What a Difference a Day Makes...!!!

I think I can TRULY say that I AM SICK OF WINTER!!!!  In the last 24+ hours, we've been "blessed" with another 17 inches of snow.  HOW LONG TILL SPRING???!!!!

9:38 a.m. Sunday, February 20th

5:01 p.m. Monday, February 21st

Here's hoping YOU live someplace warm, and SNOWLESS....!!!!

Closing Weekend of BYE BYE BIRDIE! and Nailed by the Flu...

Okay...today is the first day of actually being "coherent" since the show closed last Sunday.  I was EXHAUSTED by the time Monday rolled around, and Tuesday my throat started to hurt.  By Wednesday, I felt like I'd been hit by a truck.  Spent Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday at home on the sofa, moaning and sweating, and having chills, and coughing up lots of...well...you get the idea.

ANYHOO...the final weekend of the play went very well!  Friday night my parents were able to come up for the show.  My nieces were there (for the second time), and Duane (for the fourth time).  Dianne, and Paulette and Russell were there from school, and my media assistant Nancy was there with her daughters Stefanie and Allison.  It was a ROUGH run, having been away for four nights, but we managed to get through it.

Mom and me and mama!!!

The family!

Me (looking REALLY "blimpy") with Russell, Paulette, and Dianne

Saturday night went much better, and a bunch of the Ashland crew was there.  Janet and Mallory were there (more Kaposia peeps) as well.

Sunday's final performance was a good one.  Duane came (for the fifth time!).  Ro and Janelle were there.  Emilie and Abigail (for the third time) and Monica were there.  My friend Linda and her nieces came, as did Catherine, Penelope, and Cecelia (Kaposia friends).  It was AWESOME to have so many friends support me by coming to see this show, which I still TRULY think is one of the BEST I've ever been involved in...! 

Linda and me!

Me with Paul, Maddie and Ro

After the show, we had our final cast party at the Barks house, and said our goodbyes.  Final cast parties are always interesting...people are PUMPED from having had a great run, but everyone also realizes that this is the last time that the group will be together in this "mix".  Many of us will cross paths in other shows, but we'll never have "this" again. 

I didn't stay long, as I was REALLY looking forward to an evening lying on the sofa (ooohhh...foreshadowing of the week...!), and the longest "part" of the party was trying to say goodbye to everyone!  It was a very large cast!!!

I DEFINITELY suffered the dreaded "PPD" (post-production depression), but not as badly as usual (perhaps the flu "over ran" the depression, because the last few days have REALLY been about trying to get through the day...).

It was a GREAT time, and I REALLY liked being in a lead role again (as opposed to "chorus"), but I'm SO not going to miss driving to Maplewood every night, or the traffic, or worrying about the roads/weather, or putting on makeup, or trying to get the "man girdle" on for another performance (...don't ask...).

I'm looking forward to some evenings at home that DON'T involved lying on the sofa...or at least not lying on the sofa feeling like CRAP!  I also look forward to the next "acting adventure"...whenever that might be!

Here's hoping YOU are healthy, and enjoying "down time" as well!!!!

BYE BYE BIRDIE! Weekend TWO

I survived weekend number TWO of the show!  It was DELIGHTFUL to have four nights off last week to relax!  I think the only thing I managed to do each evening was lie on the sofa, read a magazine or two, and drink a glass of wine! 

The DOWN SIDE to having nights off, however, is that coming back to do Friday night's show was a little "tense".  I don't think I was completely ON that night, but I DID manage to run lines with Duane three of the four evenings that week (okay...I guess I did a LITTLE more than just lie on the sofa!), so it wasn't COMPLETELY a "cold run" on Friday.

I had a TON of family and friends come to the show this weekend....POW and Joel, Kate, Roger, and Josh, Pat B., Nan, John, and Doug were there from Kaposia on Friday night, as was Jerry from the Woodbury theater.  My friend Amy flew in Friday evening for the weekend to see the show.  I don't think she's missed one of my shows yet...she ROCKS!!! 

We were able to have lunch at Christos in the depot in downtown St. Paul on Saturday:

Saturday night, I had about 25 people in the house...Amy, Robin, Dave, Emilie, and Abigail...the crew from Lincoln Center (Connie, Nancy, Jen, Karla, Lynn and her husband)...Sarah and Amanda from Science House...my former Kaposia peeps, Jill, Tim, Julie, Erika, and Bob, Marcie and John from the Woodbury theater, and (I'm sure) a bunch of others that I'm not remembering right now!  We were "sold out" both nights, which is ALWAYS cool!

Sunday's matinee was a smaller crowd, due to it being SUPERBOWL SUNDAY (whatever that is...!!).  Nancy S. and Chris Z. were there from school, as was Duane (his THIRD TIME seeing the show), and my "number one fan" Korey from Robin and Dave's church (She's a HOOT!  She always positions herself in the row in front of me at the Christmas eve service, so that she can listen to me sing)!  Katy and Randy were there as well.  THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING TO THE SHOW!!!!!

