21

Last week I surpassed a large-ish milestone...but before I get to that, let me back up.

As December 2012 was winding down, I was feeling, for lack of a better phrase, real yucky. Physical yuck, mental yuck, emotional yuck. I knew that I needed to do something, something to jump start my system...

So, I decided to try a detox (more on that in a later post). On January 1st I started changing my eating habits, while doing yoga a few times a week. I started weighing myself, and pounds started to fall off!

Then, it hit me. About a week and a half in, I decided that 2013 will be the year that I lose this cursed emotional baggage that puts me just shy of 60 pounds overweight. I decided just like that, and this time, I had the strength to stick with it.

So, I joined a gym, and started running again. Then I learned how to lift weights.

Last week, I surpassed the 20 pounds lost mark. 21.

I'm still far from where I would like to be, but proud that I have made it this far. I am a work in progress, and I feel like I'm making strides toward becoming a better, stronger version of myself!

The Things I Put Up With

When my cat, Hobbes, woke me up at 6:30am by licking the edge of a plastic garbage bag...I became borderline murderous. It's a habit that she's had since she was a kitten, and I find it to be the most irritating sound on the planet.

But, I suppressed the urge to kill, fed her instead, and then she does this. While purring. LOUDLY.

Ah yes, this is why we put up with our pets' crazy.

Little Bits of Happy

Picking up two beautiful vintage coats at the thrift...

An impromptu night of local music, Tiger Belly, and beer, Southern Tier Double Milk Stout, with friends at the Barley Pub.

Coming across my friend Abbie's beautiful mixed media artwork on my feed reader.

Hearing the new Laura Stevenson and the Cans tunes for the first time.

Day-dreaming about vacationing in faraway states.

What bits of happy are you experiencing this week?

Four Shows

Again, if you followed my adventures on my old blog, you would know that my job revolves around theatre and dance. The month of February has been particularly bananas as I took on four different projects at once.

This might have been over ambitious of me. Maybe just a little.

But exhaustion, and my house looking like a disaster zone aside, I love this stuff! So, I thought it would be fun to share a glimpse of each of the four shows.

Back Alley Productions asked me to join the cast of The Vagina Monologues for a second year and I had the pleasure of participating in V-Day celebrations in two cities.

Extra fun, one of those cities was my home town, Rochester, NH. Above is a view of the beautiful Rochester Opera House stage from the balcony. The audiences in Rochester were amazingly receptive and warm to us.

I performed "The Woman Who Loved to Make Vaginas Happy" again, and received a nice mention in a local paper. 

The cast and the performances were joyous, but the most rewarding part of being involved in V-Day is knowing that my time onstage is contributing to fundraising efforts that help organizations in my community fight violence against women. I'm already looking forward to next year!

At school, our musical this season was "Little Women." Pictured above is the set, in progress. Isn't it just lovely?! My role in this show was that of choreographer. I created dances for a waltz scene, a skating scene and for Marmie and the beloved March sisters.

Following close at the heels of "Little Women" was our winter dance concert. My director, and best friend, Allison and I decided to set Act II of "Giselle" on our students. This was a mildly insane choice...

And we both went mildly insane while setting it! The corps de ballet of women are supposed to portray ghosts of betrayed women. Think zombie man killing brides, (who says ballet isn't fun?). Anyways, in a moment of frustration, I may have shouted at my students "IF YOU SMILE, I WILL COME FOR YOU!" Ahem. Insane.

You see, the choreography and acting for this ballet is particularly challenging. However, our students rose to the challenge and pulled it off beautifully.

Lastly, March 1-24th. I'm appearing as "Tricia," one of the cut dancers, in the opening number in Seacoast Repertory Theatre's production of "A Chorus Line." In addition to my ten minutes of fame onstage, I'm the female swing for the show. For those unfamiliar with the term, that means that I understudy the female leads, all eight of them. The choreography, music and book are so complicated for this show, it's been a real mental challenge to undertake, but I'm so grateful to have a tiny part within this phenomenal ensemble.

Also, this is the first time I've appeared onstage in nothing but a leotard and tights in a VERY LONG TIME. Hell hath officially frozen over people.

So, that has been my February. It took me four days to write this post! I'm off to enjoy my Saturday, until tonight...then it's