Grease is the Word

At one time, I was a HUGE Grease fan.  I've seen the movie dozens of times.  My best friend and I would pop it in and just sing every song to the top of our lungs.  In eighth grade, I even sang Summer Lovin' in a Broadway Musical Review as Sandy - complete with poodle skirt and dancing.  (I still have the poodle skirt - not so much the dance moves.)  Because of this I've been cautiously optimistic about the Grease Live showing this evening.

I mean, I wasn't too thrilled by the casting.  Don't get me wrong, I love Aaron Tveit, but he's no John Travolta.  But the producer of Hamilton is directing, and that can never be bad. And now after 38 minutes, I'm wiling to say without a doubt, I'm sold.  I had no reason to be worried.  It's amazing! The music, the choreography, the casting.  It's all perfect!

I heard terrible things about the last 3 TV musicals so I avoided those.  But now seeing the perfection of Grease, I have absolutely no idea how any network is going to top this. I cannot wait to see the rest!  Go Grease Lightning!

Recipe for a Saturday

Spending the morning in bed finishing this amazing book

Finding a new restaurant that has Crab Dip Tater Tots and Pierogies as a side dish - So very stuffed!

Hanging with this cutie

Purchasing tickets to 3 different shows with the bestie including a DC performance of Next to Normal (aka my new obsession!)  Looks like 2016 is shaping up quite well!

And then topping off the evening with a little SAG Award watching, where the Screen Actor's Guild showed the Oscar voters that diverse people can and do deserve to win awards.  Also, Spotlight won best ensemble - woohoo!

Friday Five

1. "The Rosie Effect" by Graeme Simsion: I plowed through "The Rosie Project" in about 2 days and have been waiting eagerly to buy the sequel ever since it came out - it took a little longer because I needed it in paperback, because I'm insane.  It's just as good as the original. It's quirky and funny and very, very sweet.  I'm also fairly excited about the prospect of it becoming a movie though for the life of me I can't decide on who would make the perfect Don.

2. Another week, another fairly amazing Ham4Ham by Lin Manuel Miranda.  I'm in awe of this guy mostly because he's created this awesome career for himself and because of that, he gets to do all of these amazing things just because he is who he is.  So jealous!


3. This is the best news I've heard all week.  I love me some Gilmore Girls and now that it's most definitely coming back, I'm way too excited!  Also, Netflix's tweet about it, is completely and utterly too perfect for words!

4. The first time I saw Rent, even though I had no desire to see it going in, I cried like a baby. It's completely heartbreaking and amazingly uplifting all at the same time.  It's also gorgeous, funny and all together original.  I'm a total Rent-head and I just can't believe we're in its 20th year already.  Now that I know the story, I don't cry as much, because I know what's going to happen is going to happen. (No spoilers here!)  However, what does still get me every time I think about it, is the fact that Rent's creator never got to see his masterpiece on the stage. Jonathan Larson died just a few weeks before its Broadway debut.  That kills me every time.  This is why this Playbill interview with his family is just so beautiful. Everyone who loves theatre knows at least a little about Rent, but we don't know much about its inspiring creator.  Now we get to learn a little about this amazing man from the people that knew him best. 

5. So very appropriate for this blizzard filled week:

Snow Day Viewing

I had sort of planned to talk about the debates tonight - however, whenever I start to discuss them, I get myself all worked up.  Trump just makes my blood boil!  Anyway, due to the snow and while trying to save myself the stress, I'm choosing to talk about something more fun - television.  Thanks to the snow storm, I've gotten quite a lot of extra time to watch this week.  These are my top 5.

1. Suits:  I was so darn happy to have this back on my television this week.  The show could have been ridiculous thanks to a so-so premise, but each season it seems to get better and better.  I love the characters. I love the humor.  I love the stories.  I love everything about it. Not to mention, Harvey Specter is fairly dreamy : )

2. American Crime: Honestly, I tried to watch it last season but just couldn't get into it.  This year, I tried again, mostly because I'm a big Tim Hutton fan.  And I'm so glad I did.  It's just so, so good.  The one single storyline from different perspectives has been done before, but the chosen story this year - an attack on a boy at an elite private school - is too real to look away from.  It's scary in a way that could actually happen, which is what makes it so compelling. Also, every single actor is completely perfect in their role, particularly Felicity Huffman and Regina King. 

