It's Been a While!

Hi everyone! Sorry it's been so long since I've blogged...I have been very very busy! Honestly, I feel like I'm spread a little thin these days, but things should slow down some after June. On top of all of that, my camera is broken, so I don't have any pictures to share! Mom let me use her camera for a while, but I don't have the battery charger so it's dead and therefore useless. 

It's a beautiful Sunday afternoon here, but this morning it wasn't quite the case. We're getting in to what's known as the "June Gloom." The mornings are usually pretty cloudy and then by the afternoon things clear up. I guess since I've been so busy I'm a little glad the weather is bad...then no one else gets to enjoy it either! Haha I'm not really that selfish...but then again it is a little of a consolation. 

Yesterday was spent in Hollywood at the Second City which is the highlight of my week. We are really developing as a group and getting in to more complicated classes. Instead of just having fun, we are working on developing emotions and following rules that we weren't following before. We focus a lot on the first 90 seconds of a scene which is really the hardest part of a scene. In the first 90 seconds, the exposition needs to be completely developed -- the who, what, when, where, why and relationships should all be clearly defined, so then you can spend the rest of the scene having fun! We are also learning how to create the "moment of truth" in a scene. In the middle of a scene, the attitude should completely change...or else there is nothing to watch! It's a lot to learn, but we're all picking up on it! 

I just got home from work and I think Jennifer and I may go to the beach for a little bit. I would love to take a nap, but I think I may just sleep on the beach so I can work on my tan! 

I have a little trick to share for you when life gets really busy. I always hate the feeling at the end of the day when there's still so many things left on my to-do list, so a teacher I had in college taught me to make an "I did" list of 10 accomplishments you made that day instead of focusing on what you didn't do. It can be any little thing! Today hasn't been too busy so I'll do my 10 things list from Friday:

1) I did a load of laundry

2) I did the dishes

3) I made my bed

4) I cleaned my bathroom

5) I returned some DVD's

6) I worked 

7) I cleaned out my car

8) I worked out

9) I lifted weights

10) I picked up my room

So there you have it! Some things may not be a huge accomplishment, but at least you're focusing on the positive things you did that day instead of stressing out about what you didn't do. Have a great afternoon!!

-Emily

Getting Ready for Swimsuit Season?

Okay so I'm not really attempting to diet, but I always have my eye out for healthy options and I just have to talk about my love for COOL WHIP FREE! It's fat free and only 15 calories per serving and tastes great. Granted, one of its ingredients is high-fructose corn syrup which many people try to avoid. However, anything else unhealthy you'd eat in its place probably also contains HFCS. If you're looking for a quick snack, just dip some strawberries, pineapple, or any fruit you love into the Cool Whip and instantly you feel like you must be cheating! It also tastes great to put a scoop of it over a sugar-free Jell-O chocolate and vanilla pudding pack. You can even freeze it and eat it like ice cream! Be careful though, a serving size is only 2 tbsp...so don't go nuts!! 

Anywho, I know my blog has nothing to do with food or dieting in general, but I just had to share! Happy snacking!

My First Show & an Exciting Encounter!

I can't believe I haven't had time to blog about this yet, but two Saturdays ago was my first improv show! It all started out as a kind of joke, I mentioned to our teacher that when I was in dance, we put on a recital at the end of the term...so why could we not do that with improv?! The next week he came back and said that Second City had allowed us 30 minutes on the mainstage! This may not seem like a big deal, but we were the first group of students that aren't in the conservatory to get the opportunity to do this! Needless to say, we felt pretty special. We picked out six games to perform and who all would be in them and ran them like a show would be run with our teacher, George, explaining each game before we did them. The show was free and we were all encouraged to invite our friends and family. Obviously I had no family there, but my friends Jocelyn, Mark, and Natalie came so I was very excited they were there! It went over very well with the audience so there's high hopes for our little improv group. We call ourselves "Hell Toupee"...not for any particular reason! It was a perfect ending to our Level C term. I began Level D this past Saturday and after I complete Level E I will be able to audition for the conservatory and begin doing shows on a weekly basis if I make it!