Korey

Katy and Randy

Tori

Duane

I can't believe there's only one weekend left!  I've been rehearsing and performing since early October (first "Amahl", and then "Birdie"), and I'm not sure WHAT I'm going to do when next Monday rolls around and I'm not doing ANY shows.  I think Duane might want to take a trip for a few days, because I'm going to be REALLY MOPEY!!!!!

This has been one of the most amazing shows I've ever been a part of.  The cast and crew are UNBELIEVABLY talented, and I'm honored to have been a part of it all!  If you are anywhere NEAR Maplewood, Minnesota next weekend.  Get tickets for the show:  http://www.ashlandproductions.com/!!!

Here are some "back stage" photos from Sunday:

Me and Mrs. MacAfee

Gloria Rasputin before getting all "dolled up"!

Kim MacAfee and Albert

The scene shop!

Here's hoping YOU were able to support community theater where YOU live this week!!!!

Opening Weekend of BYE BYE BIRDIE!!!

“Bye Bye Birdie!” opened this past weekend in Maplewood, and what a GREAT opening weekend it was! We worked our BUTTS off…especially last week (tech week), and I think this could be one of the best shows I’ve been in, thus far!

Opening night, Duane, his cousin Phil, and a bunch of my friends from school came to see the show. It was a great crowd, and the energy and excitement was shared by the audience AND all of us on stage. I can’t state enough how AMAZING the teens are in this show! They are dedicated, and talented, and disciplined, and genuinely nice...fun to hang out with, and fun to talk to between scenes.

After the show, we all went to TGIFriday’s for food and beverages. We didn’t stay ultra late (11:30), because I needed to get home to welcome my dear friend, Tena, who came up for the weekend to see me perform. She arrived around 12:30, and we stayed up, drank wine, and caught up until about 1:30.

We slept in on Saturday, and putzed around during the morning, then headed to the Mall of America so Tena could buy a GREAT new eyebrow brush I discovered at Mac. It works like a mascara brush, and the COOL thing for me is that I don’t end up looking like a scarecrow when I use it (like I do with an eyebrow pencil!). After a brief run through Macy’s, we headed back to Eagan for lunch at Pardon My French. I had a DELIGHTFUL puff pastry crust filled with pork, spices, and mushrooms, and ended the meal with a chocolate pear tartlette…yum!

After lunch, we headed to Trader Joe’s to stock up on…everything, then came back home to rest and relax. Tena and Duane then went to Café Latte for dinner, and I got into costume and makeup (I do it at home, because there are too many loud, energetic teenagers in the dressing room at the theater, and they make me a little crazy…I’m old, what can I say??!!).

Saturday night’s show was AWESOME as well. We were a little “off”, but pulled it together in act II. In addition to Tena and Duane (second of three performances he "gets" to attend…what a guy!), my cousin Ashley and her boyfriend Ryan came up from Des Moines to see the show. Maureen, a coordinator friend from another PYP school in the cities. was there as well. Kelly, from Custom Education Solutions, who I’ve gotten to know through various workshops came with my friend Angie (from school), and I got to meet their respective “significant others”.

After the show, one of the cast members had a party at her house on Lake Phalen. Very gorgeous, and big, and the cast actually ALL fit inside! I took Tena and Duane, and it was a GREAT time, even though we had to leave early, since we’d made plans to meet Ashley and Ryan for breakfast at 8:00 the next morning (ack!).

Sunday, in addition to Duane and Tena, and Ashley and Ryan, Robin, Dave and the girls joined us for breakfast at Original Pancake House in Edina. It was EXCRUCIATINGLY early, and I was COMPLETELY wiped out, but it was fun to do some more catching up.

Tena left after breakfast (insert sad face here), and Ashley and Ryan went back to Des Moines. Duane and I spent a few mellow hours on the sofa, then I headed back to Maplewood for the matinee. Beth, an AWESOME Tupperware friend, was the only person I knew in the audience.

Up until the last song, this was probably my best performance yet. Unfortunately, the FABULOUSNESS didn’t pertain to my final number “Rosie”. Somehow “la la hmmm hmmm Rosie” just doesn’t pack the same flowing narrative as “now my life is Rosie”!

I’ve never “gone up” on the words to that song before, and actually messed it up TWICE…the first time because the words just weren’t there, and the second time because I was FREAKED OUT about not knowing the words the first time, and they escaped me again. Ugh!

Overall though, it was a GREAT weekend, and I’m looking forward to TWO more GREAT weekends of performances. Here are some photos Duane (and Lisa, a mom of one of the teens in the show) took on Friday and Saturday night. People are taking TONS of photos, so I should have a few more to post after the second and third weekends.

Here’s hoping YOU have been able to do something YOU love recently too (and that you aren’t COMPLETELY exhausted right now too!!!)!!!!

"Telephone Hour" in BYE BYE BIRDIE!!!