3. Legends of Tomorrow: It's good, but it's not as good as I want it to be.  I'm mostly watching because Rory from Doctor Who is the main character, and Jesus from Godspell is in it as well (Victor Garber.) Both are wonderful!  But time travel with the added confusion of comic book lore, completely loses me sometimes. Love the humor, though their time machine is nowhere near as cool as the TARDIS.

4. Face Off & Top Chef: I'm not a reality show fan, but I'm partial to crafty and food.  That's why these 2 are my favorites.  Both shows have really strong casts this year, and I'm completely torn as to who I want to win.  The creativity that all the contestants show always astounds me.  If all reality shows were this good, I'd watch a lot more of them!

5. Galavant: I was completely in love with this show last season and was very excited to see it get a second season.  Though since it came back after Christmas, it's been good but not as good as last year.  That is, until this week.  This week it was particularly hilarious.  From the healer Neo of the town of Sporin, to King Richard's new love, every line was perfect.  Unfortunately, it now only has one week left in the season.  Hopefully, we'll all get another surprise and get to see it again next season - fingers crossed!

Sick Day

Just a quick night off to recover from whatever gunk I've contracted.  Hope to be back tomorrow - fingers crossed...

Trivia Tuesday

~ Any evening that starts with conversations about 20 years of RENT cannot be a bad evening. 

~ That being said, when one team member has enjoyed their snow day off just a bit too much, things get a little strange.

~ Geography and Africa seem to be favorite topics of the people that write the questions.  Geography and Africa are not favorite topics of our team.

~ There are 6 major marathon cities in the world, however Athens is not one of them.  Seeing as "marathon" started in Greece, isn't that strange?

~ My golf knowledge let me down.  Apparently, I need to learn about Ouimet who won the best game ever played.  I've never once heard this man's name.

~ When the team member who's been asking for a question on 90s music for months, finally gets a question on 90s music, she'll probably squeal with excitement.  It's a fact.  When the answer is her very favorite singer - Sarah MacClachlan - she'll be even more excited. 

~ The fact that 83% of the weapons found by the TSA are loaded is a frankly terrifying statistic - one that I really wish I didn't know.

~ In the 50s there was a Payola scandal on the radio.  After hearing the quiz master talk about it, I still have absolutely zero clues as to what this was even about. 

~ Sometimes a love for jewelry helps you answer questions about Murano glass. 

~ Newman's Own - Paul Newman's salad dressing company - has given away 450 million dollars to charities over the course of its existence.  That's an answer we seriously underestimated but how cool is that?  Way to go Paul Newman!

Snow Very Grumpy

I'm not a selfie taker.  I'll take them when I'm with other people, sure,  just not completely by myself.  No one needs to see that many pictures of themselves.  It's just wrong. However, I did decide to document today with one seeing as it was the very first day in 72 hours that I had real clothes, and makeup on and actually did something to my hair beside wash it and immediately pile it on top of my head in a horn like ponytail. (It was a good luck let me tell you - I dubbed it Snowmageddon chic...)

Anyway, the discussion of my snowmageddon-induced hibernation makes me realize that I have no reason to be grumpy today.  I've been home for the last 4 days eating, reading, watching netflix, scrapping, cooking, and about 20 other things I enjoyed.  It's been lovely.  So why am I grumpy you might ask?  Well, I'm grumpy because it'll all end tomorrow. All of it.  I don't want to go back to work!  What's worse is that I'd assumed we'd cancel the class we had planned for tomorrow for good reason - safety concerns.  I had one last additional day to enjoy my hibernating ways. But, as it turns out, students are closer than I'd hoped and really should be able to get there on time - stupid pre-planning!  It kicks you in the butt every time!

I really am done with the snow, but why in the world should that mean I'm done with the snow induced vacation?  It's just not fair!

52 Lists: Week 3

There's a radio program in England called Desert Island Discs.  Basically famous people go on and play the albums they'd take with them to a desert island.  I can't narrow anything down to discs, but I can tell you some of my most favorites that I would definitely be taking with me if ever I was to be stranded on a desert island:

~ Any (and every) song by Billy Joel
~ RENT, Wicked and Godspell cast albums
~ "With a Little Help from my Friends" by Joe Cocker
~ "Blackbird" by Paul McCartney
~ "American Pie" by Don McClean
~ "Me and Bobby McGee" by Janis Joplin
~ Anything Sugarland 
~ "It Felt Good on my Lips" by Tim McGraw
~ "Barefoot Blue Jean Night" by Jake Owen
~ "Wagon Wheel" by Darius Rucker
~ "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel

Enough Already!!

