An Abundance of Animal Videos (or an A.A.V., if you will)

I've been playing around with my cool new camera lately, and it has the ability to take short videos! It just so happens that the only thing interesting I've had to record is a couple of dogs and a bird... None of them are more than a few seconds, so why not check 'em out? You know you're curious. :)

The first is of an adorable little dog I met the other day. Her name is Mandy, and she has a cute little trick:




Next up, we have Rufus. He likes to stare at me and do nothing. So I recorded him, and he finally had something to say:




And lastly, for your viewing pleasure, I present to you a short video of my mom's bird, making a lot of noise. Very intriguing, I know. But pay attention, because Birdie's got a surprise for you:



Note: No animals were harmed in the making of these videos.

A Day at the Market

The other day I had a chance to visit the awesome Westside Market with my mom in downtown Cleveland. It reminded me of when I used to go as a child. There are rows and rows of people selling gorgeous produce, and then when you get into the main building, there are counters everywhere with a variety of goods-- fresh meat, fish, desserts, candy... just about everything you'd want to see at a market. I wish I had taken more pictures! But here's just a few.

A beautiful view of downtown:

I had to get one of these beautiful concoctions!

Oooooh!
Aaaahhh!

Proof of how we say it here in Cleveland:

And I just had to stop in the little corner store with imported goods to get my favorite childhood chocolate:


Mmmmm, so good!

Four Things

So, I've seen this on a few other blogs, and I thought I'd participate! Feel free to do it yourself, and add more lists if you'd like.

Four jobs I've had:
1. Bed, Bath, & Beyond
2. BYU testing center
3. MTC custodian
4. Wendy's

Four places I lived:
1. New York City, NY
2. Charlottesville, VA
3. Westlake, OH
4. Provo, UT

Four movies I've watched over and over:
1. Moulin Rouge
2. Pride and Prejudice
3. Dumb and Dumber
4. Zorro: The Blade

Four shows I watch:
1. Project Runway
2. Top Chef
3. The Office
4. America's Next Top Model (tyra banks=annoying!)

Four places I've been:
1. Milan, Italy
2. Pajaro Dunes, California
3. Orlando, Florida
4. Ogallala, Nebraska

Four people who e-mail me regularly:
1. Dave
2. Dad
3. Mom
4. Dr. Phil

Four favorite things to eat:
1. Lava cake
2. Spaghetti
3. Chips and salsa
4. Gelato (gianduja! mmmm...)

Four places I'd rather be:
1. sleeping
2. on stage (thanks for that one, lauren!)
3. somewhere I can eat lava cake
4. having a good laugh with Daryl

Four words I think are funny:
1. lozenges
2. jostle
3. Punxsutawney
4. ptarmigan

Kids today...

It's been almost five years since I've been in high school, but I can still smell the cigarette smoke from the bathrooms. And the occasional marijuana smoke (I can't believe I actually know what that smells like. Gross.).

But, even with all of my tattling through my high school years, no one has ever been busted for drugs at Westlake High school... until now!

The other day, two 17-year-old teens were arrested for use and possesion of heroin. HEROIN. Biology class not exciting enough for you kids anymore? Sheesh...

To read more, check it out here: http://www.waks.com/cc-common/news/sections/newsarticle.html?feed=122520&article=3246527

Hardy-Har-Har

The other day, I heard a joke on Leno and I'm still laughing about it. I thought that made it worthy to share here on my little blogerooski:

Recent scientific studies show that there has been a worldwide decrease in the number of frogs. There has, however, been a significant increase in the number of princes...

Ralphie!

When I visited Cleveland for Christmas, I was able to spend time at my sister Monica's house. Of course this meant hanging out with her adorably energetic dog, Ralph. Here's a picture of Ralph being "calm", and then another after all of his calmness wore him out.

Love you, Ralphie!

Let it snow!

Ok, people. I wanna know why everyone in Charlottesville is afraid of snow. I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. I know real snow. For example, I remember many times where we had more than three feet of snow fall in one night. We're talkin' real snow storms.

As I grew up, there were many times where the snow was so bad they had to cancel school. But it was hard to get-- I remember waking up early before school to turn on the news and see if our school was listed on the bottom of the screen. I was frustrated many times, and I would put on my boots and begrudgingly trod to school.

Now let's talk about Charlottesville. It's like the city's never seen snow. Everybody freaks out. The weather report will call for a CHANCE of snow, and people are barging through the doors at my work to buy shovels, salt, and even sleds! In the three years I've been here, I've seen a total of three and a half inches of snow fall, and three of those were today. Before today, it's never even stuck to the ground. I do have to cut everyone some slack-- it really did snow last night. But I can't believe that three inches means a state of emergency here! Schools are cancelled, businesses are closed, and no one's on the roads. I had to go in to work today (my day off) because so many people called out because of the weather!

I think the snow is pretty. And I do agree, we should all drive more carefully just to be safe. Even a little bit of snow can be dangerous. But to swear off leaving the house? That's a bit overboard.

Drive safely everyone. It's a jungle out there.

Little Night Music Pictures!

Finally! The show is over and now I actually have time to breathe (and eat, and shower...). After striking the set (I spent a good hour with a power drill--it was great!), we all received a CD of pictures from the show, so I thought I'd share them here. Thanks to all my friends who were able to come, it made it so much fun for me. And thanks to all those who couldn't make it but supported me in so many other ways. I had an absolute blast!

Enjoy the pictures!

Anne and Petra, the maid

Now/Later/Soon

A night at the theatre

Oh so sad. I find out my husband is cheating on me.

A weekend in the country!

How exciting!

Arriving at the mansion...

Plotting revenge
Dinner

Silly, Henrik! What are you doing?!

Madame Armfeldt and her granddaughter

That's just a taste of this incredible show. So much fun!

Busy Bee

I don't think I've ever been this busy in my life. My schedule goes pretty much like this: I go to work from 9-5, come home, shove some sort of food down my throat, and I'm out the door at 5:45. I get to the theatre around 6, the show starts at 8, and around 10:45 we finally finish and I scramble to get changed, pull 75 bobby pins out of my hair, and get home at a reasonable time for me to get ready for bed, talk to Dave for a few minutes, and collapse (usually after we're finished talking... sorry, honey!).

Although it's exhausting, I think it's worth it. The show is going very well. It's so much fun to make people laugh! I'm having a blast!

On Sale Now!

Tickets to my show are now available! You can buy them online at livearts.org, or charge them over the phone by calling 1-800-594-TIXX. (An important side note: there is another show called "Little Match Girl"... make sure not to mix them up when purchasing tickets online!)

The show opens with a FREE preview night on Dec. 6. The official run is December 7-22, with performances on Wednesday (8pm), Thursday(7:30), Friday(8), and Saturday(8) evenings, and a Sunday matinee (2pm).

Ticket prices range from $10-22.50 (More expensive on Fri & Sat nights). Another option is to go on "pay what you can" Wednesday. You just show up at the box office that day--there is no way to buy tickets in advance for those days. Get there early to make sure to get a seat!

And check out the website for a chance to win free tickets to the show! Livearts.org

Hope to see some of you there! It should be a great time!