As for my exciting encounter...most of you know I intern at a talent agency a few days a week. One of our clients is Lorna Luft, Judy Garland's daughter and Liza Minelli's sister. I got a call the other day from her and she said she was going to be in the office in about an hour! I was so excited to meet her, and even a bit nervous! She stayed around and chatted for about two hours and was absolutely hilarious. I could've listened to her talk for another two days. The whole time all that was going through my head was "Oh my gosh..your mom was Judy Garland. Your mom was Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. Oh my gosh!" I bet she thought I looked a little crazy, but she was very friendly and a total diva (But in a good way!). She had just wrapped a show in London that she had been doing since January and was back in America looking for new projects. I thought it was so funny because she has a son who's trying to furnish an apartment and she kept asking if I knew where cheap couches were..she's surprisingly normal for the crazy life she's had! 

I don't have any pictures or video from the show yet, but I do have a short little video of us in the green room waiting for the show to start. For some reason, I can't upload the video right now so I'll try again this evening. Have a great afternoon!

-emily

"The Vegas"

For some reason, 2009 has turned out to be the year of "The Vegas." Since January, I have been to Las Vegas three times. It's a little ridiculous, but there was always justification for going, of course! The first trip I made this year was with my friends Jocelyn, Natalie, and Holly. Jocelyn is from Tulsa, OK and we knew each other through a mutual friend. She got in touch with me via the facebook and it's been really nice to have another southern friend out in LA. Natalie and Holly are also from Tulsa, however, we didn't know Natalie until we got to Los Angeles. Holly currently lives in Tulsa, but lived in LA to go to school at FIDM. 

From left to right: Me, Holly, Jocelyn and Natalie. In total it only cost us $80 to stay there, and then I won $200 at the craps tables...Success!

My second trip to Vegas came about when my room-mate Jennifer had a trip planned to meet her best friends from high school. I wasn't planning on going, but it was going to be Easter weekend and I really didn't want to be alone! We went with her friends Lauren and Amanda. Amanda lives in LA as well, so the three of us drove down on Friday morning and met Lauren who flew in from Washington, D.C. I was the only one who had ever been before so I was the official "tour guide" of the weekend. We stayed at Planet Hollywood and it was really nice! Jennifer and I also met one of our favorite "celebrities!" For any of you who watch Chelsea Lately, we met Chuey, her assistant. They film Chelsea Lately in Santa Monica, so Chuey gave us his card and said to call him any time we want to come to a taping. I'll probably take him up on that!

Okay so the third trip to Vegas was two weeks after this trip, and I went to meet Mom and Dad since they had won a trip there. Jennifer went with me too and we stayed at the Venetian. I had never stayed there before and it was so nice! We didn't get in until late Friday night because Jennifer had an acting class, so Friday wasn't too eventful. On Saturday, we got up and had breakfast, then dad went to the Motorcross races. (Or whatever they were, I'm not really sure!) Jennifer and I went to the pool for about an hour and FRIED! Then mom, Jennifer, and I just went walking around Vegas. We ate at Cut by Wolfgang Puck that night and the meal was amaaazing. You'll have to ask mom about her 3-year-old Japanese cow that she ate. We also went to see David Spade who happens to be one of my favorite comedians. He was hilarious! I would love to write a stand-up show and get to do what he does every night. On Sunday, mom and dad had to leave to catch a flight, so I dragged Jennifer to the Titanic exhibit at the Luxor. I had seen a Titanic exhibit before, but this one was a little different. In the beginning you get a ticket of a passenger and in the end see if you lived or died. I was a woman in first class so I was just sure I would survive, but I didn't. I got a little teary-eyed at one point when they had people's personal belongings and their story of why they were on the ship. Sometimes you forget that those people were real and they were mothers, fathers, children, and friends. 

So the best part of that trip would definitely be the trip home. For some reason, the traffic coming back from Vegas was three lanes, bumper-to-bumper, not moving. I could hardly keep my eyes open, so we pulled over in Primm, Nevada to rest. Since the traffic wasn't going anywhere, Jennifer called to see about how much a hotel room would be. $19.95 a night! Gosh that is CHEAP! We figured we'd just buy a room and wait until about 9pm to start driving again. If you've ever seen Primm, it's like a mini-Vegas. There's three cheesy hotels with casinos and an outlet mall. It's Redneck heaven. We checked in to Buffalo Bill's "resort" only expecting to stay for a few hours. There was a man in the elevator who brought his own cooler to the casino. Another man was walking down the hall carrying a "tallboy" and passing gas very loudly. I hope you have some kind of mental picture of this place. We ended up staying there until the next morning around 5am and drove back to LA. I don't think I've ever been happier to leave a hotel in my life. To go from the Venetian to Buffalo Bill's is quite a culture shock! If you ever get the chance to visit Primm, Nevada...don't. As for Vegas, I think I'm all Vegas'd out for a while!!

