Fox 35!

This morning I had my Orlando debut on the local Fox 35 news with the cast of COMPANY. It was a total blast - seven of the fourteen cast members were able to make it, and we had a great experience. Plus we were able to widely promote the show which opens tonight!

Only bummer is that I look HUGE in my costume in the photos. Well, you can't win em all, right? It's great to kick off my first production in Orlando with a TV appearance. That's pretty awesome!

Here are some photos from this morning!

Gym Rat

You may remember from a post a few months back that I was working with the ranch trainer, Caleb, 2-3 times per week in addition to my regular weekly Yoga and Zumba. I made huge fitness strides during that time and saw big changes in my cardiovascular health and the appearance of my midsection.

I am proud to say that the hard work has continued. I desperately miss my Cody yoga ladies, but have managed to find some yoga and Pilates based classes I love here in Orlando.

Jason and I joined the National Training Center here, where they train Olympic and Paralympic athletes. It's also a major physical rehabilitation center, so on any given day we could be sharing the facilities with world class athletes and people dealing with major disabilities. It's so awesome to see amazing inspiration - both physical and spiritual - in the place you work out.

Since returning from Europe I've continued my Caleb workouts 2-3 times per week, and the other three days I take classes - Yoga, Pilates, Zumba.

And after a lifetime of not understanding how people could really devote so much time to exercise, I've finally come to see the draw. I have more energy, I feel better, I sleep better, I can see the continued changes in my body.

Against all odds, I've become a gym rat at 30. How cool is that?

The Turkey Trot

We leave for Atlanta first thing tomorrow morning - We're making the Turkey Trot up to Atlanta cause it's Thanksgiving time! We'll be spending our Thanksgiving with Jason's Aunt, Uncle and their whole family. It will be my first major holiday with Jason's family! Since we were married in 2010, we've spent both Thanksgivings and Christmases with my family, so it's certainly past time to celebrate with Jason's. It will be a loud, noisy holiday like I'm used to and it should be a blast.

A week to the day after Thanksgiving, we open COMPANY at the Orlando Shakespeare Theatre. Excited to be making my Orlando debut in one of my favorite shows - we have a lot of work to do between now and then, but it should be a total blast. And it feels great to be performing again. :)

I hope that wherever you are, you have a wonderful holiday with plenty to be thankful for!

Gobble, Gobble!

Doing it Right

We've been back in the States for one week and are still unpacking. I dove head first into rehearsals for Company when we got here. Then turned around and auditioned for a very lucrative performing gig, making it through all the cuts and am now playing the waiting game, though I'm assuming at this point I didn't get it and that's okay. I met and signed with my new agent who I'm super excited about. He and I have the same vision and are on the same page about where I fit in the business. He's already been submitting me on some huge projects for which I am super grateful. If my one year contract with him works as well as the first week, it's going to be a very exciting year! What else? After rehearsal today I have another big audition that could lead to lots of work down the line. And I've been going to the gym regularly, keeping up on what Caleb taught me. It's actually in my agency contract that I have to go several times a week - how's that for motivation?

So I'm going for it and I'm doing it right. I'm thirty and still chasing the dream - and you know what? That's okay.

Stranded in Paris

We're stranded in Paris. Our four nights to end our trip have become seven nights at the least. We're going to try again to get out tomorrow and see how it goes. With flights reopening we're hoping we'll be able to get something. But I can honestly say that I hope I will never again experience the kind of airport madness we encountered on Tuesday.

The stress of a hurricane in the states made people absolutely crazy at the airports. Panic mode. Panicked, angry people made the French airport staff ruder than normal. We did our best to be polite and positive and kind. To try to get on a flight to the states and take the rest as it comes.

We couldn't get out. Every US bound flight had been oversold by at least twenty seats with an additional stand by wait list of fifty (on which we were numbers 47 and 48). So we decided to spend two days waiting it out in Paris.

While we waited we were given some serious perspective. We met a Delta employee whose wife and two youngest kids made it on a flight out of Barcelona on Saturday. He and his two older kids - about eleven and fourteen - had been wearing the same clothes for four days trying to get any flight headed stateside. They'd made it to Paris but that was it. At least we have all our clothes (dirty though they may be) and no kids!

We're making the best of it and having a great time while trying to be as budget conscious as possible. Paris is a lovely place to be stuck but really expensive. We are back at the same hotel, in the same room with a view of the Eiffel Tower. We window shopped on the Champs-Elysees and saw the new Bond movie SKYFALL yesterday. We braved the rain and crowds at Versailles this morning.

We're having a good time during our bonus Paris time and making plans and contingency plans to get home. We're hoping to get home in time to watch some college football on Saturday.

But we'll see - after all, you can't predict a hurricane!

Ciao, Bella

It's our last whole day in Paris and tomorrow we flight back to the US if Hurricane Sandy cooperates. We have had an absolute blast these last three weeks - I cannot wait to recap them here on the blog and for you to see Jason's amazing photos over on his blog as well!

We are exhausted - we've been averaging about ten miles walking per day for three weeks. But this journey has been truly amazing! A fitting cap to the adventure we've been on since April 2011. Our adventure is changing now - just taking on a different shade.

We go back to Orlando and I immediately begin rehearsals for a production of Sondheim's COMPANY as Susan. This is a show I've wanted to be a part of for at least a dozen years and I'm excited to get the chance! I'm ready to act again, to brush off the dust and get back to work. I've found a new agent that I'm really excited about. I finally get to really unpack. We're ready to get to work on Jason's ETSY shop for the holidays and get me prepared for a few big auditions that are coming up.

All good things to come home to and look forward to.

But I wish we were going to be in Europe a week longer!

So - Ciao, Europe! You've been lovely! I'll see you next time!

Sometimes it rains

... and sometimes it pours. It's been raining in Barcelona for two days. In that time we've barely left our hotel room because first Jason got sick and then I quickly followed. We're not sure if it was the stomach flu or food poisoning, but combined with jet lag it hit both of us pretty hard.

Everything happens for a reason so maybe this was to get us to slow down and rest before the next two and a half weeks of our trip. I'm going to be positive about it and take it as a gift of much needed rest. Besides, touring in the rain can be pretty miserable anyhow! And this city is so spectacular when the sun is out!

Now that we're on the mend we'll slowly see what we can this morning and then head for our cruise ship around noon.

The people of Barcelona have a been so kind to us while we were sick. At our hotel and at restaurants - feeding me not only gluten free food but gluten free sick food - broth and rice. Things that weren't on their menu.

I love this city - it's one of my absolute favorites and I hope that next time we
Come back we'll be able to explore.

So - adios Barcelona! Tomorrow? Provence!