This picture was taken about 10 hours ago, and in those 10 hours it hasn't stopped snowing at all.  So you can imagine what my poor little car looks like now - as well as the rest of Maryland.  

I've scrapbooked, eaten, baked, cooked, eaten some more, read, finished the laundry, watched television, watched Netflix, looked at Facebook and Twitter, and now blogged.  I'm sort of done with snow now.  There's literally not a single other thing I can do, and I have a feeling I'll be stuck inside for another 2 days at least.  Enough already!

Friday Five

1. I adore snow days!  They are my new most favorite things.  Even today without the snow, just working in my pj's and just waiting for the snow to start, it was fabulous!

2. The Creative Faces Project: These photos are just gorgeous and so creative!  I love the idea of a twist on a classic portrait.  Not to mention, they're all Broadway peeps, so that makes them even cooler. 

3. Who knew the creatives at Pixar were so darn into classic movies? Some of these shots were a little bit of a stretch, but a lot of them are pretty amazing!

4. I love Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie. It's almost annoying how witty and clever they are. Excuse the language in a few, but these thoughts on Life are 100% true.  What I wouldn't give to be able to say a few of these to random people on an everyday basis! Also, I'm thinking of using #11 in my Match.com profile : )

5. Every #Ham4Ham is amazing in its own way.  This one is doubly amazing!

Snowmageddon 2016

I am ordinarily a warm weather kind of girl.  I love summer and spring.  I love capris and flip-flops.  I get unnecessarily grumpy each and every cold day of winter. However, I'm uncharacteristically in love with snow.  I think it's the greatest!  Ok, let's clarify this, I think it's the greatest...in moderation.  

If I lived in Alaska where it snows pretty much every day for 9 months out of the year, I'd be an angry, angry person.  However, living in Maryland, where we get at least one minor to major storm each year has its perks.  For instance, you get to see the entire state - and in this case, the entire Eastern seaboard - freak out before a single flake has even fallen.  Schools have closed, activities have been cancelled, heck, even Garth Brooks decided to cancel his shows because it may start snowing some time around dinner tomorrow.  

But there's also an upside.  The upside being, we now have the perfect excuse to "work from home."  I know millions of people don't have this option, and I thank them for all their hard work and service.  But I can.  And I will use the heck out of this excuse when the opportunity presents itself. Like tomorrow, for example.  Before you call me a ninny for slacking on work, I'd like the record to show that everyone in my entire office made the decision to do so, before I did.  I had planned to come in - grumpy, but I was coming in.  But when the 6 people you sit in a room with decide to not come in, what's the point of sitting there all by yourself?

Last but not least, there's the chance to spend an entire weekend indoors because you just can't go out in the nasty weather.  Who doesn't love an excuse to sit at home and read, or scrapbook or just lay on the couch?  I'm telling you, this whole snow thing has its advantages!  

Now, after tomorrow into Saturday, the snow can head north for all I care, and we can head into early spring.  I'm good with that.  Because spring brings warm and that's what I love more than the white stuff.  But for now I'm going to enjoy my one little snowstorm I ask for each year.  Happy snow day!

January - Story of a Day

 Wake up time, already?

 Doesn't everyone use "God, I Hate Shakespeare" as their alarm?

Notice the slight difference between when the alarm went off and when I actually managed to drag myself out from under the nice warm covers...

If I'd had the nerve to post the just getting out of bed selfie, you'd appreciate this completely put together selfie so much more...

 Offensively Cold!

 Just what you want to do when it's cold out - get gas

 But breakfast with the mama makes it all better.

 When you're office is an ice box, you make do.  In this case, I brought slippers in and wore them around.  They might look ridiculous, but at least I'm warm.

Special delivery for a friend who ordered some soccer cards.  The packaging just has to be as cute as what's inside! 

 Facebook break!

 Planning I'm good at - following said plans, not so much.

 Quitting time - woohoo!

