Pet Peeve #2 and update from the Sunshine State

Hmm... I just received an email filled with a bazillion grammatical errors at my work address from a senior person at one of my production houses. Hello? Shouldn't they proofread emails or something? Is it mean if I send back this very helpful key?

They+ are= They're

You+are= You're

Their is to be used solely when referring to someone's possesions/qualities/circumstances, etc., i.e. THEIR dog, their shoe

Your is also used only when referring to someone's posessions/qualities/circumstances, etc.,

i.e. YOUR dog, your shoe

Helpful, no?

Well, Florida is great. I am loving the 80 degree weather and spending tons of time with grandma... though since she doesn't speak English, all we can ever watch on TV is novelas, which are not high quality entertainment. I am excited for the rest of our visitors to arrive. It's going to be a crazy Christmas this year, but it will be a nice change from the usual pattern.

PS. Pet peeve #1- Dirty anything, but especially dirty dishes.

It's Christmas time in the City...

Well, kids. I am finally done Christmas shopping... and what a relief that is. New York City is crazy right now. I am almost all ready to go and join my family for Christmas. This year will be extra special because my grandma will be joining us (after fighting for her visa for weeks). Also, my mom's cousin and my aunt's family will be spending the holidays in our tiny little condo.

Here are some pictures of NYC at Christmas...

All right, so this one is not Christmas related...but have you ever been to a McDonalds that has bouncers? Because I have...

With Ace Young from Grease/American Idol. He totally stole the show, because he isn't the lead, but he is fabulous. Let's talk about the ridiculous women who were SCREAMING (not cheering), SCREAMING any time he sang anything. They were like 13 year-old girls at a Jonas Brothers concert.

A few of us at the Broadway in South Africa Holiday Benefit. Such a great cause! The party was held in the lobby of the Minskoff Theater which overlooks Times Square.

After the benefit, a few of us headed over to Frankie James Grande's apartment... He lives at the Ritz Plaza and has an amazing apartment. Frankie is currently a member of the Mamma Mia Cast. Adam Kantor (Rent), Tracy McDowell (Rent), Nina Larfarga (In the Heights), and Sean Bradford (Lion King) were there as well. That was quite exciting, especially for a lot of the aspiring actors like Patrick (pictured above). This is a horrible photo, but it shows the amazing view from Frankie's apartment.

The following morning, I stayed home from work and woke up to HUGE snowflakes! I am on the phone, bragging to my mom who had called me the day before to brag about perfect beach weather.

The outside of Saks

Me with half of the tree

The white specs in all of these pictures is snow! How perfect!

Roommate Christmas... Everyone showing off their gifts.

Exciting Stuff

This January 9th, it's just Meg and I at her publicity event at the New York Public Library. How excited am I to meet my favorite author? Way, way excited. Meg Cabot is the author of The Princess Diaries series (which I have actually never read), Heather Wells series, Queen of Babble series, Boy Next Door, Boy Meets Girl, and the Allie Finkle series.

And there are totally going to be Vera Wang gift baskets and I think she is also giving away designer tiaras to celebrate the release of the last Princess Diaries book. Maybe I'll win one... though, I don't know what I would do with it. Plus, some of them are not cute. Not even a little bit. (i.e. Lauren Conrad's tiara=ug)

More later!

Love,


~Nina~

PS. Sunny Florida is only a week away!

I'm bored. Don't judge.

Miss Allison Kalman requested 16 facts about me...things she does not know about me, so here they are:


1. When I was little, I wanted to be a dentist… mostly because my dad is a dentist. Then, I wanted to be a paleontologist, and then a marine biologist… and somehow, I ended up in advertising.

2. Even though I love the ocean, I hate swimming in it at night. Hello? There could be sharks in the water! I know because I have seen them.

3. When I was little, I really liked eating fish. Now, you can’t pay me enough to eat it.

4. When I was in first grade, I told my music teacher that I knew how to play the piano, which was totally a lie... Only, he didn’t know it was, so he asked me to play a song for the class and I went up there and started hitting keys. I’m sure it sounded terrible… but my classmates liked it!

5. I took AP studio art in high school and actually passed the test. Very few people did!

6. I can quote the entire Babysitter’s Club movie. Ok…maybe not the whole thing, but a lot of it.

7. I once actually really hated musicals. RENT was the turning point.

8. I used to be a baton twirler but I am pretty sure I can’t do any of that now.

9. My sister and I were obsessed with figure skating! Only they didn’t have any ice skating rinks in Costa Rica so we roller skated in this park by our house and made up all these routines… We were really good, actually.

10. I was really bored one day and started drawing a bunch of fruit and my mom saw my artistic ability and put me in art classes (when I was 10).

11. I LOVE, love, love books. I read them like they’re going out of style. I also love owning books. I have a really fun collection and I always reread them.

12. When I was four, my family went to a Valentino concert and he did a cover of Lady in Red and they pulled me on the stage while he sang that song to me. I am pretty sure I was SO embarrassed.

