Renaissance Girl

I love so much--these past two weeks (I missed TiLT last Thursday) I have felt a lot of gratitude for a lot of things, places, people--I like that space. It's a good space to be in. So: love all the things!

* Travelling - basically last week's entire TiLT, if there had been one, would fall under this category. And--last Thursday I was in fact visiting Leeann--who was the person through whom I found out about Things I Love Thursdays in the very first place--so this is somewhat of a special one, in that aspect if nothing else. Hi Leeann! :) 

Travelling this time means Chicago and Detroit-- it means staying with my poncho boys, deep dish pizza, gorgeous theater, standing in those terrifyingly amazing glass boxes at the top of the Sears tower with Patrick, taking silly photos, playing board games, getting drenched by midwest rain. It means watching the scenery change as I bussed along the highway to Detroit. It means seeing Leeann again after three years (!) and realizing we've known each other for eight (!!). It means biking to urban farms and feeding chickens and goats and ducks and climbing into haylofts and finding chicken eggs and then eating them for breakfast. It means hot and humid air, biking through gorgeous old neighborhoods and ogling incredible houses, eating so much delicious food (Leeann: "We could go to... oh, there aren't enough mealtimes.") and visiting a beautiful chaotic bookstore with amazing signage and cooling off in the breeze by the windows with Lu and Bonnie. It means meeting couchsurfers from England who made tasty curry, baking cookies, sitting on porches with lovely people as a proper actual thunderstorm rolls across the city and flushes out the heat. It means museums and libraries, a rambunctious and adorable three year old, community dinners. It means for a brief moment learning my way around a tiny piece of one neighborhood of a new city. 

* Home - the other side of travelling, coming home. And I love my home, oh Seattle, you gorgeous beauty of a place, and my little apartment that I have such a real-estate-crush on. And seeing my gentleman again (two weeks, too long) do I ever love that! And gosh, my bed feels foreign and so fantastic after two weeks of couches. And the sun, oh glory, Seattle spring is here and I love sun sun SUN. 

*&etc: [I feel like I could go on forever] fancy dinner with Nicole (rich rabbit ravioli, lux cheese plate, to-die-for dessert, hilarious conversation, mooning over the guitar player); wearing short-shorts with cowboy boots and a sweater (my preferred spring outfit); the opera, particularly that ten-minute orchestral section with some of the most gorgeous light cues in the history of lights; finding new good words to live by; babysitting A. today (made and destroyed lots of trains, read lots of books, sat in the sun); sleeping with the windows open; the sweet barista at my local coffeehouse; wandering the Sunday market with the gentleman (dates that are entire days? spoiled, we're spoiled); popsicles; Science News; sending letters through the post. 

What do you love?

Happy Friday! So obviously that means it's time for Things-I-Love-Thursday, since I'm often late on these. Ah well!  April is looking up, ladies & gents, I tell you it is.

* Rehearsing magic shows-- disappearing into boxes never gets old, people, never, this stuff is so freaking fun. (If you're in Seattle, come see my show! Tomorrow night, Auburn Performing Arts Center.)

* Preparing for travel -- I'm getting so excited for this trip! I'm making plans with Leeann ("MOST IMPORTANTLY, what do you want to EAT?" God yes), I'm talking through last-minute ideas & getting wedding-excited with Elsa, I'm looking forward to Chicago, I'm planning what to pack and organizing lists, I'm just really freaking ready for this and so happy to be going. 

* etc: This TEDxCMU talk by Gala Darling * giving a solid audition for an intimidating woman (acting club, thank you for everything, every time) * re-organizing my music in itunes, finally * radiolab podcasts on my ipod! * seeing good theater * comfy sweaters * excellent meetings with really organized people * asking for what i want--and getting it. proud of myself for that.

What do you love?

Holy cats, what a week. What a month. Oy. Righto, on to the positive--things I love! That make me happy! Good things!

* crackers and cheese & guacamole * being a magician's assistant, going into boxes, disappearing, coming back out of boxes * the auction was a success! *sunlight in the morning * elsa comes to visit this weekend! * comfy trousers and slouchy sweatshirts  * getting to sleep in * being surprisingly happy with my body the way it is * yellow car! i am totally winning * to-do lists & how helpful they are * running into old friends in my new neighborhood and finding out they live a block away from me * finding things i thought were lost. that will save me money for finding them! * ferries at night * day-dreaming about summer plans * being able to open my window at night for fresh air, mmm springtime * getting to see my gentleman for the first time in an entire week, even if it was mostly all at tech rehearsal * 

what do you love?

