There's No Place like Home for the Holidays

I'm home. Back in CA and loving it. The last week before I came home was super busy and NYC got a nice little dousing of snow. Luckily, it cleared up and I was able to get in the sky before the Big Apple got hit again.



My only thought about the trip is that the airlines are getting ridiculous. I flew out to CA on US Airways. Not only do they charge for checking a bag, but they also charge for any snack or drink (including water). Considering the dangers of dehydration while flying, I find this to be negligent behavior.



Okay, that's all the complaining I'm going to do. I'm off to enjoy the fam.



Merry Christmas, everyone!

Parties, Playtime, and Good News

Hello my lovelies!

Well, I am up much too late and have to awake much too early. However, it is Sunday and it's been a busy week. So here's a quick update of the fun for this week.

Work:
* I got hired with Disney Theatricals as part of their Education Department as one of the Teaching Artists. Translation: I teach musical theatre for Disney now. Good times!
* One of the State Assemblywomen might come to see one of my classes this week (this is a class that I'm currently teaching with Roundabout Theatre Co)
* I got offered another contract for the Jewish Summer Camp that I worked with this last summer. Yep, I'm going back. Kosher Cafeteria food--here I come!
* Worked my last day (until January) for the swim school. :)

Parties:
* I just got home from a Charlie Brown Christmas Party at the Herrick's apt. It was a blast! It was really nice spending time with friends that I don't get to see as often as I like. The Herricks are great friends that I kind of know from BYU and better know from living here in NYC. I'm babysitting their kids for a week in January--which will be fun!
* Last night I to our Ward Christmas Party. It was a Christmas Cabaret and it was tons of fun! I was asked to perform Santa Baby. I did...in front of the bishop...I still have my recommend.
* After the ward shindig, I went to a Stake Singles Sub-for-Santa event. It was great! Unfortunately, I wrapped only one gift before I ran into a friend I haven't seen in a long time. After that, I got caught up in conversation and made two new friends. It was also very fun! And I helped a little bit again afterwards
* After the Sub-for-Santa (I know! This is ridiculous, huh?!), I went to a friend's Christmas Party (called Moose Mugs and Egg Nog). It was almost the biggest apartment party I've been to since I've been here. It was fun! Lots of good food, good music, and new friends. Also, there was a photo booth.
* Friday night, there was a going away party for my friend Jodi. She just finished grad school at Columbia and is getting ready to move back to AZ. I'll miss her, but I'm excited for her.

Other Good News:
* Miracles! Everywhere miracles! And blessings!
* The weather is still surprisingly warm.
* The youth that I work with are awesome!!!
* I've got my ticket to CA for the holidays and I fly out on Friday. HURRAY!!!

I love and miss you all!!!

My Family Rocks!

Anyone who knows me knows that I love my family. My family is amazing! In fact, I have a hard time understanding how I got lucky enough to be part of such an awesome family. We're not perfect, but we are strong and happy. So, in response to my wonderful family situation, I am dedicating this week's blog to reasons why I love my family. This list refers to both immediate and extended family, unless noted otherwise.

1. We are hilarious!
2. They love me
3. They call me out if I'm acting like a jerk or idiot
4. They bring me real mexican food from Yuma
5. My sisters (and sis-in-law) call me on the phone and send me messages
6. My brothers keep me safe
7. My cousins keep me sane
8. We don't argue as much as we did when we were younger
9. We laugh together (always have, always will)
10. We are grateful for every opportunity to get together
11. We make cute babies (obviously, I am not yet to this point in my life, but I trust that my babies will be cute too ;) )
12. We help each other when life gets tough
13. We pray for each other
14. We remind each other to be better than we are
15. We give each other a reason to strive for celestial glory
16. My grandparents are amazing (I've been lucky enough to have 8)
17. We sing together
18. Katey brings me Stephen's Hot Chocolate from Utah (did I mention that I'm almost out?)
19. My family is talented
20. My Dad still checks my muscle tone in my arms and legs. I love it! It makes me feel like a little kid again, and it motivates me to keep up my exercise
21. We like to play and do silly things together
22. We tell each other that we love each other
23. My niece is always excited to see me. She jumps up and down--it makes me feel special
24. It's difficult to say goodbye to my family, but we still smile when saying goodbye so that the other person won't feel worse (even Mom is getting better at this, though I know it breaks her heart every time one of us leaves)
25. I always learn something new because of my family
26. My dad is my hero
27. My mom is my best friend and advocate
28. My step dad makes me feel safe
29. My step mom makes me feel inspired and special
30. I can be anywhere and in any situation with Kyle, and I know that I'll be safe
31. Melissa is fun and style wrapped into a loving package
32. Leilani is more wise than she knows and is a great example of motherhood
33. Mike is brilliant and has let me lovingly torture him since before he became my brother
34. Katey is my "mini" who has passed me up in so many ways
35. My in-laws have only made my family richer. For the most part, my siblings have had good taste in spouses.
36. So, you remember those cute kids? Yeah--they rock (this includes my cousins' kids, too)!
37. As my niece says, "cousins are way better than just friends"
38. My brother, the Marine, will sing if I play the piano
39. Singing with my sisters is always fun. We sound amazing together and we laugh when someone messes up (but without stopping, of course)
40. Anywhere I go, I will find a family member nearby
41. They're my favorite!
42. We share the eternal perspective of the gospel and the Plan of Happiness
43. Culture out the whazoo! Hawaiian, Mexican, Californian, Bicknellan, McDonaldFarmin
44. The cabin!!!
45. I look nothing like my first cousins--I get a kick out of that
46. Because of the women in my family, I've now read all of the Twilight series
47. Because of the men in my family, I know a lot about James Bond and art
48. My family understands my addiction to and obsession with the water and water sports
49. There's no place like home
50. We're together for eternity

I'm thankful for...

