"You're no grander than the rest of us"

Yes I have been ignoring this little blog of mine, I have been very neglectful these past few months, and I tell you why: I have been miserable. No, not quite...but I have been busy, happy, crazed, tired and caught an illness which has been dubbed the 'theatre bug'. I have spent the last four months of my life steeped in a community production of Les Miserables. I have been living, breathing, and sleeping the music and the story; I put blood, sweat and tears into this show, and last night we took our final bows as a cast. Theatre can be so bittersweet. Throughout the course of the show, I play a factory worker, a serving wench in a seedy tavern, a beggar, and a revolutionary student's wife/girlfriend/whatever...but the part that I will be most remembered for is my portrayal of a 'Lovely Lady'. 

When Fantine is fired from her position at the factory, she no longer has a way of supporting herself, or her daughter. So she sells her necklace, her hair, (in the book she goes so far as to sell her teeth), until finally she has nothing else to sell but herself. That's where I come in. We, as lovely ladies, try to convince Fantine to become as base as we are. Perhaps we'll feel better about ourselves if we can convince this beautiful woman to join us, after all, we used to be beautiful too. My advice to Fantine: "Make money in your sleep, that's right dearie, show 'em what you've got" (By the way, by first time singing into a microphone on stage...yikes!)

As fun as it was to be back on a stage, in a show I absolutely love, I have gotten a lot of flack for this role. People from my church telling me I was enjoying myself "a bit too much up there", people teasing "now we see the real you". A co-worker telling me flat-out that she wasn't going to support the show because of that scene. My sister saying that it is inappropriate for us to be up there like that. 

I went from being excited about this opportunity to be a part of such an incredible cast, to being ashamed and not wanting to perform. 

The story of Les Mis is a story of sacrifice, grace, and redemption, and I believe that our show delivered the message of the Gospel. I feel that Fantine's sacrifice to sell herself for her own daughter's sake, for the chance that Cosette might lead a better life, is parallel to Christ making the sacrifice on the Cross. He took our sin upon himself, so that we might be free from sin, he essentially sold himself so we could have eternal life. I think that as gritty and uncomfortable as our "lovely" little scene was, it was crucial in telling this story. I also stretched my acting (ACTING!!) abilities much further than I ever thought I could, and I feel honored and blessed to have gotten to share the stage (and that scene) with some of the most Godly, faithful women I have had the pleasure to meet. 

Our poor little show received many attacks from a strong enemy, but our story was stronger, and people who may not have heard this message any other way, heard it from a SOLD-OUT theatre. 

Aren't we just the loveliest?

Dream on

I had a dream last night that I think would make a really cute Lifetime Original Movie (at least I would watch it). I dreamt that I was visiting my sister, but she lived in, like, Manhattan or something. Anyway, her apartment had a living room with a huge bay window and a window seat, and I would sit and read, or watch a movie, or sing and dance around and just generally be myself. My sister wasn't home, she was probably at work. (Who invites someone to visit if they're just going to be at work the whole time? Rude. But not the point). In her neighborhood there was this guy, who would walk past her apartment every day on his way to work, and on his way home. After a few days, he started leaving little messages (like...'hey', 'how are you?', 'I saw you singing and dancing like a crazy person the other day and it made me laugh', etc.), and we would communicate through these little notes. My sister didn't approve of me talking to a stranger, but then again, she was never home. On the day I was supposed to leave, he left a note actually asking me out for coffee, but I couldn't go because I had to get to the airport. And that's the end...

What does it mean?

This is actually one of my more normal dreams. I would love to go to a dream analyst sometime and find out what my dreams mean. They are usually pretty complex and bizarre...

I heard the people sing

I feel as though I failed all five (I flatter myself) of you who might actually be reading this. I know you have all been sitting, waiting anxiously to hear what I thought about the movie adaptation of Les Miserables. Well, wait no longer because I am here to let you know what I thought!

Contrary to what most theatre-fan type people are saying, I actually liked it. I mean, it definitely had it's faults, but . For one, Russell Crowe wasn't a the best choice for Javert. When the announcement was made that he would be playing this iconic part, I had my doubts. I was hoping to be pleasantly surprised, but my doubts unfortunately were confirmed. His singing was...okay, and okay just isn't good enough when everyone else is great, and in some cases incredible. I felt as though his mediocre singing made him a less than effective villain.
Hugh Jackman was a wonderful Jean Valjean, Anne Hathaway's Fantine was emotional and raw, Amanda Seyfried pulled her own as Cosette, and Eddie Redmayne didn't make me hate Marius, like, hardly at all. Samantha Barks was just as wonderful as Eponine on the big screen as she was in the 25th anniversary concert. However, I am still having a hard time with the placement of everyone's favorite song of unrequited love: On My Own. I just feel that without the scenes that surround the song in it's original context, Eponine's character was not portrayed in quite the same way. The film makes her seem less lovelorn, and more masochistic. Instead of dying because of her loyalty and devotion to Marius, she dies from a self-inflicted wound stemming from an ill-fated attempt to get Marius's attention. Tragic.
And then there's Aaron. Enjolras. My favorite. He was wonderful, of course. Perfect, really. He led those hipster school boys to, well, to their deaths...but his heart was in the right place, and when he dangled out that window, he dangled for freedom!
Les Mis is just such a touching story, told through beautiful music (which, if you haven't heard, was sung live on camera. By the actors. Which is apparently a big deal even though theatre actors do this for eight shows a week.)
By the end of the movie I was in tears, and judging by the amount of sniffling in the theatre, I wasn't the only one. But, in order to add a little light heartedness to what can be a pretty weighty and heavy story, I give you a bit of humor:

Family secrets

My dad's side of the family does this thing when it comes to gift giving. They have this bad habit (that wasn't passed down to me, thank goodness) of revealing what they've gotten you before you have the chance to open the box. From the subtleness of my aunt writing 'I hope it fits' in the card and tucking in the receipt, to the absolute blatantness of my grandma saying, 'Oh, you already have a scarf. I hope you like the one I got you, too.'
It has become an inside joke around the holidays, and it has gotten to point where we don't open the card until after we open the gift. This year, it has reached an all-time apex of ridiculousness. After my dad when up to visit family and bring back gifts, he showed me that my grandmother wrapped my gift in CLEAR cellophane.

I don't know who I blame more: grandma, for not even trying to keep the mystery alive; or dad, for showing me instead of just putting my gift behind the tree...

Alice's Wonderland

I am excited to announce that I am a proud pet parent (not a pet owner, a parent). Alice is a fancy rat, not because she's super classy or anything, that's just the kind of rat she is. She lives in a cage in the office, and she is super cute. I was limited to a small pet, something that could live in cage. Fish creep me out, and birds are too loud...so rodent was the way to go! I have been asked 'why a rat? Why not a hamster?' Well, the facts are these:

-Rats are very smart, they can learn to respond to their names and even learn some small tricks

-Rats are sweet and won't ever bite out of frustration or malice. She'll nibble at my fingers, but mostly she just gives 'kisses'

-Rats aren't as staunchly nocturnal as hamsters. Alice takes naps throughout the day, but she wakes up and loves to play during the daytime too.

-Rats are very social and affectionate. I've already told you about the kisses.

-Rats are clean, contrary to popular belief. I read that (domestic rats) spend 1/3 of their waking time grooming themselves. 

-Rats are better than hamsters. The end.

Alice with her 'nummies' (a peanut), giving kisses, and snuggling in her strawberry. Seriously, how cute is she?

It's a Small World After All!

Yesterday, three of my friends and I played hooky (with permission from our bosses, of course) and spent the day at Disneyland! And for once, I wasn't even the nerdiest one in the group. Since we went on a weekday, the lines were pretty short. We started at California Adventure, and we rode Tower of Terror, Radiator Springs Racers (first time), California Screamin', Ariel's Undersea Adventure (first time), and Soarin' Over California. We sat through Turtle Talk With Crush, and Crush talked to me! He gave me a new nickname "Laguna Lauren" duuuuude. Then a hop, skip and a jump over to the Happiest Place on Earth for Pirates of the Caribbean, Big Thunder Mountain, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Space Mountain (twice!), Buzz Lightyear and straight to the front of the line for the Matterhorn (favorite!) because my friend was wearing a Matterhorn shirt. As magical as all of that was the true magic happened, coincidentally, after getting off of It's a Small World. When what to my wondering eyes should appear? Two of my favorite people, the camp directors at El Camino Pines (the second happiest place on earth!) I love that one of the first things they said to me was 'Of course we would run into you at Disneyland'.
Then, Disney magic and Christmas magic joined forces, and we got to hear a beautiful choir singing some of my favorite holiday hymns, and even some scripture readings about the Reason for the Season!

Even though I wasn't able to find a Disney Christmas mug worthy of my collection, it's pretty safe to say it was one of the best Disney Days ever!!

Tis the Season

to be baking!! 

For the past couple weeks I have been doing some little baking projects with my kiddos at work, and I have also been tearing up kitchens far and wide (or maybe just mine and my friend's) with some major adventures in pieland!. Last week for our 2nd annual "Friendsgiving" I made two terrific pies, both entirely from scratch.
Literally...I turned this:

into this:

to create this:

That's right, folks...I pureed a pumpkin for homemade pumpkin pie, just like the pilgrims used to do. I never want to do it again, next year I will be Thankful for canned pumpkin. It's not that it's a difficult process, it's just messy and time consuming. 

The pie was delicious though, some have even called it 'the best pumpkin pie ever!'