13. Wrapping presents is my favorite Christmas activity. For real.

14. I hate competing for attention… If I don't have it, I wont work for it. Probably due to middle child syndrome.

15. I have a really good memory especially as it relates to birthdays and movie quotes.

16. I am an old soul. I should have been born in the 40s. I like the fashion and music way, way better… It totally explains my liking for vintage stuff and finger waves and red lipstick and cute hats. My favorite thing I have is a vintage music/jewelry box.

Noticias de la Hermana Richards

Vanessa is the tall, non-redhead.
If you click on the picture, you will be able to see a larger version.

Just got a letter from Nessa who is finally in Spain! She is still in the MTC there but is learning and progressing quickly. It's so awesome to see the way she has changed since being on a mission. Her testimony is so, so powerful. Honestly. It kind of makes me cry. Which is not hard to do. She is doing well and has a very positive way of thinking which I think will bring her success. She's a natural-born leader and will be a good example to her companions. I would totally post the letter but it is full of personal details and such.

To all my sweet little blog readers who know her and want to send her a message:

You can totally send it to me via email and I will print it and mail it to Spain. I am sure she will appreciate any little notes you may want to send her. (AlinaGutierrez@gmail.com)

I haven't received any more pictures, but I will post them when I do.

Love to all!

~Nina

Erin's Ensign appearance

A girl in my ward wrote this and it was published in this month's Ensign... So good!

An Unexpected Lesson

By Erin Wilson

Erin Wilson, “An Unexpected Lesson,” Ensign, Dec. 2008, 63

After making a career move to New York City, I was out shopping one December evening for items for my new apartment. A storm had recently hit the city, and knee-deep snow lined the streets. I was bundled up in a warm down coat as I made my way to the train with a bustling crowd of holiday shoppers.

I waited impatiently for the train to arrive, thinking about my shopping list. When the train finally arrived, I stepped onto the car, scanning the seats for a place to sit. The nearest seat was directly across from an old homeless man. He had no warm coat or heavy clothing. He just had some plastic bags filled with trinkets.

I did not want to sit near his offensive odor, and his rugged appearance made me wonder if he was dangerous. Mostly, I did not want to be hit up for cash. I abruptly walked to the other end of the car and took a seat. All the other passengers also filed to the end of the car, leaving the man alone.

Soon a young man boarded the train and settled down in the seat directly in front of the homeless man. Without hesitation, the young man extended a welcoming smile, a handshake, and a jolly hello. The man’s face brightened, and they began a pleasant conversation. They talked for the next 15 minutes, enjoying each other’s company.

As I watched, I was reminded of the true spirit of the Christmas season. While deeply engaged in conversation, the young man stood up and removed his vest, shirt, and a second long-sleeve shirt he was wearing underneath. Standing in his undershirt, he then handed the long-sleeve shirt to the homeless man. The old man accepted it graciously, and the two continued their conversation. I stepped off the train at the next stop, touched by the young man’s kindness. I felt guilty for my selfishness, but I had a desire to be a better person.

The King of kings came into the world in the most humble of circumstances, in a lowly stable. The world was given a precious, saving gift—the Son of God. I am grateful for the gift of the Savior in my life and for the reminder of His infinite love and compassion for God’s children. That Christmas season, I felt a renewed desire to be kinder, more selfless, and more like my Savior, Jesus Christ.

~*Believe*~

When I was a junior in college, I took a job as a nanny for the most adorable 4 year-old. During the Christmas season (and even for a few months after), he would have me read him The Polar Express and How the Grinch Stole Christmas at least twice each night. Naturally, I got to know these books really well and can probably recite them by heart.

Anyway, Logan (that's the little boy) also had a huge obsession with both of those movies... (The Polar Express more than The Grinch, since the Polar Express also included trains, his all-time favorite thing). Because of him, I got to really love that movie. I watched it today and it reminded me of how much I loved sharing that Christmas season with Log who really did believe. It makes you think twice about the things that were once so important to us (i.e. Santa).

Every time I see a silver bell now, I think of Logan and how much that bell meant to him. It adds a little bit of cheer to my day knowing that something so simple can add so much magic to someone's life....


If you are unfamiliar with the significance of the silver bell in The Polar Express, click here.

Thanksgiving

This year, Thanksgiving was way more fun than usual. First of all, I got to go to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade... I remember sitting at Karson and Betsy's house last year by myself and thinking that I would be there the next year, no matter what. And I did just that... despite the fact that no one wanted to go wait out the parade with me. I got up at 4AM and hopped on the train down to 72nd Street and got a great spot... The downside was that I got there at like 5:30AM and the parade didn't even start until 9AM. Needless to say, I was freezing the entire time, but it was an experience I had been looking forward to for quite some time. I sat next to these two hillarious ladies from Houston. They kept me entertained.

Kristin Chenowith in the Care Bears float

My personal favorite, which may have been influenced by
He Who Shall Not Be Named in This Blog. He LOVES Kermit.

Second favorite...

Santa bringing in the start of the Christmas season.


