Brain Dump

1.  My brain is a huge mess of "Waaaaaaaaaa" tonight from watching the same 3 episodes of "On the Fly" and Jenna Marbles videos all night.

2.  When I go in the shower with eye make-up on, I come out looking like a sad raccoon.

vs.



3. You can see up my nose in that picture.


4.  I am listening to 2 boys on Skype argue about where to put pizza in the oven and how to operate said oven.  "Why would you hang it on the oven?"  "Because it reminds me of home!" Boys are silly.

5.  One of those 2 boys is Boyfriend, who is currently unavailable.  Thus the Skype.  I mainly watch him play Diablo while he watches me stare at the computer like a hypnotic loon.

6.  Summer sales made me a very happy person today. I think I tried on the entire sale section of The Limited.

7.  I got creative/bored tonight and painted all of my keys with nail polish tonight so I could tell them apart more easily. Now all of my keys are stuck together.

8.  I'm still new to this running thing, so I don't quite know what I'm supposed to do on the days that I take a break from running.  Today was one of those rest days.  I shopped and then ate McDonald's.

9.  Boyfriend was eating a pizza on Skype and was chewing with his mouth open (a sund which drives me up the freaking wall!).  So I kindly asked him to chew with is mouth closed.  He thought he would be clever and mute it so that I couldn't hear anything.  So I thought I would be clever and hang up on him, expecting him to call me back.  Well, that plan back fired.  Boyfriend never called me back.  Now I'm super sad, but also to stubborn to call him again with my tail between my legs.

10.  Woah!  Just kidding.  Boyfriend called me back.  Good things come to those who wait.  Or those who are stubborn.

11.  My room is a freaking mess.  I don't even know where all this stuff came from.  I started to clean it and then kind of hit a wall. I just can't make myself do any more work, despite the fact that my clean underwear supply is getting dangerously low.

12.  I think I'm going to order Jimmy John's even though I didn't run and I've already had McDonald's today and it is 1:00 in the morning.

13.  I ordered Jimmy John's.  Now I need to find clean pants to put on so the JJs delivery guy doesn't sue me for sexual harassment when he gets here.  Or vomit on my sandwich.

14. I can't end a list on #13.  So please enjoy this mantee.

Oh...Uh...Hi?

*cough* Uh...hello?  Is anybody there?  I wouldn't be surprised if everybody left me for more consistent bloggers.  I mean, it has been over a month since I last posted.  But I swear that I have a good excuse for my absence!  Life has kind of exploded lately.

First, 39 Steps, a show that I assistant stage managed at Baton Rouge Little Theater, opened.  

Me and my good friend Ronald, who played Richard Hannay.

That same weekend, I had the final rehearsals for and the performance of Singo de Mayo, as a part of my musical theatre class at school!  I had such a blast this year.  Look for a blog post about it in the near future.

Singo de Mayo was on a Sunday.  The following Monday, finals week began with a double final day.  Yikes!  Luckily, all of my finals were done by Wednesday, so I got a little break during the day Thursday before 39 Steps started again that night.  We had a show Thursday night, Friday night, TWO shows Saturday, and a matinee on Sunday.

Our stage manager, Mel, and the light board operator, Ms. Ellen.  Saturday was Ms. Ellen's birthday, so we went out for dinner between shows to celebrate!

I wasn't feeling so great after the show on Sunday.  I was nauseous, shaky, and exhausted.  By Sunday night, it had developed into a full blown Summer Flu that was making it's way through Baton Rouge.  I tried to just wait it out to see if it would go away on it's own, but when Tuesday came and I still felt like crap, I gave in and made a doctors appointment.  And it's a good thing I did!  Even though my flu symptoms were on their way out by the time I had my appointment Wednesday morning, the doctor heard rattling in my lungs and ordered me to get a chest x-ray, which showed that I had developed pneumonia!  The pneumonia actually wasn't nearly as bad as the flu.  It just made me really tired.  The timing sucked though, because my brother and grandmother came were in town that same weekend.  I barely had enough energy to even go out to dinner with them!  But I trucked through.  I was still able ASM the final weekend of 39 Steps.

