives to the VA-gina. (sometimes I crack myself up...or it may just be the lack of sleep that has put me over the edge...and that I need to spend some one on one time with me a potty, but don't feel I have the privacy I need.)

I had a disruptive booger this morning. I mean, paralyzing booger this morning that made me stop mid make up application in the public bathroom and search out a Puffs. It was quickly resolved. But I was concerned to see so much blood, which always takes me back to the episode of Little House on the Prarie where the cousin had bloody noses all the time and they determined he had an inoperable brain tumor (like they weren't ALL inoperable back in the those days!) So I've always associated bloody noses with brain tumors since that life changing episode. It disturbed me inards.

Only true friends will tell you about their boogs.

Chit Chat

I would like to thank Megan for having a birthday work celebration yesterday because it gave me yet ANOTHER opportunity to stuff my face with birthday cake.

Quote of the day:

"I'd kick a baby if they tickled me."

That quote was made by me. Let that be a warning to all you babies who like to tickle people. I turn VIOLENT! Don't say I didn't warn you.

What's in a Dream?

Kellsey, a friend I've known since the 8th grade, left a comment not that long ago on one of my posts. I hope she doesn't mind that I post part of it here. I left out the part where she said we were engaged to each other. She's married so I'm not too worried.

I dreamed last night that I was at your parents house with you for a sleepover. We were hanging out and talking and dancing around (with your parents). When we went to bed we both slept pretty soundly. THen at 5:30 you all of a sudden sat bolt upright and said "I can't stand it anymore! I've got to get up. I can't stand to sleep late and miss half the day."

That is so me! Most people close to me know that I don't like sleeping late because I love the day time so much and who wants to waste some perfectly good daylight?

I've never slept past 12:30pm. And when I did that it was after prom and I didn't go to bed until 6:00 am. I am also pretty competitive. I used to get mad when my old roommate would wake up before me on a Saturday morning. How dare she get a start on the day before me! Maybe I felt guilty for wasting precious time. Guilt? Me? And you know what else makes me feel guilty? Watching t.v. when my roommates are busy doing something else. Automatically I feel I'm lazy. I'm sensing I have some issues here.

Anyone else have any dreams about me they'd like to share? Kidding! No, seriously. Wait, maybe I don't want to know them.

Periods. They Don't Just End Sentences

Wednesday night was one of those perfect girls nights. Kelly picked up me and Alyson from work and we began our plans of dinner and a Target run. What girl doesn't need a black velour leisure suit to help her through the frigid Chicago winter?

Dinner was met with tears as we all talked about what's going on in our lives. We had to cheer each other up somehow, so the topic turned to when we started our first periods. The moral of the story is that if we could make it through our first periods in our pre-teen days, then surely we'll make it through what's going on in our lives now.

I detested any talk about periods when I was in those fragile stages of 10 and 11 years old. It had to do with the changing of my body and would eventually lead to "the talk." My mom tried to talk to me about it several times but I always cut her off with a "I KNOW ALREADY MOM!" It's true, I did know. I just picked up on things at school: discussions, stories, innuendos. I was a pretty perceptive child. I spent most of my time observing and listening to others.

I remember we had a special talk at school for girls only. The teachers gathered us into the auditorium and proceeded to tell us about the menstrual cycle and changes we could be expecting in the near future. You could order this neat little box filled with pads, pamphlets and a resourceful book on life changes. They must have sent a letter home to the parents because my mom ordered on for me and one for my sister. I remember getting the brown box filled with the goodies and being utterly horrified. Meanwhile my sister was giddy with delight and couldn't wait to read more about "life changes" out loud from the book. My sister was the kind of girl who couldn't wait to play dress up and wear my mothers heals and jewelry. I was more inclined to throw the football around and ask the boys at school to punch me in the stomach to show them I was tough. I wasn't an extreme tomboy. Most wouldn't have classified me as one by looking at me. My appearance didn't give me away, except for that unfortunate hair cut that left me with a mullet in fourth grade. Tragic and a story for another time.