Weekend Update

Hi Everyone! I've actually already been to sleep tonight, but I woke up and now I can't go back to sleep so I figured I'd blog. I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend! Since I couldn't be home, mom sent me a really cute Easter basket that I've been nibbling on the past few days...

I would update more, but I am exhausted and need to get some sleep! I started training at my new job on Monday, worked at the agency today, and am training again tomorrow during the morning shift. I am really enjoying it so far and can't wait until I am done training and working on my own! Good night!!

-Emily

When Things Start to Rock, Be Ready to Roll!!

So the title of my blog is from a sign I read today - you know those signs that they hang on light posts to promote something and they're on about every other one? April is Earthquake preparedness month in Los Angeles and after the tragedy in Italy I am determined to get prepared! I started yesterday by buying a flashlight pack with one big flashlight and another small one to go in my night stand. I also remember Carol advising me to put some shoes under the bed in case an earthquake strikes at night and there's glass on the floor. I've just got a few more things to get so I can be ready for what everyone calls "The Big One!" I'm not too worried, Los Angeles is the most prepared city in the United States for an earthquake when really they could happen anywhere. So maybe everyone reading this should prepare for an earthquake, you know, just in case! :)

I saw that Amy broke the news on her blog that she's expecting!! I wasn't going to say anything until she did. I can't believe there's going to be another baby in the family soon but I'm very excited! Being an aunt is the best because you don't have to go through the hard part of having a child, but you get to enjoy it very much. Sorry Amy that you haven't been able to experience that...and you probably won't for quite a while!! I've got my fingers crossed for a little girl!!

Besides that, today has been a very productive day. I got a new job that I'm very very excited about. It's a serving position at Cabo Cantina on the Venice Beach Boardwalk. It's a very fun environment and the restaurant is very popular so I'll be able to make good money! The beach cafe in Hermosa just isn't going to pay the bills, but I'll continue to work there if they need me to. Obviously I still have my internship at the talent agency as well and I really enjoy it! I couldn't have asked for better bosses. 

I've also been doing some spring cleaning and trying to get our apartment put together. We still are missing a few things that we need for the house, but I got some chairs for our balcony yesterday. We also got cute little rope lights that wrap around the balcony so it's just perfect in time for the warm weather! If we had a hammock, I would sleep out there. It's really peaceful and quiet at night. I don't have a lot of other news...I just got some sushi and a movie from Red Box so that's going to be my night! If you've never used a Red Box, you should...it's great! You rent the movie for $1 plus tax and then return it by 9pm the next day. For every day you don't return it, you get $1 fine, but after 25 days, they quit charging you and the DVD is yours to keep. That's a pretty good deal for people who are bad at returning things *cough* MOM! I remember we could never rent movies from Hastings because we had too many fines! haha! Have a good night!

A Trip Home and Santa Monica in the Spring Time!

Hey everyone! Sorry it's been a while since I've updated, but it's been a busy couple of weeks. This is going to be a long post! I got the chance to go home for a visit the 25th through the 30th and it was a great trip!  I flew out of Los Angeles at 6:00am on Wednesday morning, and for those of you who know me at all, know that I can't get up in the morning even if you set a fire in my bed so I decided the best thing to do would be to stay up until I had to leave for the airport at 4. All was going well, Jennifer and I went out to eat in West Hollywood and went out for a little while, then I came home, showered, packed and we headed to the airport. I made it to Dallas on time but missed my connecting flight because of a delay out of LA. They couldn't get me out of Dallas until 4:45 and at this point, the lack of sleep is starting to get to me. I couldn't possibly get comfortable at the gate, so I ate at Chili's (alone of course) and then found one of those massage chairs that costs $5 for 15 minutes so I could recline and get some silence with their over-sized probably lice covered headphones. I don't care, it was worth it. I finally got home and fell asleep watching DWTS. (or American Idol I can't remember!) The next day I got some things done in Conway. Mere cooked me an amazing lunch of meatballs and mashed potatoes, my FAVORITE! Mere, if you could send me that recipe I would be forever grateful! I also saw Brad and got a cavity filled. :( That night Mom, Sarah Clark, Sharon Clark and I went out to eat at Michaelangelo's. (Disclaimer: I don't know how to rotate pictures yet, so some are crooked...I need some help with this!)

