Production Shots!

Yesterday, these production shots were taken.  Aren't they fun?!

This is the entire cast:

My character is a bit of a hippy, as you can see here. Don't you love my groovy threads?!! My character and her husband have a very heated relationship. They fight ... a lot.

But sometimes the sparks fly in another way.... There's a fine line betwixt love and hate...

I'd love for you to come see my show! All info on the play (along with a few other production shots) can be found here at the OC Register online!

Another Opening of Another Show

It's getting down to brass tacks, people!  Tomorrow is our last dressed rehearsal before we have an audience!  AHHHHH!  

If any of you are interested in coming to see the show, here's the info:

~Call the box office to make reservations: (562) 494-1014

~Or you can order tickets online by going to: www.lbph.com. Then click "Tickets". Then click "Buy Tickets Online"

The show is called How the Other Half Loves, and it is playing at Long Beach Playhouse, the oldest theatre in the US west of the Mississippi! The show runs every weekend from August 29 - October 4.

Fridays: 8 pm

Saturdays: 8 pm

Sundays: 2 pm

Let me know if you're coming, so I can be sure to greet you after the show!

Don't Judge a Film by its Title

When I saw the previews for the first installment of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, I thought, "The story had better be better than the title." And boy, was it!  I absolutely LOVED the movie, so when I heard that there would be a sequel, I knew that I would want to go see it. 

I wanted to bring Hubs to see TSotTP 2, but he wouldn't go near it with a 10-foot pole, given the title, and frankly, I don't blame him. So I took myself to the movies, and I loved the sequel almost as much as I loved the first one.

If you have a chance to see it, go for it! You'll feel for the four lead characters, who are played by very talented young actresses: Blake Lively, Alexis Bledel, America Ferrera, and Amber Tamblyn. 

The movie left me feeling good and left me thinking, too. I walked out feeling happy to be a woman and happy that I found love with Hubs. I was also asking myself what I really want to do with this gift of life that God has given me.  Not too shabby, for a movie with a name that just doesn't do it justice! 

Public Service Announcement - Day of the Child

The first job I booked when I moved to Los Angeles was for this PSA, created for DayOfTheChild.Org. On the whole, I was really pleased with how it turned out. It was shot on Super 8, if I remember correctly, which gave it the grainy quality, but I think it works for the piece. 

I'm in the process of creating a reel of the work I've done since moving to LA, so you may be seeing some of my other projects in the days and weeks to come.

Congratulations, Shawn Johnson!

This girl's good sportsmanship makes me proud to be an American. She represented us well at the Olympics, and her victory on the beam has thus far been my favorite moment of the Olympics!

SURPRISE!!!

Last weekend, Hubs and I flew out to Virginia for his mom's surprise 70th birthday party. It was so much fun. You can tell by the look on her face that she was surprised! 

Doesn't she look adorable in her birthday girl tiara?!!

The entire family gathered to celebrate with her (all of her siblings and their children and grandchildren, plus her own children and grandkids). It was a houseful of fun!

Some of the kids made her homemade cards!

Here is my dear mother-in-law with her two sisters. They are so dear!

We love you, Jo! Happy Birthday to you!  

Lost in a Sea of Memorization / Type Casting

If you're wondering what I've been up to lately, I've had my head buried in my script, trying like crazy to get my lines memorized for this play. It's one of the hardest shows I've ever had to memorize, and I think it's because there are a lot of quick entrances and exits, so it feels kind of disjointed, rather than one continuous scene. However, it is coming together really well, and I think the show will be lots of fun!

In other acting news, I had an audition a couple of days ago for a commercial. The audition was at a casting warehouse that was holding several different auditions in their various studios. It was cool. I looked across the room, and outside one of the studios were about six or seven gorgeous Mediterranean-looking model types, all dressed to the nines in chic dresses. Outside another casting session were a bunch of people dressed as sports fans.

The area I was sitting in contained four redheads. It was a little funny being in a room with a bunch of redheads. I don't often have that experience, since we're only 4% of the world's population!

Sammy Sammerson is 4 months old!

My sister sent me these photos that she and my mom took of Sam on his 4 month old birthday. I barely recognize him, he's changed so much! I think it's time for a visit with Tia!

Starshine: Unplugged (and Plugged-In Again)

Hubs and I spent a long weekend in Virginia at a surprise birthday party for his mom. We had a marvelous time and the look of surprise on the birthday girl's face was proof that she was completely shocked!  YEA!!!  (I'll write a post soon about the party with pictures.)

We stayed at the home of Hub's aunt and uncle, who are some of the most kind-hearted and warm people I have ever met. I am truly blessed to have married into a family like this. Their home is in rural Virginia, where I had only one bar on my cell phone and I never checked my e-mail once! I have to say that it felt really good to "unplug" for a while.

Several times during the weekend, I found myself thinking "Oh, I can't wait to blog about this!" It really got me thinking about how much my blog has become a part of my life. (Too much, maybe?) It also raised the question of "Why do I devote so much time to my blog?"  And not just writing my blog, but also reading lots and lots of other blogs fairly religiously. Do I do it because it's a creative outlet? Am I such an approval addict that I can't live without the feedback of my comments? 

I have to admit that unplugging did help me see that I am too plugged in as far as my everyday life goes. I often get the feeling that I need to stop living my virtual life in front of my computer and go out into the fresh air and sunshine and start living my real life!

On the plane trip home, I sat next to a native Angeleno who was returning home from a family reunion. He told me about the genealogy research he does as a hobby and the importance of passing family stories down from generation to generation. I told him about my blog, and that part of the reason I am recording my thoughts and documenting my life there is because I want my life's story to be available to my children and grandchildren. I have also written a bit about my parents and grandparents.

