Meet Blueberry!

This here's my niece. Her name right now is Blueberry, coined by yours truly, because when my sis told me she was pregnant, the little one was blueberry-sized. And that's tiny. But here's how big she is now:



I'm planning on being that aunt: the one who has candy and kleenex in her purse, who throws tea parties and does makeovers, and who whisks Bluebs away for a weekend NYC adventure here and there (assuming Mama says yes). It's tricky, this whole "I-live-on-the-east-coast-and-my-family-lives-on-the-west-coast" thing, but I see people make it work all the time, and I am so excited to do all I can to be there for Bluebs and for my sis & bro-in-law.

IS THIS THE MOST GORGEOUS BABY YOU'VE EVER SEEN?!

xoxo

New Yearsies

So, can I just say that the big 2009-2010 switcharoo was probably my favorite New Year's celebration ever? First of all, I was reunited with my Bestie after the China debacle, and a good time always ensues when Bestos are together. Secondly, we were in Santa Monica, which is such a cool town you can't help but feel the love. Thirdly, we went to a swingin' (yet oddly chill) party at a hip restaurant, which was the perfect place to be. And bringing up the rear is my adorable guy, who always makes me feel like the belle of the ball.

So we drove to SaMo, hung out on the pier for a bit, pre-partied, partied, and slept. The next day we woke up and spent the morning on the beach taking photos of the surfers, the babies playing, and each other, and the weather was flip-flop-flabulous. (Huh?) Then we met back up with Besto and her folks, after a gorgeous drive up the coast and through the canyons. Brunch was Mexican food, and then we hit the road to chill out in Downtown Disney. Follow that up with two days in the parks, sprinkle in a sister and a brother in law (and some fun friends), and that, friends, is the best that a girl could ask for.

Happy New Year to all!



xoxo

Taking stock again.

And now that I think about it, we're closing out a whole decade! Intense. So the first 10 years of this millenium have treated me pretty well. Here's what I did:

-graduated college
-got a teaching credential
-got an awesome teaching job and taught the best students in the world
-traveled to Canada, France, Brazil, China, and Japan
-moved to NYC
-worked as an actor for 2 solid years (so far!)
-finally closed the chapter of my life revolving around a certain few toxic people
-toured the US twice
-worked as a dancer in a Disneyland parade
-bought a home
-met some amazing people
-fell in love and out of love and then in love and then out of love again and then in love and stayed there :)


xoxo

Taking Stock

There will probably be a few of these posts as the year draws to a close. It's interesting -- when I was teaching, I always did my reflecting and taking stock in the summer time; for so long, my "year" was from September to June. But in this world, I roll with everyone else, and so I've been looking back on 2009 and trying to fathom how in the world all of it actually happened.

All in all, I would call 2009 pretty intense. I'm so thankful to have worked so steadily -- 8 months on Dora and 3 months in China only leaves a few weeks when I wasn't gainfully employed as a working actor, and to me, that's pretty amazing. When you come down to it, I had good jobs, whether or not they're where I see myself eventually ending up. I spent 8 months away from Ryan on Dora, but then got to travel to China with him, so you do the math on that one. I'm hoping that next year brings us a little more work together and a little less distance. I started out 2009 with a looooong case of mono, which was immediately followed by being diagnosed with plantar fasciitis and bone spurs in my heels. But after months of icing and taping and wearing orthotics, my feet are getting back into fighting shape, and I can actually dance again.

I hiked the Great Wall, did more morning show interviews than I can count, had a phone conversation with a Real Housewife, was pushed up a hill by a schoolbus, went to Disneyland in Tokyo, ate the best french toast in the world, headlined at Radio City Music Hall for 90 minutes of my life, fought for what I knew was right and won, found out I'm going to be an aunt, worked as hard as I could, and learned a whole bunch -- about myself and about the world around me.

I'm giving 2009 a big ol' thumbs-up.

xoxo

Home Sweet Home.

After quite a journey, Ryan and I are outta China and in my hometown, recovering from our crazy experiences! We flew from Shanghai to Japan, and from Japan to San Francisco. It's pretty unreal, the way you can start a day on one side of the world and finish it on another. Because of the way the time changes on the way back, we actually landed in SF before we took off from China. So we lived Friday twice. Bonus.

All in all, China is a pretty crazy joint. I'm so glad to have experienced it, and I enjoyed so much about it -- it's unlike any place I've ever been. It's just unfortunate that our involvement with such a bunk company really colored our experience there; it's hard to look past getting screwed time and time again, and try to appreciate the virtues of the hometown of the people that are doing the screwing. In any case, I'm better, smarter, and stronger after having survived through it all, so I'm thankful for that.

Yesterday, Ryan and I went out to my folk's house again, this time to show him around the farm and just hang out with my dad a little bit. I always love being out in the country, and I always forget how much I miss it. I showed Ryan the yard and animals, and Dad took us on a ride through the orchards. It was a beautiful day!



America rocks.

xoxo

Why, I Oughta...

So it's my own stupid fault, but my wallet got stolen today. Like a big dumb jerk, I wore a small backpack to the cheap market in Shanghai, and left my wallet inside. And like a big dumb jerk, I didn't feel it when some sneaky, despicable little thief unzipped it and took my wallet out while it was still on my back. And like a big dumb jerk, I didn't realize it had happened until we got into a cab to go home.

I'm mostly upset with myself, because I had even thought, before leaving the hotel, that it probably wouldn't be a good idea to have my wallet on my back, especially at such a busy, un-trustworthy place. Lesson learned, friends. If there's ever a place to learn not to trust people, it's Shanghai.

But at the same time, mistake on my part or not, it's NOT OKAY to steal things. And until it happens to you, you forget what a total violation it is. It's a horrible, sinking feeling, to know that you are a target, and that someone took something from you with malicious intent.

It's gross. GROSS, SHANGHAI!

xoxo
c.

Pluses.

Yikes! So my darling friend Patty O brought to my attention that according to my blogs, it seems as though I haven't enjoyed China whatsoever. I'm so bummed with myself for only posting negative things on here! I guess this is just where I go to vent, and I don't realize that it all adds up to seem like I'm not having a good time. So here's a list of all of the amazing things that I've loved about the last couple of months.

-being in a place with such a rich, ancient history
-meeting new people and making cross-cultural relationships work, despite a lack of complete knowledge of each others' language
-our darling, sweet dressers and costumers
-Leon, my front desk buddy who has a secret Chinese crush on me
-the cool, crazy architecture with lots of shingles and peaked eaves
-how everything has a meaning and a purpose, beyond just being nice to look at
-how cheap everything is :)
-realizing, in the rehearsal process, that I'm better at my job than I give myself credit for
-having the opportunity to experience history, namely in Beijing: Great Wall, Tiananmen Square, and so on
-the fact that price is often up to interpretation -- I love haggling
-a good plate of legit Shanghai fried rice
-living in a huge downtown high rise, one block from a nice big theatre, where I work!
-the adventure of planning days and excursions to see something completely new
-experiencing a culture that is completely the opposite of everything I know, and how that has opened my eyes

Thanks, China.
xoxo