 Snow's forecasted for this weekend (1-2 feet possible) so I had to join the rest of MD and go to the grocery store

 Love my crock pot!  When I got home these beef carnitas smelled so yummy!

 I think he's planning to "hang ten" in the snow...

Finally, a cup of tea, while it snows, and while waiting for Supernatural to start.  All in all, a pretty nice day! (P.S. - Cutest cup ever!)

Trivia Tuesday

~ Apparently, even though I'm anti-gun in every sense of the word, I'm able to answer a question about firearms pretty well.  My police procedural watching helps...

~ Any night that includes a question about musicals is a great night. Though they missed a perfect opportunity to ask about "Hello, Dolly" in the wake of today's awesome news.

~ Who knew that Flinstone Vitamins had so much to tap that they were the subject of not one, but 2 different questions?  Both of which we somehow logic-ed our way in to correct answers.

~ While the minimum wage in 1938 was mere pennies, it wasn't as bad as most of us thought - when given the choice between 5, 10, 25, and 50 cents, thank goodness the right answer was 25, not the horrible 5 cents that most of us thought.

~ While someone at our table could spout off tons of presidential trivia, she was not able to answer the question about the current president's dog.  I on the other hand, couldn't tell you a thing about the other presidents but I did remember the name of the super cute dog the Obama's own.  I'm not sure if either of us win in that scenario.

~ A Mythbusters marathon will often help you answer a question - not on science or mat mind you.  Just on the state of Jaime and Adam's headgear, which I suppose is also important - to someone. 

~ Sports are always our team's biggest downfall.  In one game we missed questions on the NFL, the NBA, and 2 on track.  I think the sports gods are trying to tell us something - maybe we should exercise our bodies more and not so much our minds?

At the Beach

When it's 20 degrees outside, the beach is slightly different.  However, it does have its perks...

January Life, Lately...

Reading: "You're Never Weird on the Internet" by Felicia Day and absolutely loving it so far!

Watching: American Crime, The Good Wife, Burgers, BBQ & Brew, YouTube clips of "Next to Normal", Supernatural, The Middle, and Madam Secretary

Enjoying: Simple pleasures of living in the 21st century like everything you could possibly want to see on YouTube.  My process for Project Life.  Canon Selphy printer - how did I go so long without owning one of these little magic makers?

Designing: A project plan for a pipe dream (at the moment) that I have high hopes for.

Making: Project Life layouts, and that's about it.  January has very much been reading and watching.  Having a rough time getting motivated when it's cold and dreary.

Excited: Upcoming trips to NYC and North Carolina.  The opening of Seth Rudetsky's new show in NY.  (He's my new hero and I kind of want to be him when I grow up), Spring is coming soon - I'm so done with winter!

Loving: Studio Calico journal cards for Project Life.  Not having to go to work tomorrow - Love a good 3 day weekend!, The soundtrack for Something Rotten!

Looking Forward To: Playing around with my new camera lens - Lots of fun things coming up to photograph!

52 Lists: Week 3

In My Bag, there's always:

~ My wallet - of course
~ Glass case - full of sunglasses, glass cleaner, a guitar pick, a broken necklace, and one earring (Don't ask...)
~ Gift card wallet - you never know when you might need to get some shopping in!
~ Splenda - not all restaurants have it and I'm a bit of a snob when it comes to my Iced Tea
~ Pen - No paper of course, just a pen
~ Brush - to tame this ridiculous mane of mine
~ Mints of some kind - at this point, one month out of Christmas, those mints happen to be candy canes
~ Whatever book I'm reading at the time - BTW, Felicia Day's book is Awesome with a capital A!
~ And you may notice the lack of a cell phone - rest assured, that's always there too.  However, it's quite difficult to take a picture of the cell phone you're currently using to take the picture, which is a shame because you're missing the truly amazing Sherlock phone case I have on it.

Friday Five

1.  There may be a slight obsession thing happening with Hamilton, if it's in fact possible to be obsessed with a show you haven't seen yet and won't be seeing for another 8 months. Anyway, while I count down the days until I do get to see it, I've got to fill the time doing something.  Today it was read about the ridiculously awesome wall the cast has backstage where all the many famous people that visit get to sign.  So very cool!  