Truth be told, there are a whole lot of reasons that I blog. 

• It is my primary creative outlet, and it helps to keep my creative spirit alive.
• I have found a true community of bloggers who encourage me and whose lives have become important to me. Some of my blog buddies are now dear friends--friends who have been there for me during my highest and lowest moments (my bridal shower, my wedding, and my Dad's funeral). 
  
• And, yes, I'm a bit of an approval addict, and I love the feedback of comments.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I have no plans at all to stop blogging (it is a big and important part of my life), but I see the need to control the time that I spend online. 

Do you find this to be an issue in your life? How do you balance it all?

The Good Husband

This was sent to me by a friend via e-mail, and I thought it was too funny!

Jack wakes up with a huge hangover after attending his company's Christmas Party!!! Jack is not normally a drinker, but the drinks didn't taste like alcohol at all. He didn't even remember how he got home from the party. As bad as he was feeling, he wondered if he did something wrong. Jack had to force himself to open his eyes, and the first thing he sees is a couple of aspirins next to a glass of water on the side table. And next to them, a single red rose!! Jack sits up and sees his clothing in front of him, all lean and pressed. He looks around the room and sees that it is in perfect order, spotlessly clean. So is the rest of the house. He takes the aspirins, cringes when he sees a huge black eye staring back at him in the bathroom mirror. Then he notices a note hanging on the corner of the mirror written in red with little hearts on it and a kiss mark from his wife in lipstick: 

Honey, breakfast is on the stove, I left early to get groceries to make you your favorite dinner tonight. 

I love you, darling. 

Love,

Jillian

He stumbles to the kitchen and sure enough, there is hot breakfast, steaming hot coffee and the morning newspaper. His son is also at the table, eating. Jack ask, "Son ... what happened last night?" 

"Well, you came home after 3 A.M., drunk and out of your mind. You fell over the coffee table and broke it, and then you puked in the hallway, and got that black eye when you ran into the door.

Confused, he asked his son, "So, why is everything in such perfect order and so clean? I have a rose, and breakfast is on the table waiting for me??"

His son replies, "Oh THAT!... Mom dragged you to the bedroom, and when she tried to take your pants off, you screamed, 'Leave me alone, I'm married!!'"

Broken Coffee Table $239.99

Hot Breakfast $4.20

Two Aspirins $.38

Saying the right thing at the right time...PRICELESS!

Family Resemblance

Many thanks to all of you who left me "Happy Birthday" wishes yesterday!  They really made my day special!

Since little Sam has started smiling up a storm, my Mom has been saying that he resembles my baby pictures. Do you see it?

Smiling Baby Sammy:

Smiling Baby Starshine:

My sister told me that she just saw some baby pics of her husband this past weekend, and she said that Sam looks just like his Dad did as a baby. I thought I'd include this one in the mix, too, of my mom and me when I was a wee one. Isn't my mommy pretty?! I love this picture because you can see how much she is enjoying being a mom. I am so blessed because she still delights in being my mother, and I love her so.

Thirty-Four

Today is my 34th birthday.  Since I have rehearsal tonight for my play, Hubs took me out for an early birthday dinner a few nights ago at one of our favorite restaurants, The Melting Pot.

The Melting Pot is a special place for us because we had our third date there, and it was kind of a a defining time in the early days of our relationship. We both knew during that dinner that we were diggin' each other. 

If you are ever looking for a place to go for a leisurely dinner, I can't recommend this place enough! Our favorite thing about it (besides the fact that the food is divine) is that the dinner is four courses long, so you have plenty of time to talk. No rushing, which I love!

Many thanks to Alice, who gave Hubs a gift card to The Melting Pot over a year ago! We had a lovely evening!

Soul Hibernation, Flat Soda, and a Sparkling Glass of Perrier

I recently completed a wall of honeymoon pictures in our home. We showed the wall to one of our good friends, and he commented that we had both aged a lot in the last year. Ouch! I was completely annoyed by the comment, but later realized that I was mostly annoyed by it because it was true.

We have had a very hard year. As far as our marriage/relationship goes, things are great! We are happily married and so thankful to have each other to weather life's storms. It's the storms, though, that have really taken a toll. We have had some significant stress in our lives: the sadness that comes with anticipating the death of a loved one while never knowing when death will strike, grieving the loss of my Dad, the endless quest for acting work, Hubs' job search. All of these things mixed with the adjustments that come with being a newlywed have been a lot to deal with, and when I look in the mirror, I can see that some of my youthful luster has worn away. Oh, and did I mention that I've gained 10 pounds?

Interestingly, though, it isn't a skin-deep weariness as much as it's a weariness of soul that you can see in the eyes and that is expressed in a less sparkling countenance. I feel a little bit ashamed to admit it, but I'm tired, and I don't feel like I really have the right to be. I haven't worked a day job for nearly 16 months. I have tons of free time. I shouldn't be tired, but I am.

My soul wants to cuddle up in its jammies and hibernate for a while, in desperate hope that it will awake feeling rejuvenated. Come to think of it, that is precisely what it was doing on our honeymoon in Kauai, which is probably why we look so young and refreshed in those pictures!

Most of my life, I have been regarded by others as effervescent. One person even called me "a red-headed life force from Texas", which I took as a supreme compliment. The thing is, I don't feel like I resemble that person right now.

When soda goes flat, it can't become fizzy again. Hmm. Maybe God is in the process of emptying my cup of flat soda, so that He can refill it with some sparking Perrier.

Lord, I could really use some of that right now. 

Friday Cuteness

Look how cute Sir Samsalot is!

I love my nephew.