Rocking 2013

I have to say the beginning of this year has been quite awesome. I feel like certain things have finally fallen into place and we are finally moving forward with our lives in some way. Being unemployed was one of the biggest and most frustrating hurdles. After clearing that one, others seem to follow suit.

Since the start of 2013 I have...

Finally sucked up my dentist fear and got my wisdome teeth removed.

Got cast as an extra in NBCs Revolution... and filmed!

Started working out with the C25K (ok, this one has paused the last week or so but I intend to go back!)

And of course, started my new job. And my mom got a job too about a week later! We are both employed! She is back to being a Church Lady, but Episcopal not Catholic this time. Score for us both in the job market.

I also was cast in another show at the community college. We are doing Moliere's The Doctor in Spite of Himself and I am playing Jacqueline. This show is definitely a lot more male heavy but I am still really enjoying working with everyone, both old and new!

I went from days of doing nothing to working at the library, rehearsing at night, ballet once a week and trying to go to the gym where I can. Whew. Talk about a busy schedule. And with the dreaded military "D-word" floating in the air something tells me this year got busy for me for the right reason.

So my blogging hasn't been stellar, I hope to change that now that I have more to write about, but it is the time to do it that is now the issue! I went from tons of time with not much to say to tons to say and not much time to write. I will work on it. Hopefully my next entry can tell you a little bit more about my job at the library and share some fun pictures of the past few weeks.

Thanks for sticking with me, yet again.

New Bern and a Wedding

Last weekend we got ourselves out of the house again!

Saturday was spent cleaning and doing yard work, but we finally made our way to downtown New Bern for a visit. We heard it was a lot like Alexandria, a quaint downtown with shops and restaurants and the like. It was cute! Smaller than I thought, but still nice. We have to get there earlier in the day next time though, everything closed at 6pm!

City Hall

Gorgeous outdoor church area

We didn't get to go into the Drug Store where Pepsi was invented as we found it after 6, but its on the list for next time... even though I am definitely a Coca Cola girl. We got some fudge and walked by the yacht club and explored some shops before heading home for burritos and the season premiere of Doctor Who.

Sunday Ryan's good friend Garrett got married! So now all three (Josh, Garrett and Ryan) of the trouble makers from Task Force East are now married. Crazy. These three were joined at the hip when they all went to Iraq in 09 and I hadn't seen Garrett in ages. It was the first time we met Debra, his wife, and she was an absolute doll. The wedding was at a Boat House up in Beaufort and just gorgeous. We got to spend a lot of time with Garrett, which we didn't expect, and there were a few other Marines present so we were good to go!

It was the first wedding Ryan and I have been to since our own and we had a blast. Great food, dancing and socializing! I teared up during the ceremony... all I can figure is since being married hearing someone we care about start that amazing journey just got me all choked up. It is such a big adventure to have! I remembered my own wedding day and the vows and the love.... how can you not choke up!?

Even though it rained as we all arrived (and there ceremony was moved indoors) the sun came out in time to set as the party started!

Ryan and Garrett (and Debra's bridal portrait in the background, perfect!)

Marines

Garrett and Ryan doing "Jump On It"

I didn't have my camera so these are just a few I snapped on my iPhone, but it worked!

Rehearsals are going well. I am pretty much off book for Act I (aka I got all my line memorized for Act I) and we start Act II next week. I alternate between thinking I have so much time before the show and no time at all! The cast and crew are terrific though and this is something I have really really really missed. I hope I can continue to do more shows after this one! I do see less of my husband though, especially since he has had an awful cold the past few days and is passed out when I get home! On Wednesday I didn't see him at all since he worked late. At least we are in the same time zone :) It could always be worse.

Aaaaand............ birthday tomorrow! 25!!!!

Don't Pass Out!

Yesterday I went to the mall since they were having a blood drive. I have always donated steadily since I turned seventeen, every church blood drive, all the ones at college except the year after I got my tattoos, so I always go. Eastern North Carolina is critically low at the moment so it is very important to donate if you are able to!