2. I wasn't really voting for the Vikings to win the playoff game last week against Seattle.  But in the last few seconds, when it came down to a field goal, I'd decided it was a foregone conclusion.  Until he missed.  The poor guy, Blair Walsh to be specific, the kicker for the Vikings missed a 27 yard field goal in Minnesota and lost the game for his team. That's got to be tough to swallow.  I really felt for the guy.  However, I didn't feel as much for him as these first graders did.  How cute are they?!  I'm not sure it's easy to come back from such a career failure like that, but I'm sure these kids helped a lot!

3. First off, I've been waiting to see Zootopia for months - basically since I saw the first trailer.  Now I'm even more excited based on the ad campaign that Disney's using.  I'm not sure I agree with using 50 Shades of Grey to sell anything (most especially Disney) but I'll try to ignore it in favor of all the others.  Because the rest are adorable!

4.  After spending a long hour just attempting to register for a non-credit course on a local community college's website, my new most favorite thing is websites that are intuitive. I love websites that have buttons that make sense and actually take you where you need to go instead of taking you down a rabbit hole with every page saying the same exact thing!  Bad websites really make you appreciate Google and Facebook a lot more, don't they?  So I'm saying that the geniuses at Google are on my most favorite things this week!

5. Love the New Yorker's tribute to Alan Rickman - it's just so perfect!

"Here’s to the best damned antagonist a guy could ask for.”

In Memoriam

Most of my friends were terribly upset by David Bowie's death last week.  And it was sad to see someone so prolific die so suddenly.  He was fairly young and was recording music up until his death. Imagine what he could have created over the next 20 years. Even though it was terribly unexpected and upsetting, I wasn't heartbroken like a lot of people were.  I was never a big fan of his, so while I thought it was sad, I wasn't broken up by his death like a lot of people were.

Today, I was.

I just can't seem to get Alan Rickman out of my head.  In all honesty, Love Actually may have been the only movie I've ever seen him in.  As a strictly Harry Potter book fan, I never saw the movies.  I know he was brilliant in them, but I've never watched them.  But he was always one of those actors that was consistently hailed as just so good.  He could play anything and play it perfectly.  But what I admired more about him was his personality off screen.  As someone who played bad guys so flawlessly, you'd think he'd be one in real life.  

But in every article and every interview I've seen of him and by all accounts, he was completely charming and wickedly funny.  He just seemed like one of those people you'd love to have dinner with just to chat.  I think that's why his death hit me hard. While David Bowie seemed like this other worldly performer, Alan Rickman seemed more down to earth and the type of actor that would always be there in Hollywood to make movies better. Imagine the performances he could have given and the good he could have done.  Rest in Peace Alan.

And not like it needs repeating, but #CancerSucks.

An Ordinary Wednesday

Today started out kinda rough.  Nothing horrible, but it was cold, windy, and did I mention it was cold?  Also, some craziness started at work right off the bat - never an indication of a truly great day.  You totally need that hour or so buffer before you start dealing with crazy, right?  Or is that just me?  Anyway, after that it just tapered off.  However, 2 things made me very, very happy.  And because it's the middle of January in Maryland, there's not much to tell you about other than these 2 things.

1. A few weeks ago I decided I was finally going to order myself a Canon Selphy.  After months and months of reading about how wonderful they were for scrapbooking, I found a great after-Christmas sale on Amazon, had a gift card and bit the bullet.  It arrived a few days ago, but I haven't had any time to use it.  Until tonight.  After about 3 minutes of figuring the thing out, I was printing pictures that were perfect.  I had heard it was kind of slow, but I don't think so at all. 

I was not only able to print from my SD card from my camera, but I was also able to download an app and print photos directly from my phone, in the blink of an eye.  This little machine is my new best friend.  As soon as I started printing I realized 2 things - Project Life is going to be so much easier now and I really should start hoarding ink and paper. I have a feeling I'm going to be needing a lot of it if tonight's printing project is any indication.

2. I know illegal downloading is wrong.  I'm also highly against people recording things (or even just using their phones) in theatres.  It's distracting to the audience and more importantly, it's distracting to the performers.  However, I must admit the entire performance of Next to Normal that's been popping up on my YouTube suggestions for the last week has been quite intriguing.  When I decided I needed something to watch while Project Life'ing using the photos I just printed, I determined Next to Normal would be it. 

