"Okay, Tracy, when I say 'Standby' you're going to make a farting noise!"

Tonight, I went to my commercial acting class. One of the exercises we did was a group commercial audition scenario. It was for the game Scruples. There were six of us gathered around a card table playing the game. We had to create the illusion of a party atmosphere...lots of laughter. The scene had to start with a big burst of laughter. So when we were out in the hall rehearsing, I gave an off-the-cuff one-liner: "So she she called me into her office, and she farted!" (Insert group laughter here.) My teacher overheard us rehearsing, and thought it was funny. When we went back into the classroom to do our mock audition, we took about eight takes or so. Each one of the takes had to begin with a burst of group laughter. Before each and every take, the teacher said, "Okay, Tracy, when I say 'Standby', make a farting noise!"

Just another day in acting class!

Photos from Texas

Saturday morning at my Dad's place. He lives out in the country. This is my sister and me wading in the creek with Dad's dog Bo-bo.

Dad and me. A few weeks ago, I wrote about my Dad's good news after receiving an optimistic prognosis after finishing his treatments for cancer. My Dad could really use your prayers. He just discovered three new tumors. This is very discouraging news on the heels of such great news. Please pray with me for his complete healing.

On Saturday night, eSuitor and I went country dancing with my sis, bro-in-law, and my friend W. Doesn't eSuitor look so Urban Cowboy in his black t-shirt? Mama like!

It may look like eSuitor and I are sharing a romantic cuddle in the hammock, but we are cracking up because as soon as we both got on, it broke--yep, that's us on the ground!

I’m Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!

Did you miss me? :)

eSuitor and I took a trip home to the Lone Star State for a visit with the family from Friday to Monday. It was the first time for anyone in my family to meet him. We had a great time and everyone loved him!

We spent Friday and Saturday with my Dad. My sis and bro-in-law hung out with us, too. My Dad lives WAY out in the country on a ranch. It was so beautiful to look up and see the stars sparkling like diamonds in the night sky. We rode around on my Dad’s 4-wheeler, ate delicious barbecue, and enjoyed the swimming pool.

Saturday afternoon, we drove from my Dad’s place to my hometown and went country-western dancing that night. My man knows how to boot-scoot! So much fun! The dance hall also had a karaoke room, so you know I had to sing my signature song, “Son of a Preacher Man”. eSuitor said he felt proud that I was his girlfriend when I was up there singing. MAJOR BROWNIE POINTS!!! ;)

Sunday, we went to church where he met a lot of my friends. After church, we went out for lunch with my mom, sis, and bro-in-law. Mom treated us to a scrumptious brunch, and it was fun to be all together. Sunday evening, we had a cookout/party where more friends and family convened to size up the man! ;) He was a real trooper, and so far all feedback from the Texas contingency has been positive.

Monday, we relaxed, ate Tex-Mex, hung out with the fam, and then got on the plane to come home. It made my heart melt a little when we collapsed into our seats and he told me what a great time he had. Then he said, “I love you” and I dozed off with my head on his shoulder, exhausted from the weekend, with a big smile on my face. :)

Reflecting on “Play”

On Saturday, after spending a couple of hours in and out of the ocean water, I found myself exhausted. It was the kind of exhaustion I felt as a child after playing for hours outside, trying my hardest to squeeze in as much play time as possible before it got dark. I was so busy having fun, I didn’t realize I was getting exercise. I hadn’t played hard like that for way too long!

What happened? Why do we stop having recess after the 5th grade? Do we become too mature to play? Are we so starved for play time that we pay gobs of money for gym memberships just to put ourselves on treadmills to run like hamsters on a wheel for 30 minutes just to make ourselves sweat?

Somehow, I feel like I’ve taken a wrong turn.

I wake up and sit in my car on my way to work where I sit in a chair staring at my computer screen for the next eight hours. Then I sit in my car to drive home. I sit at a table for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And I sit on my couch to relax after work. Lots and lots of sitting.

Okay, I often walk for about a half hour in the evening, which is good exercise. But it’s just not the same as running through a playground or a backyard, climbing on monkey bars or up trees, chasing our friends in winded games of ‘tag’.

Mommy, I want recess.

Proof that my Roommate is Good Peeps

She has embraced my ridiculous (yet FUN!) way of turning nearly every word into silliness. This was our conversation this evening.

Me: Roomie-doodle?

Roomie: Walkie-poo?

Me: Yes-ee-doo!!!

Do you need a translation?

Me: Hey Roomie!

Roomie: You want to go take a walk, don't you?

Me: Yes! How did you know?!!!

Saturday in Pictures...

Saturday, eSuitor and I had so much fun! The temperatures in Southern California are so HOT right now (101 degrees yesterday), that the only place we could think of to be was in the ice cold Pacific Ocean! So we boogie boarded again, and this time eSuitor got to surf! There are captions above every picture, but it may take a moment for them to appear as you scroll down the posting. Enjoy!

Here's a picture of yours truly with my boogie board.

And here's a picture of my man with his board!