I realize that this picture does no one justice, but it was the only one I had...oh except for the one of Sarah's mess, which is actually pretty impressive...so I'll post that one too!

Sarah - you're 23. That's all I have to say about that. Haha! We definitely ate WAY too much!

On Friday I drove up to Fayetteville in the morning because I had a facial appointment. My skin has been crazy since moving to California and trying to get used to the water here. After that, I went to Amy's house and tried to help out as best as I could because she was getting ready for her Church group to come over and was behind. She mostly just needed someone to keep Andrew under control and I was glad to help because I haven't seen him since Christmas! He has grown up so much! He showed me how much he loves to clean and has gotten very good at calling Allie. (or Awwie as he would say!)

Here he is showing me how he can clean and also drink out of his grown-up sippy cup! (He's also wearing the shirt I got him for Christmas, Yay!)  That night I got to go to dinner with my friends Nicole, Erin and Catherine at Theo's and enjoy a night out in Fayetteville with my friends that I never get to see! Sometimes I really miss Fayetteville, but then I remember that it's not the same town I am used to. My friends have moved elsewhere and my friend Nicole is in law school and is consumed with that! We got to go to my favorite bar, Grub's, and watch my favorite band, Boom Kinetic, which is an 80's cover band! (Formerly Molten Lava) I was so excited they were playing at Grub's that weekend, but it was definitely different from when we used to go in college! Still fun, nonetheless.

I love this picture of Erin and me. I guess because we look so excited...we were!! The next day Erin and I were supposed to go to a wedding in Tulsa for one of my good friends, Katy McClish. We woke up to a snowstorm and were told that there were 8 inches of snow in Tulsa, so we couldn't make the trip. We spent the day being lazy, then went to eat at one of my favorite Fayetteville restaurants - La Huerta. We also got the chance to spend another night having fun in Fayetteville. 

Here's the four of us at Z330, from left to right is Erin, Catherine, me and Nicole! I'm wearing the awesome shirt I bought in the LA airport...it says "The Governator" and has a picture of 'Ahhnold' on it! I love it! The next morning, I drove back to Conway to see Carol and Jenny and also for Thomas' birthday! I was so glad that all of the family got to come by and I got to see everyone again before I left the next morning. I think Thomas had a pretty good birthday, too! On Monday I got up, packed, and dad drove me to the airport for my flight back. I was sad to leave, but I have a lot to do here so it was time to get back! When I arrived it was Spring Time in Santa Monica! I also came home to a steady leak in my tire so I took it to get repaired and while walking home I took some pictures of the scenery.

This is actually someone's grass...Those may be weeds, but they are so cute!

This is the Miles Playhouse which was opened in 1929...it's famous. 

This is the Santa Monica Catholic Church. It's also famous - for Tom Brady's secret wedding to Giselle about a month ago. It's gorgeous!

This guy isn't famous, but I was getting a kick out of watching this squirrel in my neighbor's drain pipe. He was just sitting there keepin' watch! (I took the picture through the window so pardon the screen!) So the final part of this epic blog post: on Sunday, it was warm enough to go lay out on the beach, so Jennifer and I walked down there. She told me about a place called Paradise Cove in Malibu, so we decided to go there for dinner. It was so neat! It was right on the beach and the tables were in the sand. The calamari was amazing but the entrees were nothing to write home about. The highlight of the night was getting to see one of our favorite actors - John Krasinski, who plays Jim on "The Office." He was also there with his girlfriend, Emily Blunt, who is most known for playing Emily on "The Devil Wears Prada." I couldn't stop staring, but luckily I don't think I got caught!

Here's Jennifer being awkward..but you get the idea of the restaurant! I felt like I was on vacation!

I didn't manage to get a pic of myself, so here's my feet in the sand. I know I have ugly feet, but my toes are cool, right? Purple is where it's at. 

So pat yourself on the back because you've made it through the longest blog post of the century, but now you're up to speed. Next time I'll try not to wait so long before I post again! Who knows? Maybe I'll even post tomorrow!