I got to the mall around 2pm or so and I unfortunately was there almost two hours. I had some computer trouble with my maiden name and my married name and then the woman taking my blood kind of messed up. She told me the vein was bruising and not working and asked to try my other arm. Translation: you missed the vein and now it is bruising under the skin... I've donated enough to know that! But I had already been there a long time at this point so I told her to do the other arm. The left arm worked fine but for the first time ever it was painful to donate for me. Normally I feel the needle go in and then that is it, nothing else. This time it hurt the entire time they were drawing the blood... I didn't say anything but I was not a happy camper.

After I collected my tshirt and free cookies I drove home to spend time with Ryan before rehearsal. I had big band aids on both elbows so naturally he made fun of me a bit! I wasn't hungry, I had already chugged a water bottle, but he insisted I eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich before I go. I got to rehearsal and someone actually brought in pizza for all of us! Score. I had a slice and we rehearsed for an hour or so then took a ten minute break.

Like I am known to do I went outside to smoke and then came back in to chat more with the nonsmokers. I had another slice of pizza, some more water, and then we jumped back into the scene. All I have to say is thank God the guy playing my husband had his arm around me. We got maybe ten minutes into the scene and suddenly I felt horribly sick to my stomach. I started sweating and I felt incredibly overheated and then my vision started to go dark. Bless his heart my fake husband felt me sway and prevented me from hitting the floor as rehearsal ground to a halt.

How embarassing!

They got me into a chair and I had more water and tried to breathe. I had a mini Hershey bar in my bag left over from our readthrough Monday so I ate that and slowly started to feel better. I think my blood sugar just dropped like a rock... it was very strange. Like I said, I have donated many many times, but I have never almost passed out like that! I was mortified. At first the director was worried I was ill or something but then I mentioned I donated blood and everyone relaxed. That had to be it. I took it easy the rest of the rehearsal, I sat more than my character is blocked to do but I made it through the night and was able to drive home and go to bed early (after making sure the Gamecocks beat Vanderbilt!).

My husband (the real one) said I must just be getting older. In college I could donate and then run to class then work for a few hours then rehearse without an issue. This time it took me a lot longer to bounce back, even being hydrated and eating. Noted. Next time I will be sure to take it easier!

Motto of the story: Don't donate blood on the day you have rehearsal. Passing out does not leave the best impression!

Rehearsals

I had my first rehearsal Monday night, just a read through, where we sit around a table and basically read through the script. Last night we got on our feet and are moving forward for the next seven weeks! Part of me is terrified, there is a lot of yellow highlighter on those pages! But part of me is also very excited. The cast seems great so far, a nice diverse group ranging from students to not, and the crew I have met has been good too.

The only downside is I do see a lot less of my husband. He usually gets home from work as I leave for rehearsal. I get home after 10pm and he is usually ready to go to sleep at that point! Yesterday he had duty so I went and had lunch with him, but haven't seen him since. I am hoping he gets home a little early today so we can have dinner together or something! Once it gets closer to the show Ryan will be in 29 Palms for training (most likely, 99% sure at this point) and will not get to see my show. Boo. He can come to a rehearsal before he goes to try and see it, but it won't be the finished product. Ah well... I know neighbors and friends (and family) have told me they will be there so I am still very excited.

That's all that is really going on right now. Rehearsals, ballet (last night was fun... an hour of rehearsal then ballet class then another hour of rehearsal!), housework, playing with the pup and other such things. It is busy, but not much to write about unfortunately.

I hate that my blog has gone so far downhill the past few months. I miss having interesting things to write about, things people actually would want to read.

But this is all I have. For now.

A Night Off

For my night off yesterday I got some lovely quality time with my husband. We snuggled on the couch and watched Cash Cab (and let me tell ya, if we were on that show we'd win a lot of money between the two of us and our amazing amounts of useless knowledge) before heading out to dinner. It was unseasonably warm so we walked up the street to a restaurant we walked by a hundred times, Southside 1815. Never knew it, but it was a southern restaurant... yea I guess the name would help but looking at it it just looks like a typical bar/pub sort of place.