(in no particular order--and with

Thanksgiving Day pictures interspersed)

1. My family: I could be way more specific, but that would be a whole other list. If you want me to write this list, tell me, and I will happily do so. After all, my family is one of my favorite subject matters

2. The Plan of Happiness and other gospel subjects

3. My testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ

4. The ability to look at other perspectives

5. Thanksgiving dinner

6. Thanksgiving leftovers

7. Pie (also thankful that the crust on my pie turned out so well)

8. Subway rides

9. Subway books

10. Sudoku

11. The jazz playlist on my ipod

12. Jobs that I love

13. Jobs that pay

14. Jobs that I love that also pay

15. Tithing

16. Friends

17. Friends who spoil me

18. Bad dates that remind how much I appreciate friends that spoil me

19. Libraries

20. Book Stores

21. Clean Bathrooms

22. Laughter

23. Dancing

24. Cameras

25. Photoshop

26. The view from my living room windows

27. The view of downtown from my door step

28. Living near a body of water

29. Swimming pool access

30. Exercise

31. Singing without reservation

32. Teachers

33. Coaches

34. Answers to prayers

35. Miracles

36. Babies

37. Children

38. Teenagers

39. People and their variety of backgrounds

40. Flowers

41. Seasons

42. Rain

43. Sunshine

44. New snow

45. Boots

46. Hot Chocolate

47. A very warm apartment

48. Parades

49. Church callings

50. The Holiday Season

Subway Weekends

For anyone who lives or has lived in NYC, you know what subway adventures occur during the weekends. Today, I realized how very much I hate the subway on weekends. The trains aren't running all the way to where I live. So, we have to take a stupid shuttle bus that takes forever. The express trains run local--the local trains run express. Basically, madness and mayhem ensue throughout the entire NYC Metro system. Consequently, traveling anywhere in the city takes twice as long. HOURS!!!

Okay, I just had to get that off my chest. I'm still extremely fond of New York, and I'm so grateful for the time to read while I ride the subway (on weekdays). It's been wonderful being back these last two weeks. I'm in awe of the talented people I am surrounded by, and the amazing projects and companies that I get to work with. Hmm, maybe the subway is worth it... barely.

I love and miss you all!

Finally!

So, I have my new computer. It arrived this morning, and I am so glad! Of course, it means that the rest of my day will be spent trying to get all the things done that I haven't been able to do since my other computer went caput. Oh well! Maybe I can now figure out how to make my blog more exciting. Wish me luck!

Jamie's Summer Adventures, Part 1

This summer, I spent 7 1/2 weeks working for a Jewish youth camp. I was directing/choreographing a couple of shows for them; and I was also directing/coordinating the technical aspects of the productions. Suffice it to say that it was a stressful, busy, and very rewarding experience. Apparently, all the years of LDS Girl's Camp has prepared me for the mountain experience.

Ha, ha, ha--that makes it sound like I was roughing it. To be honest, it was really rather nice. If you have seen the original Parent Trap, you may recall that the sisters meet at a sleep away camp. This is like that. We had cabins, a dining hall, computers, and a huge staff to work with the many kids. Also, the campers had the option to play on sports teams, attend science classes, create a movie, build rockets, paint pictures, throw clay, make jewelry, go to the lake, or participate in other activites. Obviously, since I was there, they could also be in a play. Our theatre was a converted Barn, and was aptly named, The Barn Theatre.

The first play was The Wiz. This is a funky version of The Wizard of Oz. It was a blast. My tech kids were awesome, and I felt comfortable putting many of them in leadership positions. My cast was talented and super cute. I had a group of fabulous dancers, and my Toto was a talented dancer AND gymnast. We also ordered a smoke machine and used the huge TV (the TV lived in the Barn) for visual effects. It was so fun! I learned a lot with this show, and I feel sorry that the campers had to be my guinea pigs. However, we all survived unscathed (mostly), and I closed that show feeling good about what we accomlished. I also enjoyed my own cleverness as we wrote lines in for certain characters--ha! I'm so funny. Writing may be one of my hidden talents.

The second show was Footloose. Now, Kevin Bacon's career took a huge shift when he took on the movie version of this story; and so many of the songs and dance moves are looked to as the quintessential examples of 80's Pop Culture. So tackling this show was very intimidating to me...especially when I realized I would be playing most of the accompaniment on the piano for every show. Gratefully, the guitar teacher put together a band that played 5 numbers during the show. They were so fun to work with. We had a velcro curtain that exposed the rest of the stage partway through the opener, and our Costume Crew Chief agreed to dress up like a boy and play Cowboy Bob. The cast was FABULOUS! I just adore these kids. They are on the verge of young adulthood. There were show-mances and break-ups. I think these youth have more opinions, theories, and ideals about love than I do. Good times!

The show was great, of course, and the response was very positive. We incorporated a lot of "firsts" in this show (a live band, a kiss, not taking out the Christian church element, etc). It was most refreshing!

Well, I guess that's all for now. Later I will post other things that I did this year. Have a beautiful Sunday!

Peer Pressure & Reasoning

Well, some of you may wonder why I am blogging. I'd like to give an intelligent and thoughtful answer. However, the real answer is "peer pressure." Everyone in my family is doing it (blogging). Even my parents have started blogs. So, I decided to join the crowd.

Also, I realize that there are people who want to know what I am up to, but I am never able to keep up on the emails and letters. I thought this might be a fun way to keep everyone up to date on my many adventures.

Now I have a blog. I think this will be fun!