Thursday, January 20, 2011

Almost Play Time!

For those of you in Seattle, in the Northend and Eastside, here is the information on the play I'm in. We'll be performing in Bellevue for just one weekend. I hope you can make it!

The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie
Bellevue Civic Theatre @ The Meydenbauer Center
11100 NE 6th St
Bellevue, WA

The longest-running play in history. A group of strangers stranded in a boarding house during a snow storm, one of whom is a murderer. The suspects include the newly married couple who run the house. Others are a spinster with a curious background, an architect who seems better equipped to be a chef, a retired Army major, a strange little man who claims his car has overturned in a drift, and a jurist who makes life miserable for everyone. Into their midst comes a policeman, traveling on skis.

Originally written for the late Queen Mary in celebration of her 80th birthday, The Mousetrap is in its 59th year in London's West End.

With:
Wendy Enden
Scot Garrett
Travis Tingvall
Yvette Zaepfel
Robert Alan Barnett
Camille Mesmer
Jeremie Wallis
Nathaniel Jones

Directed by Curt Hetherington

Opening Night - February 3, 2011 at 7:30pm
Shows: February 4 and 5 at 8pm, February 6 at 2pm

Tickets:
$30: Adults
$27: Seniors
$15: Students & Under 18
425.235-5087 or bcttickets@bellevuecivic.org

For those of you in the South Sound (and for others who miss the weekend we're in Bellevue), we'll be performing in Renton at the end of February through mid-March. I'll post more information on that later. But if you're really eager to get tickets, or just want more info right now, click here.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Challenge - Ideal Job

Today's Daily Health Challenge is to write down two or three characteristics of your ideal job. So I thought what better way to do so than to blog about it?

1) Flexibility - I have that right now, in some ways, at my current job. I have the ability to work from home if needed, which is really amazing. But I'd like to have a job where I can not be sitting at a desk all day, where I can break the hours up, meet different people, see multiple goals get accomplished throughout the day and not get bored, which seems to happen when I work a desk job. One distraction leads to another, which leads to another and so on...

2) Achieving both career dreams - In a perfect world, I'd be running a bed and breakfast while still acting in community theater shows now and then. I know it might not be possible to do both in reality, but there is nothing wrong with dreaming big!

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Interesting Discoveries

Day 2:

Breakfast - Scrambled Eggs w/ veggies

Lunch - Salad with veggies, quinoa, chicken, and basil vinagrette

Dinner - Unknown

Yesterday was quite interesting. Since my hours at work have change, so has my hunger. I am eating later which makes me not as hungry. I ate breakfast around 7:30, lunch around 1, and by the time I tried to eat dinner at 5, I was full pretty quickly. Today I'm going to try just having a large snack of a little meat, string cheese, and some sliced veggies for dinner. I don't want to overdo anything and give myself heartburn again.

I joined a free website via Facebook that keeps you moving and motivated with a daily health or fitness challenge. Should be interesting, I'm excited to try it out.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Gluten Free vs Wheat Free

Either way it's still hard.

Breakfast - Scrambled eggs and tea.

Lunch - Gyro Salad from the local greek restaurant. A total splurge and well worth the $$. I yummed it right up.

Dinner - Leftover soup.

Dinner is going to be a challenge with my rehearsal schedule. Now that I a) get dropped off at the theater or b) take the bus, I won't be home to make dinner until late at night. I have given myself the week to go out to lunch so I can figure out timing and how all of this is going to work. I'm not going to stick to a lifestyle change if it's going to be immediately stressful. Matt has another job, writing part time for a video game company. This is really exciting for him, I am so proud (not to mention the extra income will be incredibly helpful)! This just adds another adventure to our evening commute. Luckily 2 people in the cast are south sounders, so I can get a ride home, or at least close enough so that Matt can pick me up and not have to go more than a mile or two.

I have gotten several suggestions on wheat free and gluten free blogs from friends and family. I know that I'm not gluten intolerant, nor allergic to wheat. But wheat and dairy allergies run in my family, and I do notice that when I focus on just eating meats, veggies, and fruits, I feel lighter and rather than weighed down.

I can tell that going wheat free alone is going to be a challenge. I went to the grocery store for lunch and thought I could get some baked chicken and a veggie salad. I was pleased to find the chicken, but all salads were coated in dressing and had pasta. The pre-made salads all had dressing that had MSG. Very disappointing! Then I went to find some sushi, only to discover that soy sauce has wheat in the ingredients. (This means I must find an alternative sauce so I can still enjoy sushi and chinese food...guess this means no more chinese take-out).