We actually ate outside, sans jackets, and it was some good food! We split some fried pickles for an appetizer, then Ryan had fried chicken with mashed potatoes and veggies. I had a dixie chicken sandwich (chicken, bacon, cheddar, a fried green tomato...that was a first!, watercress, and ranch bbq sauce) with fries. YUM. We then stumbled home and I was in bed, asleep by 9:15pm.

Bliss.


I was tagged by Long Distance Love to answer these 8 questions. Since I have done this before I may just answer them and leave them at that!!

1. If you could change 1 thing about your partner what would it be and why?

My mother in law said something very smart... women marry men thinking they can change them, and men marry women thinking they will never change. I don't think there is anything about Ryan I could honestly say I want to change without having him change in the process. Sometimes I wish he drank a little less, but that is more of a problem I have than he does. His tolerance is a whole heck of a lot higher than mine and I just need to get used to that.

2. If you were given the cutest puppy right now, what would you name it?

We already discussed this, Rylie. It is a combination of Ryan and Allie... haha.

3. Something you dislike about yourself?

Physically, my chest. Internally, my lack of self confidence.

4. What is something you'd like to see changed in this world?

I'd like to see everyone care about other people, fully and completely. Something tells me that would solve a lot of problems.

5. Do you truly believe one can live without regrets?

I do.

6. What is your favorite thing about each season?

Spring - Now it will be my wedding anniversary!
Summer - Being able to go to the beach or travel.
Fall - Leaves changing.
Winter - Christmas and snow!

7. Name one of your goals in life.

Career wise, to be a famous actress (:P) and life wise, to be a good wife and someday mom.

8. Are you living the life you want? If not, how could you get yourself there?

Mostly yes. I wish I could be acting again, but I just need to find the time to audition and earn the roles I can. I am happy in my current job, I love my husband and where we live, so I just need to push myself to do my own goals.



Off til rehearsal. Cross your fingers it goes smoothly and I am not there til midnight again....

Tech Day 2: 13 Hours

Getting there! And at least my husband is here keeping me company (:

More stories later... oh what a weekend!

12 Hour Tech Day One

20 minutes left today! Been here since 9:30am. Here is the set getting ready for act two.

Back to the grind.

Migraines?

Has anyone ever had a migraine before? I think I had my first one ever last night. I can honestly say my head has never hurt this badly before... and I have had two concussions (one last year or so). My vision was literally blurring from the pain unless I really focused.

I felt like the top front of my head needed to be ripped out to stop it, my eyes were heavy and every sound and shimmer of light shot through my brain like a hot poker.

Ok maybe this post is getting a bit melodramatic but my head has never done this before! It got to the point where Ryan finally went and got my emergecy oxycodone usually reserved for my extreme stomach pain and gave me half of one just so I could stop crying and go to sleep. Of course Ryan had to be up at 3am, I think my drugged self managed to wake up and force myself conscious to kick him out of bed around 4am... so a little later than he wanted.

All day today I have felt a bit off. Naturally the medicine had me sleeping til almost noon, but a drugged sleep is so not a restful one, so I woke up exhausted. I managed to get up and shower and then felt horrible. So I crawled back into bed and read the rest of Eat, Pray, Love (amazing book, totally recommend it) until I had to leave for rehearsal. I picked up a salad so I got something in me and even know I feel weirdly floaty.

Thank god my head just feels a tad swimmy. I love the performers, I really do, but if I had to hear a baritone and soprano sing for four hours straight with a migraine, I might have had to punch someone...

Gosh I hope I never get one of those again!

THE Wedding Post! (Part 1)

Ok, I am going to attempt it, here I go!

The Rehearsal

Lost bridesmaids, lost groomsmen. It is what happens when your church is out in the middle of nowhere! Eventually everyone got there and we tweaked the ceremony to our liking. The guys got to practice the arch and we ran through the ceremony twice to make sure we got it right. Then we were off to Cryans for the rehearsal dinner.

Ryan and I at the rehearsal dinner.