Things I Love this week:

* YOGA oh holy cats I missed yoga so much. I've spent a lot of this winter hibernating and being vaguely ill and not exercising very much at all, and going to yoga last night was pretty much the most amazing feeling. My shoulders hurt a lot today & I'm stiff in that really awesome I-worked-out-well way. SO GOOD. 

* Acting Club! Tuesday evening I finally went to acting club, which is essentially hanging out with other awesome theater people and working on monologues for auditions, getting excellent feedback, and doing them over and over in a safe place to play. I still have some playing to do with them before Saturday (Wooden O audition), but I already feel so much more prepared. Therefore also: SO GOOD.

* Socializing - I did pretty well this week with actually seeing people I adore, which is always good for me since I am usually both busy and a homebody. I saw theater made by lovely people & I met up with friends & had another actual date (yes really, I'm impressed too) & still managed to give myself the right amount of downtime by myself. Also good! & tonight--game night! So excited!

*& etc: introducing new people to Zoeyogurt froyo (the best); late night crisis talks with Patrick via email; catching up on Castle; magic show rehearsal (did I mention I'm now a magician's assistant? yeah, I know all the secrets!); BLT sandwiches for lunch; scones and tea; it's MARCH!!

what do you love?

Things I love this week... 

* I'm back at ACT! Ramayana text workshops this time--and I have a shiny new laptop that's all for me, for making script changes and tracking drafts & oh yowza, I'm a big dramaturgical literary nerd, yes thank you very much. It feels so wonderful to be back there, though (especially since for this workshop I feel particularly useful). I missed that place. (Also my ACT Pass is still valid! Wicked awesome.)

* Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead. Last weekend this weekend! Beautiful cast, beautiful show, beautiful language, augh, I love what I do, etc & so forth. I will do my best to not become sloppily sentimental, but I do love it. I've also had ridiculous amounts of fun working on Ophelia, and honestly doing character & background work that is highly disproportionate to the actual amount of time she spends onstage in this show, but why not? It's there, and it's awesome. 

* &etc: sorting out organizational messes & succeeding; the frankly ridiculous number of books I have borrowed or waiting for me at the library; sweet text messages; packages in the mail; hanging pictures on my wall (finally!); planning outings; kale. Always kale. 

What do you love?

Happy Imbolc, for those that celebrate it! Or Candlemas if you prefer, or Groundhog Day if that's your shindig, I'm not fussed. It's just about halfway between winter solstice and spring equinox, so that's worth a bit of a celebration I'd say.

Things I Love this week:

*Sunshine! (It's been clear and bright and so so sunny in the mornings--the other day when I woke up I was so warm and the sun was so bright I had a strange mental disconnect and thought it was summer for a few minutes before I was fully awake.) Walking around the lake in the sunlight (even if it's still chilly) is so excellent.

* Fresh thinking/self-love/mission and vision statements... I started reading Gala Darling's website again (February is radical self love month!) and that, combined with my recent restlessness, got me all inspired to really start thinking about myself and what I want and what my plans are. And to clean out my blog reader and organize things. Maybe it's spring, too, but it all comes together in a good way. 

* &etc: acorn squash mac & cheese, new favorite recipe // kale chips oh god I will never get tired of you // allowing myself to be lazy // haircuts that take just an inch off and somehow make it a million times better // comfy cardigans // brilliantly edited fan-videos // water water water // cuddles // silly jokes // you.

What do you love?

Things I love… to forget about doing! That, and because I wasn’t at a computer yesterday (which was awesome).

* The Muppets Movie. Oh my god. It’s physically impossible not to be happy while watching the Muppets. Impossible. Life’s a fillet o fish… yes, it is!  (Plus, it was roommate-date time with Patrick, and there were about seven other people in the theater besides ourselves, and we had the balcony of the Cinerama all to ourselves. Best way to watch a movie, ever. I’m going to hit up Thursday matinees more often.)

*Finishing NaNoWriMo! I did it! All right, it’s 50k+ words of disaster, but there are some parts of it worth salvaging. Eventually. At the moment I think I won’t look at it for several months, but I’m still happy for getting to the goal and putting words on a page. Third year! I’m like a junior in Nano. 

*Elfing. Tonight is Figgy Pudding—if you’re in Seattle, come downtown and find us on the corner of 5th and Pine. In more general terms, I love: hanging out with lovely ladies, singing & dancing and being silly, drinking hot cocoa, walking around the city in striped tights and boots that make noise, jinglebells. 

*& etc: Excellent orchestral music, twinkle lights, looking forward to holiday parties, zingers for justice, gingerbread cookies, Once Upon A Time and Castle, my red coat.

What do you love?