Boogie boarding is fun!

Cowabunga! eSuitor's catching a wave!

After the beach, we got cleaned up and put on our fancy clothes to go out for a night on the town! We went to an Indian restaurant for dinner and then to The Pasadena Playhouse to see a show called The Last Five Years. I had been wanting to see it since I first heard about it a couple of years ago. Our seats were in the second row, and it a lovely evening.

Acrostics

Father
Above
In
The
Heart

Happiness
Of
Possible
Encounter

Luxurious
Of course!
Valuable
Everlasting

The Couch Potato Meme

I got this from Ally Bean. Here’s what you do. Using this list of television shows, bold the shows that you’ve seen at least three episodes of.

24
30 Something
7th Heaven
Adam-12
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alias
Angel
Arrested Development
Battlestar Galactica
Baywatch
Beverly Hills 90210
Bonanza
Boy Meets World
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Bug Juice
Chappelle’s Show
Charlie’s Angels
Charmed
Cheers
Columbo
Commander in Chief
CSI: Miami
CSI: NY
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Dawson’s Creek
Dead Like Me
Deadwood
Degrassi: The Next Generation
Designing Women
Desperate Housewives
Doctor Who
Eastenders
Entourage
ER
Everwood
Extras
Family Guy
Farscape
Father Ted
Fawlty Towers
Felicity
Firefly
Frasier
Friends
Futurama
Get Smart
Gilligan’s Island
Gilmore Girls
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
Grey’s Anatomy
Gunsmoke
Hannah Montana
Happy Days
Hill Street Blues
Hogan’s Heroes
Home and Away
Home Improvement
Homicide: Life on the Street
House, M.D.
I Dream of Jeannie
I Love Lucy
Inuyasha
Invader Zim
Invasion
JAG
Jackass
Joey
Keen Eddie
Little House on the Prairie
Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
Lost
Lost in Space
Love, American Style
M*A*S*H
MacGyver
Mad About You
Malcolm in the Middle
Married… With Children
Medium
Melrose Place
Miami Vice
Mission: Impossible
Monk
Murphy Brown
My Name Is Earl
My Three Sons
My Two Dads
NCIS
Neighbours
Nip/Tuck
Northern Exposure
Numb3rs
NYPD Blue
Only Fools and Horses
Oz
Perry Mason
Pokemon
Power Rangers
Prison Break
Rescue Me
Roseanne
Roswell
Saved by the Bell
Sisters
Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?
Scrubs
Seinfeld
Sex and the City
Six Feet Under
Smallville
So Weird
South Park
Spongebob Squarepants
Starsky and Hutch
Star TrekStar Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Voyager
Stargate Atlantis
Stargate SG-1
Superman
Supernatural
Surface
Taxi
That 70’s Show
That’s So Raven
The 4400
The Addams Family
The Andy Griffith Show
The A-Team
The Avengers
The Beverly Hillbillies
The Bob Newhart Show [the first
The Brone with Emily and Carol]

The Bob Newhart Show [the second one with Larry, Daryl and Daryl]

The Brady Bunch

The Cosby Show
The Daily Show
The Dead Zone
The Flintstones
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
The Good Life
The Honeymooners
The Jetsons
The Love Boat
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Munsters
The O.C.
The Office
The Shield
The Simpsons
The Six Million Dollar Man
The Sopranos
The Suite Life of Zack and Cody
The Twilight Zone
The Waltons
The West Wing
The Wonder Years
The X-Files
Third Watch
Three’s Company
Titus
Twin Peaks
Veronica Mars
Weeds
Whose Line is it Anyway?
Will and Grace
Wings

I Love My Parents!

In a couple weeks, eSuitor and I are making a trip home to Texas for him to meet the family. Yesterday morning, on my way to work, my Mom called and told me that she's so excited to see me, she can hardly stand it. Then, I received an e-mail later in the day at work from my Dad telling me that he has already planned the menu for our meals when we come. It is so wonderful to be so loved by my parents.

I love you, too!

I love to Boogie!

I had so much fun this weekend! On Saturday, eSuitor and I rented boogie boards and went to Huntington Beach to catch some waves. It was my first time to immerse myself in the Pacific Ocean, and all I can say is "hooray for wetsuits!". That water is chilly!!! And the waves are so strong. The first big one that rolled in totally knocked me over--the ponytail that looked so cute when I went into the water was knocked completely off kilter by one wave! Do the waves have no respect for the look I was going for??? ;) (This photo is not of us, but it gives you the idea.)

It took me a little while to get the timing of catching a wave, but once I got it down--SO MUCH FUN!!! It's like riding a rollercoaster! The wave just comes underneath you and carries you. It's like flying! Sometimes, it just kept going and going and took me almost all the way into shore. It was a blast, and kind of addicting. Once you catch a good wave, you want to go out and get another.

eSuitor is a surfer, and I suspect that Saturday's boogie adventure was part of a greater scheme to get me on a surf board. Kinda breaking me in easy. We'll have to see on that one...one step at a time. Poco a poco, as they say in Spain. I don't know if I'll be a surfer girl, but I definitely love to boogie!