First periods are startling, overwhelming, exciting and horrifying all at once. How are they exciting? I don't know. I just know that most mom's have an innate knowledge that tells them they need to act excited when their daughters tell them they started their period. It's a "My girl is so grown up!" "You're a woman!" But we all know now what our mothers were really thinking: "And here innocence ends and high-maintenance begins." Welcome to a life of water-retention, insatiable chocolate cravings, hot pads and maxi pads, midol and the fear of leakage. Goodbye white pants during certain times of the month. Hello mood swings.

If dealing with being a teenager wasn't hard enough, girls had to deal with their periods. I remember sixth grade being an especially rough time for girls who were new to menstrual cycles. Not everyone had started yet but it was obvious if you had. If a girl made the march to the bathroom carrying her purse, there were hushed whispers or unspoken thoughts of "she must be a slut." And heaven forbid that a guy got ahold of your purse and looked through it! What if he found a pad?!

Praise God for the day that I first learned how to use a tampon. It's been nothing but freedom ever since. Try going to a summer camp for 4 weeks during the summer and having to take swim class the first day of your period. How many excuses can one make up? You quickly learn to embrace the tampon. Some girls' mothers show them how to use it. Others just follow the instructions in the box and try to figure out the pictures. Most of our first thoughts were, "This can't be right. I'm supposed to stick this where?"

If only I knew back then that one day I would be laughing over dinner with my friends talking openly about my period, it wouldn't have seemed so daunting. I can't wait for the day when I can order a fun package for my daughter and explain the joys of womanhood. She'll probably scream back at me "I KNOW ALREADY MOM!" And I'll just think to myself, "That's my girl."

Restored

You know what? I have THE greatest family and friends. I have felt so loved over the last few days. I finally have my head on straight! My parents did a GREAT job of reminding me who I am and they broke the record of negative thoughts that were running through my head. So thank you for all of the prayers, phone calls, emails and encouragement.

Becky told me to ask people for help. I ask for prayers of clarity and direction over the next couple of months. More than anything I want to do what God desires of me. But I need to remember that that doesn't mean I should sit still paralyzed with fear that I'll do the wrong thing, or worst of all, fail. Failure haunts me. I don't fail often and that must be why it seems like a huge monster. I run from it sometimes. But isn't better to have failed trying than never to have tried at all? I should cross-stitch that into a pillow. It's sure to be a famous quote. What? Someone else said that already? Scratch that idea.

The posts are sporadic these days. Work is a bit busier than usual but it should only last for a couple more weeks. Then you'll have my usual array of daily commentary from yours truly.

Lake Winnipesaukee Pictures

Here are a few lovely pictures from our trip. They basically tell the story of eating, sleeping, reading and talking.



Here we are snuggled up which was our nightly ritual.



And this was us all weekend. I finished Harry Potter by the way and cried like a baby. So good!



The storm was an added blessing. I could read all day and not feel bad about it.

This is our first day. We're soaking up the last of the warm sun.



I made fire! I am so proud!



At the boat races.



My own personal boat race. I won!



I have nothing else to say about this.

Blaze of Glory

New Hampshire is gorgeous! My cravings for fall and all it's glory grew to an almost uncontrollable level. There's the smell and crunch of the leaves, clothes that make you want to snuggle, the smell of the fire place and crisp, cool mornings. I just described New Hampshire.

Our trip basically consisted of napping, eating, talking, reading, napping, laughing, talking, reading, eating, eating, napping, laughing, talking, and reading. Busy busy! I did find a little time to shower, kayak, and watch an antique boat race.

But my most proud moment had to be the fire I built! Saturday was really crisp and the lakehouse had no heat. The large fire place was our only source of heat except for the mounds of quilts we had piled on top of us. I reached back into the files of my days as a camper. Building a fire is a true test of survival capabilities. There were no Starter Logs to help this girl! Armed with some newspaper, a lighter and a pile of wood, I set to work to build one of the largest and most fantastic-blazing fires one has ever seen! Kristen and Kristin made smores from a hanger. It really was a beautiful thing. I couldn't keep my eyes off of it. It was my pet project. I patiently prodded the burning logs to make sure the flames would not die out. I carefully calculated the timing and position of the next log to be placed upon the fire. You would have thought I was a man.

I'll post pictures soon and you can see my pride and joy.