I was still at risk for being contagious until 24 hours after I had taken my first anti-biotic, so I wore a mask my first night back at 39 Steps just to be safe.  I didn't want to risk getting anyone sick!  We needed everyone as healthy as possible for this show!

I also had just enough energy to go the LSU School of Music and Dramatic Arts Commencement Ceremony on Friday.  Why?  Because Chris graduated college (again)!  This was actually Chris's second degree.  He graduated with his music education degree a couple of years ago.  This year, he finished up his music performance degree.  Yep, I got me a smart one. :) Congratulations, Chris!

So proud of him :)

By Sunday night, I could feel the pneumonia fog lifting, just in time for me to start two weeks of babysitting during the day, which I absolutely loved.   After babysitting wrapped up, Summer school began!  But not before a busy Saturday.  Saturday the 2nd began with a rehearsal for an LSU Musical Theatre Troupe performance.  Eight of us had to revamp, edit, and, in some cases, learn completely new parts for musical numbers we did in Singo de Mayo so that we could perform them in Vidalia, La. As soon as I was done with the rehearsal, I drove to Lafayette to volunteer at the Louisiana Speech and Hearing Association Conference, which was such an awesome opportunity.  I served as a session monitor for a class on Vestibular Assessment and Management (which means assessment and treatment of balance and dizziness issues as they relate to the ear).  The target audience for the class was audiologists.  Even though I'm on a speech pathology path in school, I still found this class really interesting (probably because it's so different from what I'm focusing on)!  The speaker was great and I learned so much.  I wish I could have stayed for more of the conference, but I couldn't because I had to go home and get ready for...

...Beaux Arts Ball!  Every year, Baton Rouge Little Theater has a ball to honor and recognize all of the volunteers from the past season!  It's always so much fun.  There's mingling, food (really good food!), dancing, and an awards ceremony. The awards ceremony is kind of like a mini-Tony's awards. They give awards for Best Actor and Supporting Actor in a Comedy/Drama and a Musical and Best Actress and Supporting Actress in a Comedy/Drama and Musical.  The nominees and winners for those awards are chosen by a completely anonymous group of people.  I actually won Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy/Drama a couple years back for my role as Sybil Chase in Private Lives.  This year, 2 cast members from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum won awards, as did 2 cast members from 39 Steps! They also give awards for best Backstage and Front of House Volunteers, of which the winners of both were incredibly deserving. 

A fun addition to Beaux Arts this year was a photo booth.  Photos by Staci set up a fun photo booth and provided lots of props for us to use in the photos.  Thanks to Dow Louisiana Federal Credit Union for sponsoring this (as well as our entire season)!

This was my 5th Beaux Arts Awards!  And my first one with Chris!

We brought our friends Mike and Elyse to the ball this year to add to the fun!

Summer school started up this week.  I'm taking my last general education Spanish course (finally)!  I'm really lucky this summer in that I've got a really awesome teacher who actually makes the language interesting and easier to learn.  Spanish really is a beautiful language.  It's just easy to forget that when your being tested on it.

Finally, this past Thursday, I took a trip up "north" with my mom and Chris to perform with 7 other musical theatre students for the fine citizens of Vidalia, Louisiana... in a bank!  We did fourteen musical numbers, including "Anything Goes" from Anything Goes, "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair" from South Pacific, "Seasons of Love," from Rent, and a medley from Jersey Boys (which is such a huge crowd pleaser!).  We had such a great turn out and everyone really seemed to love the show.  Chris played the drums for us and my mom got to fim it.  I'm so glad she got to come :)

Rehearsing "Seasons of Love"

Jersey Silly Boys

All of us with our teacher, the fantastic Terry Patrick-Harris!

"To drum or not to drum?"

I'm gonna wash that man right out of my hair!

"Seasons of Love"

So yes, life has been very busy for me lately.  But it's also been very good to me lately.  Sure, there may have been a few inconveniences.  But there has been so much love in my life and I've had so many wonderful opportunities lately!  I'm happy.