The dinner was great. I didn't put my pictures up yet but his groom's cake was... an armadillo!! For any of you who have seen Steel Magnolias you understand where that is from! It was red velvet cake too. I will post my pictures of it once I find my camera chord...

We gave the gifts to our attendants. Ryan gave the guys Marine wallets and shot glasses and gave Stefan his old set of medals from Iraq, he was SO touched. I gave the girls silver heart friendship necklaces that say A true friend reaches for your hand and touches your heart.



I also gave them bridesmaid bags from Michaels with a sleep mask, bath bomb, Disney princess pen (naturally), two personalized notebooks with their initials on it, and red glittery heart stickers.

The Marines all got together, my Poppy included, and sang the Marine Corps hymn which was amazing. The Sam and Josh got the bridal party shots, the guys rum the girls cake. I Coyote Ugly'd mine since I cannot drink... aka I spit it out into an empty "chaser" glass. My Poppy even did a shot with the guys! Not bad for 87!!!

That night my allergies kicked my butt. Worst I have ever had them. I was so stuffy and it had nowhere to go but down so I was throwing up that night and then next morning in the shower. No fun. But it could have been worse.

W-Day

So the day of the wedding we got up super early and drove forty minutes to Sal's to get our hair done. We've been going to Sal since my MOM'S prom so no one else could do my hair! He then wouldn't take any money for mine, even though he opened half an hour early to see us. Awesome guy. I had some tea and a piece of toast and Zyrtec to reign in the stuffy nose. It finally kicked in at the house. The girls were there getting make up done and to get ready.



The make up came out beautifully and I was so happy with it. My mom's friend Babs came over and took pictures of us getting ready, so these shots are all from her!

Me

Sam, maid of honor

Jill, my cousin

Cat, DC bridesmaid

Kim, highschool/theatre school

Dell, Ryan's friend who became my friend! Her boyfriend is a friend of Ryan's as well.

The the "official photographer" arrived, Allan, and he was crazy but great. I cannot wait to see his pictures!!! I also had quality time with my dog Dippy and my littlest brother Stefan in the mean time.

We got into my jewelry then all of us got dressed.





We took some pictures at the house before the limo arrived! After that it was a mad dash to the church and getting everything there and situated.



Entering the church, my entourage!

Ceremony and reception to follow!

Tomorrow (2)!!!

So where I left off...

Bachelorette! So we basically had amazing wine at the winery, relaxed with massages, had a great dinner at the Irish pub, went to another one for a drink, then went back to the Irish pub for trivia night. Kim met up with us after the spa and Aliee met up with us at the house. Trivia was great, we had our butts kicked but we had a blast. I had a light up pink furry crown that said bride-to-be, a bachelorette sash, and we all had cute pink and white pins that said things like Sexy, Vamp, Fiesty... mine said Lucky! I also had a giant fake engagement ring and we had a cute girl's night out sign for the table. We went back to the lake house after that and started watching It's Complicated and pigging out on junk food but we all started to pass out so we went to bed!

In the morning my two aunts and cousin Suzy stopped by and visited. Aunt Eileen and Suzy are from California so it was great to see them pre-wedding. We got back to NJ and mom and I went in to whirlwind mode getting everything done. We tied ribbons on the bubbles, cleaned, decorated, worked on the digital frames, and I managed to shower and get ready.

We then went to the rehearsal, ran the show twice. I hope it all goes smoothly! I am more nervous about forgetting something than anything else! But the guys looked good practicing their arch. So excited for that! It was good seeing Ryan's family too. Then we had the dinner at Cryan's and just chatted.

Ryan's grooms cake was a red velvet armadillo! Anyone see Steel Magnolias? If so, you get it!!! Then all the Marines and my poppy sang the Marine Corps hymn and the bridal party did a shot (*I Coyote Ugly'd mine since I cannot drink, I will explain if neeeded!*) and it went fast.

Now I am home, missing Ryan already! I will see him tomorrow, up the aisle waiting for me! Tomorrow I will get up early, get hair and make up done with the girls, and go to the church.

Then reception, and honeymoon in western NC for a week.

See you all then!!! Thanks for the well wishes!!! <3