I am just taking all of this one day at a time, and am doing my best to not get overwhelmed. Day one is almost complete. We'll see how day two goes, hopefully it will go just as smoothly.

Sunday, January 09, 2011

Dietary Changes Needed

I had a fantastic girls weekend. We went to Lena's in-laws cabin in Home, WA. There were 7 of us. Some crying, but mostly laughing, talking, and LOTS of eating. But the wine. Oh the wine flowed, and we got very happy. I ate and drank, and continued until 9pm, when the heartburn set in. I haven't had heartburn since May of 2009 when I overate in Hawaii and was up until the wee hours of the night dealing with painful tummy issues. Which got me thinking, while laughing and watching others drink wine, about making some changes to my diet so I didn't have to suffer anymore and pop tums like an addict.

Today I've been thinking seriously about making those dietary changes that I've been curious about. I've been reading a lot online about how those who've cut out gluten do feel better and have more energy. Bread and pasta are a big portion of our diet, especially in the evenings and in the winter. But I think we can manage by perhaps making our own bread, and buying gluten-free pasta. I have some friends who are gluten-free, and Matt has several family members who are as well. Now I'm not saying that we won't cheat now and then, but if we're going to seriously make this lifestyle change, then we are going to have to keep one another accountable. At least until we can feel/see a difference.

So, in the spirit of change, I made Sausage and Spinach Soup for dinner. Yum!

Friday, January 07, 2011

Girls weekend!

Taking off tomorrow morning. Early. So I won't be posting tomorrow.

Wine? Check. Groceries? Getting them soon. Girl time? Can't have enough.

Thursday, January 06, 2011

I finally went for my first lunch walk yesterday. It wasn't pouring rain, and by 1pm I was nodding off. Instead of trying to fall asleep for a little bit, I took a 35 minute brisk walk to get the blood moving. I felt so much better, and wide awake. I'm going to do it again today, this afternoon, rain or shine. With the crazy rehearsal schedule creeping in these next few weeks, it's really important for me to keep this up, at least 3 to 5 days a week. And now that my work hours are changing, I just might have some time to try Zuzana's workouts too.

Wednesday, January 05, 2011

Not feeling so hot today, but it's not contagious. Lots of emotional stuff. Thankfully I have a girls weekend planned, and I'm in desperate need of fattening foods and wine. I can sweat it off at Yoga Sunday evening.

Really wishing I was somewhere sunny and warm, instead of wet and cold. Meh. Maybe tonight's rehearsal will boost my energy level. We are getting fitted for costumes. Yay!

Tuesday, January 04, 2011

Trying

Today's a rough day, but I'm working on keeping focused on what I need to do. I have some new goals for work that I am excited about.

Last night I didn't get much sleep and I'm going to be having more caffeine this afternoon. I'm already having trouble keeping my eyes open.

And I wish the snow and ice would melt already. But that would require temperatures to get above 40!

Monday, January 03, 2011

Blogging Every Day?

I was on wordpress (where my poor little abandoned travel blog is located), and they are encouraging everyone to blog every day or once a week. So I'm going to aim high, and see what happens!

Today I'm at home, my final day off of break. I have a lot to accomplish, mostly going over my lines and working on my character for the next play. It's a large amount of work because this character is unlike any that I've ever played before. I need to do her justice, to make her real. It will help when I get my lines down and then I can really start diving into quirks and characteristics.

Rehearsals are going to kick up this month, as we open in Bellevue for a weekend in one month! So I'm going to try to go walking during my lunch break for about 20 minutes every weekday so that I can get a little exercise in and get the blood flowing. I went to bikram yoga on Friday, and naturally picked the hottest spot in the room. It was insane, but I felt so relaxed afterwards. I can't wait to go back.

Have you ever seen Friday Night Lights? So addicting. Matt and I got a Wii for ourselves for Christmas, and we can now stream Netflix to our television. Also addicting.

Saturday, January 01, 2011

A New Year, A Fresh Start

I resolve to not have any resolutions this year but to just keep moving forward on my plans and goals like have been in 2010. I'm in my third play of the season, which is amazing, and Matt and I have this incredible house.

I am looking forward to 2011 with an open heart and an open mind.

Here's to a fabulous year!