I'm not complaining :)

May the 4th Be With You!

Happy Star Wars Day!   I know I'm such a dork!

It's Friday, which means it's time to fill in some blanks!  But before we get to that, let me fill you in on what I've been up to lately.

First of all, it's dead week here at LSU, but I personally believe it should be called "Death Week."  School life is super busy with classes wrapping up.  I've been using every free second I have to study.  Well except for the seconds I'm using to write this blog post.  But this is for my own personal health!   There's so much in my brain right now that I'm having trouble thinking through the simplest things (What's my name again?).  I need a brain dump!

One of the big parts of dead week for me this year is preparing for Singo De Mayo. What is that, you ask?  Well, this semester, I am taking LSU's only (undergrad) Musical Theatre class (C'mon, LSU, get with the times!).  For our final exam, we are performing a showcase of songs from musical theatre this Sunday, May 6, at 7:30 PM in the Shaver Theatre in LSU's MDA Building.  This showcase is called "Singo de Mayo."  It really is a ton of fun and we always have a huge crowd, but it's a lot of hard work! It really is amazing all that we can do and get accomplished in one semester.  If you're in the Baton Rouge Area, you should definitely check it out!  Go to http://www.music.lsu.edu/ for tickets!  OR, if you're not in the Baton Rouge area, you can watch the whole thing streamed live at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/lsu-school-of-music.

As if that didn't keep me busy enough, I am also also assistant stage managing The 39 Steps at Baton Rouge Little Theater.  We've been in tech rehearsal all week and the show opens tonight.  And you definitely don't want to miss it! This show is absolutely hilarious!  It's pretty tech heavy too.  Luckily, the crew is absolutely fantastic.  They are so on top of everything and make my job so much easier.  I am having such a blast working with them and the cast!  It opens tonight and runs through May 20th.  For ticket info, go to www.brlt.org.

And, to top it all off, the boyfriend has started making me run (something that my body just wasn't meant to do).  Guys, I totally suck at running.  After about a quarter of a mile, I'm ready to crawl into a hole and die.  Right now, we're running the "small" lake at LSU and every time we pass ducks, I always beg them to let me stay with them.  Did y'all know that ducks have a stink eye?  I've been using the Nike +GPS iPhone app, which, in theory, is pretty cool because it tracks your route and pace and how many calories you've burned.  But then when you check your pace and it looks like this, it doesn't seem as cool anymore...

Look at all that red....just sitting there being so.....red.  Stop taunting me, red!

So, yes, life is crazy busy at the moment.  But it's a good kind of busy.  I'm busy with things that I truly love doing (well, except the running.....but supposedly I will eventually get good enough at it that I'll actually be able to tolerate it.  And then (hopefully) I'll eventually enjoy it.  Supposedly...).  Still, I'll be very relieved once I make it to Wednesday and I'll be able to take school out of the equation for a while.

Oh, and on a slightly unrelated note, my allergies have been a beast this week!  Has anyone else been having major allergy problems like I have? 

Fill in the blanks on your own blog and link up here.

1.  My bedtime routine includes taking a shower, brushing my teeth, and washing my face.  I hate going to bed feeling gross and dirty.  Once I'm in bed, I usually spend about 30 minutes or so on my laptop or watching tv.  I know sleep experts say you're not supposed to do that, but I do it anyway.  It works for me!  Of course, that's on a normal day.  Lately, my night time routine has consisted of just falling and hoping I hit the bed. Because once I'm down, I'm not getting back up.

2. I am super busy this weekend, but also super excited about this weekend.  I'll spend tomorrow afternoon studying, but other than that, I'll be doing theater stuff all weekend!  I'm super excited for Singo on Sunday night!

3. I can't stand fruit because of the smell and texture. Yuck!!

4.  My idea of relaxation would be a week at the beach with a book, Pinterest, and people I love.  Luckily, I get that every year. :)

5.  If I had an extra $50, I would use it for gas or put it toward my credit card bill.  I know, that's not a very interesting answer, but that's life, you know?