And oh my goodness, that show is just brutally beautiful.  I cried 3 separate times (#soggyphotos).  But on the other hand, it's just so real and so believable.  It had such heart that I couldn't stop watching - what I usually do when things get a little too sad.  I can't even imagine seeing that emotion live in a theatre.  I would have been sobbing rather than just tearing up every few minutes.  Absolutely gorgeous!  What I learned while watching it was that apparently there are tons of people illegally downloading shows to YouTube, so if you're wanting to see it too, you shouldn't have too much of a problem...

Oh, and I forgot, there were actually 3 things that made me very happy today.  The third was that I bought the winning PowerBall ticket so don't worry about spending your money.  The numbers haven't been pulled yet, but I'm most positive I'll be a billionaire tomorrow morning : )

Trivial Matters

~ Apparently, bars don't tend to show State of the Union addresses.  Unfortunately, that means I missed President Obama make his final address and vow to find a cure for cancer - truly one of the best goals to ever set!  Go Obama!

~ Thrupple is a word we learned this evening.  It means a couple that's actually made up of 3 people in a relationship.  And sometimes, if people are a little off, that could mean they have a "thrupple in their head..."

~ Even knowing there would most definitely be a David Bowie question, didn't help anyone answer the question correctly.  We know he was prolific, but he's definitely not on our radar. 

~ Remembering AU is the abbreviation for Gold by the trick I learned in 6th grade (Gold is AU because U want gold - while Silver is AG), finally came in handy after all these years.

~ I'm quite good at spelling.  Though no-one on my team (and that includes me) realizes that.  

~ George was the only one not wearing a suit on the album cover for Abbey Road.  I was pretty proud of myself for remembering that one. Must be the trip to Abbey Road - I miss London!  (But I digress...) The Beatles are apparently, much more our style than David Bowie is.

~ Tom Hanks has been in so many movies that he was given the honor of having an entire round based on himself.  Luckily, we have a Tom Super fan on our team.  The only thing I got out of the round was the realization that Tom Hanks was in 2 movies that started with the word Saving (Saving Mr. Banks and Saving Private Ryan.)  Compelling stuff I tell ya...

~ The best side conversation of the evening (well, second best because thrupple was pretty entertaining) revolved around the entire table of non-boxing fans explaining KO's and rounds to the person at the table who was the most completely  clueless about boxing.  For people who hate violence as much as we do, we know a surprising amount of Boxing trivia - that may be slightly worrisome.

Another Lovely Day in the City

Some people crave the countryside or dream about a day on the beach.  Me?  I'm a city girl - specifically New York.  There's always an energy and craziness there that just makes me happy.  I can feel it in my bones.  I may whine about the people and the crowds and the prices, but deep down I know NYC wouldn't be NYC without those things.  It really has my heart - NYC and London share it and sometimes vie for space. 

This week NYC is winning.  All I need is a day trip and I'm back in love. This week was nothing special, but that's the best thing about NY.  You don't have to do much to get the real New York experience.  Just seeing the lights in Times Square makes you feel like your in a movie or at the very least an episode of Friends. And that's just the best feeling ever!

Schedule for a near perfect (there were a few rain drops so it wasn't 100% perfect...) day in NYC:

Chelsea Market for No. 1 Tacos (So good!)

Lunch somewhere new (HB Burger this time around - you really can go somewhere new every single time and never hit all the great spots in NYC!)  Then dessert at Magnolia Bakery - Their banana pudding is my downfall!)

Something Rotten! for the second time - still awesome!

Brick Oven Pizza in Hell's Kitchen

Shopping for Schmakeray's Cookies, Theatre Circle books, and Sephora makeup

A quick trip down to Times Square then it's off to the bus (preferably not Mega Bus again - Awful!!!)

Sleep all the way home while you dream happy thoughts of the city that never sleeps : )

 Chelsea Market

 Oops, forgot to add a macaron snack in my list of NY perfection

 Surprisingly this is 2 different sides of the same Christmas tree.  Apparently, the tree taker-downers are quite methodical in their undressing...

 Love!

 The Bestie and I had an argument about these grates.  She thought it was weird that I thought they were cute.  At the very least, they're unexpectedly fun, right?

 Notice the skeptical look on Bestie's face - some dude had just asked us for money.  At least we think he did - he may have been trying to give us money from a can too; he sort of just mumbled and shook the can.