I'll post more about the AMAZING show I'm in when I have a little time to do so, but I wanted to share a YouTube video of our AMAZING teens in "Telephone Hour!!  Our choreographer, Kayla, is UNBELIEVABLE!!!!

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OMG!!!!!

Okay...I'm writing this on SUNDAY, January 16th, but can't post until FRIDAY, January 21st, but I have found THE ultimate recipe for the BACON! BACON! TASTE-OFF at school (I can't post until Friday because entries are ANONYMOUS, and some of the staff at my school actually READS this blog!).

A little background...one of our staff members was "talking smack" a few years back that she had THE ultimate tater tot casserole (or "hot dish", as they call it up here in the FRIGID north!) recipe.  I suggested that she put her casserole (or "hot dish") where her mouth was, and I challenged her to a "bake off"...which sounded too prissy, so we came up with the TATER TOT TASTE-OFF (such fun alliteration!).  Several other staff members THOUGHT they had contenders, so we ended up with about TWELVE versions for our staff to try during lunch.

We had such a good time (even though I DIDN'T win), that we continued the contest the next year with a SOUP-ER TASTE-OFF (not QUITE as alliterative, but still a good title...), then last year, we had the CHOCOLATE TASTE-OFF. Now...in year number FOUR. we've moved on to one of my FAVORITE foods...BACON!!!

For some reason, I just can't bring myself to do something "normal" like Bacon/Corn Muffins, or Potato and Bacon Stew for these challenges...(how BORING!).  I think that's what KNOCKS me out of ever winning the competition.  To illustrate this point...last year's entry in the chocolate contest,  was "Fiery Brownies", which contained raspberries and chipotle chiles...NOT a big hit (although I thought they were QUITE tasty...and I did get a FEW votes...)! 

Anyway...after LOTS of research, I settled on the following (kudos and thanks to joythebaker.com. My "tweaks" are highlighted in BOLD):

Peanut Butter, Chocolate Chunk, and Bacon Cookies
adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook
Makes 20 cookies about the size of your palm

1 cup all-natural chunky or smooth peanut butter (I used 1/2 cup of each)
1/2 cup brown sugar and
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking soda
about 6 slices of bacon, cooked, cooled and diced
1/2 cup Nestle's semi-sweet chocolate chunks

In a skillet over medium high heat, fry bacon until cooked through, and let cool on paper towels. Dice and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a mixer, combine peanut butter and sugars until well combined, about 2 minutes.

Add egg and baking soda, and mix for another 2 minutes. Fold in cooked bacon, and chocolate chunks.

Roll into large walnut sized balls.  Roll the dough balls in granulated sugar, and create a criss-cross pattern with a fork.  Bake for 11 minutes, until lightly browned.

Cool on a baking sheet for five minutes, then transfer to… your mouth.

As I said earlier...I'm writing this on on SUNDAY, and the contest isn't until FRIDAY.  I've made the cookies, and am freezing them until the TASTE-OFF (I had to...the musical in which I'm currently acting opens in two weeks, and I CERTAINLY won't have time to bake THIS week!).

Oh...and here's the "prize"...the winner's picture goes in this AWESOME frame (yep...also created by me) to hang in the staff lounge for all eternity...or until it falls off the wall...whichever comes first...

I'll let you know if I win or not, after this entry is posted.  Oh yeah...here's the really STUPID part.  I send out an e-mail on the day of the contest, asking for people's votes for BEST entry in the contest.  I tabulate the votes, and relay the winner to the staff...all without verification or authentication from anyone else...and I STILL HAVEN'T WON...how lame am I??!!

Here's hoping YOU had the opportunity to enjoy some bacon recently (or some peanut butter...or some chocolate...!).
________________________________________

POST SCRIPT:  I WON!!!!!

I LOVE Goodwill!

I've always been a fan of TAKING stuff to Goodwill, but, in the last few years, have also started SHOPPING there.  They have the COOLEST stuff! 

My students at school LOVE the "Guinness Book of World Records" (any year), and I've been able to pick up 10 or 12 copies there recently.  I've also found some COOL vintage cookbooks, fake plants for my "no sun exposure at all" media center, Christmas record albums that I've framed and hung during the holidays, and, a few weeks ago, found a crockpot for $15.00 that I can use for potlucks and school "parties" (saving my "favoritest and best" crockpot for home use only). 

Yesterday I found a dark blue suit that will be PERFECT for "Bye Bye Birdie", in which I'm currently acting, and I scored a REALLY cool leather jacket (from the Gap) for $30.00!!!

I'm supporting a really good cause, and I'm finding some REALLY cool stuff.  I actually SEEK OUT Goodwill stores when I visit other places...just to see what TREASURES they have to offer...

Here's hoping YOU have a Goodwill nearby, and that YOU find it as AWESOME as I do!!!!

SHOUTOUT to my buddy Amy's sister Sara...who is a bigwig with the company in Wisconsin...Goodwill ROCKS!!!!