6.  A recipe I've been dying to try is anything on any of my food Pinterest boards!  For example...

Source: kalynskitchen.com via Emily on Pinterest

Pesto and Mozzerella Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Source: closetcooking.com via Emily on Pinterest

Artichoke Bread

Source: crockpotladies.com via Emily on Pinterest

Crock Pot Cheesecake

Have a wonderful weekend!

Fill-In-The-Blank Friday

One word to describe this week: Hectic.  And it's going to stay that way for the next 12 days.  Not only do I have finals, but I also have rehearsals for Singo de Mayo (which is a performance that is part of my musical theater class) and 39 Steps at Baton Rouge Little Theater (which I am assistant stage managing).  I think tonight is my last night to really enjoy the calm before the storm.   Don't get me wrong, it's a good storm—like an afternoon storm on the beach—but it's a storm, nonetheless.

Time for Fill-In-The-Blank Friday!

Fill in the blanks on your own blog and link up here!

1.  When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I do is roll over and hit the snooze button.  I am not a morning person AT ALL.  But once I'm up, the first thing I have to do is brush my teeth and wash my face or else I just feel gross.

2. I can hardly wait for summer.  I DESPERATELY need a break.  It's been a roller coaster of a semester and I am ready to get off, get some cotton candy and, ride the carousel.

3.  The quickest way to my heart is through the meet-and-greet line because theatre is so important to me.  If you come see me in a show, it means so much to me and I'll never forget it.

4.  A little known fact about me is that I'm left handed.

5.  The best part about my (future) job is the impact I'll have on the kids I'll be working with.  I got to get a tiny taste of being and SLP this semester and I absolutely loved it.  I am so excited about my future.

6.  Something I just couldn't live without is chapstick.  And chocolate.

7.  Something useful that I wish I knew how to do was use a dslr in manual mode.   I really want to learn to take better pictures.  If only I could afford a DSLR.... *dreams*

Fill-In-The Blank Friday

Woohoo! It's Friday!  Not that I'll get to relax much this weekend...It's getting to be that time of the semester when everything happens at once so the next 2 and 1/2 and half weeks are going to be super busy.

But right now, I'm just lying in bed enjoying the fact that I don't have to get up and go to school tomorrow (even though I still have to go to work, but at least I don't have to study for work!)

Let's celebrate with...

Fill in the blanks on your own blog then link up here!

1) Today is a great day because it's Friday!  I also had a really awesome morning at a school related thing.

2) Tomorrow, I will go to work, then rush home to get ready for a performance with my musical theater class.  Unfortunately, that performance means that I have to miss my boyfriend's Senior recital tomorrow night.  That makes me super sad.

3) My favorite time of the day is the evening because I can just relax.  I alway try to take a little time in the evening to just shut down.  My brain is off and nothing else matters for just a little bit. I finally get a chance to reflect on (or in some cases, block out) all of the things that happened that day.  If it was a good day, I can go to bed happy and relaxed.  If it was a bad day, I can go to bed knowing that tomorrow is a new chance.

4) Sometimes you just have to sit alone in your car, listen to calm music, and remember what life's all about.

5) A song that I can't get enough of lately is "Rumor Has It" by Adele.  I'm not even a huge Adele fan (as a trained singer, it hurts my vocal chords to listen to some of her songs) but I just really love that song!  It's fun and upbeat and very "I'm Awesome!"-ish.

6) My favorite accessory is my rings and a pair of earrings and/or a necklace.  I feel naked without my rings!  I used to go long periods of time without wearing earrings and have even had to "repeirce" them myself a few times.  But since I started working at a jewelry store last summer,  I try to wear them a few days a week.

7)  My favorite thing about this week was filming and editing a project for school. That sounds so dorky, doesn't it? But it's true!  I had a group project for one of my classes that involved creating a video presentation.  Normally, I dread group projects, but I won the group project lottery this time!  My group was organized and enthusiastic and actually wanted to do a good project! (Imagine that!)  We used my university's CxC studio which was fantastic!  We got to use a presentation room with Macs, a Smartboard, a flip camera, Apple tv, plus great help from the staff.  I was originally dreading this project, but the combination of my group and the CxC studio made the project so easy and enjoyable! And I think we have an awesome project (a week before it is due, I might add.)