Siesta!

Today after work, I came home and read a little bit. Before I knew it my eyes were heavy, and I knew...I needed a nap. I closed my eyes and woke up an hour and a half later feeling refreshed.

I love naps!

My senior year in college, I read a fun book called Inspiration Sandwich by SARK. SARK (an acronym for Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy) is an artist, and her book shares how she lives her creative life. While I don't necessarily embrace the worldview of the author, I truly enjoyed the book. When I read it, I felt unexpectedly liberated. As a budding artist myself, I knew that I was marching to a slightly different beat than those around me, and reading her book helped me feel much better about my own inner rhythm. I know that sounds way artsy, but I guess that's the point. The book helped me to embrace my artsiness, and accept myself more wholly.

Inspiration Sandwich endorses napping...whenever you feel like it! SARK believes that napping feeds her creativity. And it made me feel, for the first time, like napping wasn't being lazy. Instead, it was a way I could care for my creative spirit--and being caring feels much better than being lazy.

Hooray for the Red, White, and Blue! (And love, too!)

Yesterday was a really good day!

eSuitor and I went to the beach together in the morning. We thought we'd encounter hoards of people, but not so. Driving was surreal. It was as if we owned the streets of L.A. Hardly any traffic. No problem parking at the beach. We plopped ourselves down on our beach towels and enjoyed a few hours in the sun. The weather was gorgeous. Warm sun, cool breeze. We read books, took a walk along the shoreline, and had a picnic lunch that he prepared! It was nice just being together.

In the late afternoon, we met his cousins for another picnic (dinner, this time) at a park next to Dodger Stadium and then we went to the game--my first Dodgers game! His cousins have season tickets. Their seats are amazing--in a balcony right behind home plate. Wanna see a picture of eSuitor? :)

The pregame "show" was awesome. A woman with a great country voice sang the national anthem. And just as the song ended, a USAF jet did a fly-over. It was such an emotion-filled moment. Something out of an old movie! As the jet approached and passed overhead, we were joyfully waving our little American flags in our hands, as if to say "hello" and "thank you" to the pilot!

After the plane passed over, I looked at the strangers in the seats around me. We were saying things like, "That was amazing!" as we wiped tears from our eyes. In a day and age when so many people are disenchanted with our government, it was wonderful to feel the strength of patriotism pulsing through the crowd and resonating in my heart. We are blessed to live in this great nation! Thank You, Lord!

After the game, we were treated to a beautiful fireworks display. You might think that was the big finale of the evening, but it wasn't. eSuitor totally outdid the fireworks when were saying good-bye--he kissed me goodnight and said, "I love you".

Of course, you already know that I love him too, but it was fun to get to tell him myself!

Needless to say, I drifted off to sleep with a big smile on my face, and it was still there when I woke up this morning!

Happy Holiday News!

It is always fun to get a personal e-mail at work. A little news from the "outside" is such a ray of sunshine during a busy day at the office. I got a HUGE burst of sunshine when I got the below e-mail from my Dad on Friday. With his permission, please read what he sent me! This e-mail was sent to my aunt, cousins, sister and me.

Greetings To All:

This is my holiday update. I visited the oncologist Wednesday and he was very favorable as to the therapy success. He said “I have added years to my life.” He sees no rush to do the PET/CT Scan right away and would like to let it keep working in me until the first of August which is fine with me. There will not be any further treatments. So the next step is to have the port catheter removed and excise a couple lingering nodules. My regular surgeon will perform that task in day surgery next Wednesday July 5, 2006.

Enjoy the holiday. I will work tomorrow half day and then hit miserable golf shots at my personal driving range down at the barn.

Love to all,

Father, Brother, & Uncle D.

I am so thankful for and happy about this great news! Praise God who is answering our prayers! Thank you for praying for my Dad. I'll continue to give you updates.

Happy, happy Independence Day!

Caring about Couture

In an effort to beat the heat today, my roommate and I decided to abandon our 88 degree apartment and find respite for two hours in a movie theatre. What with being chicks and all, we opted for a chick-flick--The Devil Wears Prada. (For those of you who haven't seen it yet, don't worry, I'm not going to give anything away.) It was a fun summer movie about a girl named Andy played by Anne Hathaway who goes to work at a fashion magazine to be assistant to an icy-cold ice queen played by Meryl Streep.

Streep is an absolute delight to watch. She is such a chameleon actress. Every character she plays is distinct and unique. Hathaway is winning as a recent college graduate with big dreams of becoming a journalist. Her detour into the world of fashion is what made the movie fun for me. She gets to wear the most beautiful designer clothes. The movie made me want to go spend money I don't have on gorgeous couture. Gucci handbags. Jimmy Choo stillettos.

By far the best monologue in the movie is delivered by Streep about how the color cerulean came to be part of American fashion in the year 2002. She really made me care about couture.

That's right people...I have found my inner fashionista and she's ready to go shopping! Wanna come?