Boston or Bust

I travel more than most people I know. But it's one of my favorite things about my life so I can't complain.

Tomorrow morning I'm taking the first flight out to visit my friend, Kristin Adams. My other friend, Kristen, is going too. See how those names are the same but spelled differently? Yep, that's how we tell them apart.

We're going to Lake Winnepesaukee in New Hampshire. I don't even know how to spell it correctly. I'm pretty sure that's wrong but you get the point. Apparently Uncle Buck was filmed at that Lake. You know what else is a great movie with a lake? What About Bob?. Who doesn't love that movie?!

Update: My friend was confused when she said Uncle Buck. She was thinking What About Bob?. How can those movies be confused for one another? And I did indeed spell Lake Winnipesaukee incorrectly. But I just corrected it here. See?

Some of my favorite What About Bob? quotes: "I'm sailing!" "DR. MARVIN! DR. LEO MARVIN!" "Baby steps to the elevator. Baby steps to the..." "Mmmmm. MMMMMMMM. MMMMMmmmmmmm. Mm. Mm. MMMMMM!"

Here are more pictures from my weekend home. You can see Andrew in his big bad football uniform. He's #66. I just love Texas High School Football. Friday Night Lights is for real y'all!

Go Trojans!

One sixth of the girls from my graduating class got together this past weekend to enjoy good food, adult libations and memories of the past. To view all the pictures of us gorgeous women from the entire weekend you can click here.

Friday night we ate ourselves sick on Sushi and rolled ourselves home. Seriously, no pun intended. Okay, maybe a little pun. Then we began the slumber party festivities.

We braided each others hair and polished each others toes while having a pillow fight. Not really. Instead we put in our senior year video. Let me just say that big hot-rolled hair was in! I didn't think hair could get much bigger than it did in the 80's. I was wrong. Early 90's style was just bad. Oh so bad. We laughed and shared a few moments of "whatever happened to so and so." By the end we had a few moments of extreme nostalgia. We really had it good.

Saturday we ate again. We actually did this three times in one day. Amazing, I know. We decided to rent bikes up by Foster Beach and Tiffany led us on a lakefront tour. No one crashed or burned....well, Courtney did sunburn, but that doesn't count.

Have you ever been to the Chicago Oven-Grinders pizza? DELISH! One must try this unique dining experience. But be sure to get there 10 hours in advance for a table. You think I'm kidding. Tre' popular!

It was so hard to see everyone leave. The best part was just seeing how wonderfully everyone is doing. The best part is that the insecurities and competition from high school has indeed remained something that happened in high school. It's great to see people who truly care about one another and want the best for each other. That's what I call success.

Chicago Loves Me!

Chicago has sprinkled me with it's love over the past four years but Saturday morning, the city gave me the ultimate gift of love: My car was towed. I love you too Chicago! Someday I'll give back this great love you have shown me.

Marissa and Chris have a parking place behind their building. Their landlord said it would be okay for someone to park in their spot if there's a note from Chris & Marissa stating the car belongs to someone staying with them. I had a brief hopeful thought that perhaps my car had been stolen. I honestly don't want my car stolen. I love it and the trunk is full of my favorite Christmas decorations. So I don't know why I had that thought.

The towing company said they did indeed have my car. I asked if there was a note on the windshield. Perhaps someone had taken it off as a gesture of neighborly love and a good ole fun prank! Nope, the note was there, but "we don't look at notes, only at permits." Aha! So it was the towing company that goes around looking for cars to tow so they can make their money. Don't look at notes!? PULEEEZ! And when I pulled up to rescue my car, yep, the note was right where I left it. The man didn't even look me in the eyes. He knew he was guilty. I know it. He knows it. Everyone who has ever had their car towed knows it! I decided to take a few breaths and to not fight the city on this one. My friends were in town and it was better to just pay it off and burn off a little steam while we peddled rented bikes along the lake. That and eat a bomb pop. Oh bomb pops, you are summer to me!

My friends are great and are always quick to step in and help. They each threw a $20 bill at me to help contribute to the Rescue the 4Runner fund. They saved me some serious money by helping the girl out. So I am indeed loved!