Have a great weekend, guys! Watch out for clowns!

Another Pinterest Post

What can I say?  I simply cannot get enough of Pinterest!  I even spent an hour (or two...) Tuesdsay night organizing my Pinterest boards.  My Pinterest Profile is so pretty right now :)

Source: alifemorefabulous.blogspot.com via Emily on Pinterest

Source: sheldonrachel.blogspot.com via Emily on Pinterest

I have recently rediscovered my love for French Toast (probably because I discovered that I make really good french toast!)  This picture is making me drool right now.

Source: nastygal.com via Emily on Pinterest

Source: sweetpeaskitchen.com via Emily on Pinterest

Source: zappos.com via Emily on Pinterest

Source: buzzfeed.com via Emily on Pinterest

There was definitely room for two.

Source: pinimg.bianchengyijia.com via Emily on Pinterest

I love the simplicity of this dress.

Source: thefoodgospelaccordingtoruth.com via Emily on Pinterest

Source: urbanoutfitters.com via Emily on Pinterest

Source: userpics.com via Emily on Pinterest

An Adventure

This blog post is so long overdue.  I've been meaning to write it for two months now, but life just kept happening and blogging kept getting pushed further and further down the to-do list.  There have been movies to watch, shows to perform, tests to study for, projects to do, people to love, friends to meet,  rehearsals to watch, and jellybeans to eat!

But here it is guys.  I'm finally about to tell you about the time I took a pole dancing class.

Yes.  You read that correct.  I, shy, quiet, modest Emily, took a pole dancing class.

And I had so much fun!

As you know, I recently closed A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum at Baton Rouge Little Theater.  I played Tintinabula, one of the courtesans.  Courtesans are Grecian..well....how can I put this?.... Well... they're Grecian prostitutes.  They are sexy, confident, alluring women for sale. And our dances reflected that.  But the thing is, we didn't all feel sexy, confident, or alluring at the beginning of rehearsals.  We were stressing about how revealing our costumes would be.  We were worried we would mess up or choreography.  We were worried that in our attempts to be sexy, we would just look silly (even though I know our choreographer would never let us look stupid or silly.  We were in good hands.)  Towards the end of our first courtesan dance rehearsal, someone casually mentioned that taking something like a pole-dancing or belly dancing class might be a fun way to bond and find our confidence.  We all agreed that was a good idea, but to be honest, I didn't think it would actually happen.  Save for one girl, none of us had ever taken a class like that, and it would probably be hard to find a time, date, and place that worked for everyone.

We obviously had nothing to worry about with our costumes. I mean, do we look awesome or what.

Call it fate, call it destiny, call it kismet, call just a simple coincidence.  But the next day, our choreographer e-mailed me the link to that day's Groupon....for Pole Dancing Classes.  I immediately e-mailed the rest of the girls and we all bought a Groupon.  We had no excuses not to do it.

We decided to go on a Friday afternoon/evening that we had off from rehearsal.  We went to The Perfect Poleforma in Baton Rouge.  Individual classes are normally $25, but with the Groupon, we were able to get them for $12.  The classes are super small and, most importantly, no boys allowed!  Our group of 6 was the entire class.

We had such a blast!  Our instructor was fantastic.  But you know what surprised us?  Pole dancing is HARD!  I know, that sounds so arrogant. But good pole dancers it look so much easier than it is.  We we're kind of expecting to just go in, jump on a pole, and swing around like superstars.  That definitely did not happen.  I looked goofy and ridiculous and I could not stop laughing!  I used muscles that I didn't know I could use.  Pole dancing requires so much upper body strength.  I know, that seems so obvious. The next day, I was sore in places that I didn't know could be sore.  My armpits were sore!

I can't speak for the other girls, but I know that at our next dance rehearsal, I felt so much more confident and...dare I say it...sexy!  I can't really explain it.  I just felt so sure of my self and my character.  Groupon, or no Groupon, it doesn't matter.  That feeling is priceless.