**If you want to see any more parade pictures, send me an email and I can send you a link to my Facebook album**

After the parade, I headed over to Valerie Baker's apartment for dinner. She has an amazing apartment that overlooks the Hudson River. There were A LOT of people there, but it turned out to be really fun. Dinner was delicious. Everyone did a really great job at contributing. Sara and I taught people how to make candy turkeys. Eric made some amazing apple pie. Tony kept insisting that the stuffing tasted like it had been cooked by a really good looking person (aka him). Anne entertained us all by bringing Western Beef brand orange soda. We also played Catch Phrase which was even more fun with some of Eric's one-liners.

Sara's Candy turkeys were a big hit...

The view from Val Baker's apartment...

After dinner, I continued with my yearly tradition of going to the movies. I met up with Anna and we saw Twilight, which I hated a little less this time. I kept falling asleep on account of getting up so early; not even Rob Pattinson's good looks kept me awake.

The following day I did nothing. Really. I sat on my floor and watched Gossip Girl until I decided I couldn't sit there any longer. Luckily, Anna saved the day by suggesting that we make dinner and watch a movie at her house. We decided to invite some people over and our little movie night turned out to be a success. Rustin and Jason (and some other people whose names I can't remember) came over and we watched Christmas Story and Kung Fu Panda.

On Saturday, I got an early start... A bunch of us met up at SaraBeth's for Rustin's birthday, which was really fun. I then went shopping.... I know. I never go shopping but I was in desperate need of MAC paint and eyeshadow. The rest of the weekend may or may not have been spent watching lots of Gossip Girl, more movies and choreographing Anna's musical scores.

Tony, Anne, me, Rustin, Anna, and half of Val's face...

The whole group at Rustin's birthday brunch

This is why I don't watch scary movies...

Last night, I was flipping through channels and saw that The Exorcism of Emily Rose was on. Morbid curiosity made me turn to the movie. I watched maybe 5 minutes. That's all it took for me to get freaked out enough to leave the room. And... I had a nightmare about it. Stupid photographic memory....

TWILIGHT!

How excited am I that the little Twilight widget to the right says "00 days?" Very, very excited. And, since I do have a sense of reason, I have decided to wait until tomorrow night with Ash and Karene, rather than watching it tonight at midnight and being dead tired tomorrow. And, if you happen to see it before me... I don't want to know what you thought of it. Hold your thoughts till after I see it. For real.

Believe it or not... I miss BYU

Yes, it's true, kids. I miss BYU. So bad. It's not even funny. The other day, during sacrament meeting the choir sang "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" and I seriously had to try so hard not to cry. I probably heard that song like 30 times during each of my work shifts at the BYU Bookstore, and I worked there for four years, so you can see why that song reminds me of BYU.



And... it doesn't help that the BYU Dancesport Championships were last weekend and I wasn't there and I didn't compete. And then I kept getting phone calls from Kylie and some other girls going "I wish you were here to do my hair and make-up." Believe me... Me too. I miss the ballroom world.

This is a picture of Christina Houston which I may or may not have stolen from her Facebook album... I used to do her hair. She did amazingly well at this comp.

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE living in New York. I love that I have this great opportunity to meet so many great people and experience so many cool things... but sometimes I miss the bubble. But... I know this is where I am supposed to be for now, so all is good.

I'm thankful for...

I found this list in a card that He Who Shall Not be Named in this blog sent me recently... I wrote it but somehow HWSNBNITB had it... but he wanted to give it back, so I am posting it. Some of these are old, and I added a few new ones. And okay, it is super cheesy, especially in light of Thanksgiving, but I remember giving this to HWSNBNITB because he was feeling down, so maybe it will cheer someone else up too.

1. The Gospel (and all it encompasses)

2. My super awesome family (seriously... My mom is like a cool mom, my siblings are hilarious)

3. Chocolate milk, but especially Ovaltine and BYU Creamery chocolate milk

4. Ocean breeze

5. Sunlight

6. Love

7. Respect

8. Freedom of religion

9. Second chances

10. Broadway musicals

11. Kettle corn

12. Scholarships

13. Encouraging smiles

14. Red roses

15. Jamba Juice

16. Babies (have you NOT seen my nephew? He is beautiful)

17. Gilmore Girls (especially Season 4)

18. The ability to dance

19. My talent and love for art

20. Good books

21. The Three Amigas (Nina, Nessa & Kylie)

22. Loyal Friends

23. Clean things

24. Raid (I have lived in many, many places where I used this A LOT)

25. The Hawai'i sky

26. Polihale (Google it)

27. Serendipity... Not the restaurant... I'm talking about the actual thing. (Ask me about my RENT story and how Ashley and I became such quick friends)

28. People who make me laugh

29. People who understand that I despise text messaging and don't bother me about it

30. People who take chances

Amalia Week

OMG... The sister reunion was amazing. My little sister and I are only 1 year and 7 months apart (don't even tell me she looks older than me. I already know) and we grew up sharing a room... so we grew up to be extremely close. Well, I moved away from home almost 6 years ago and not having her around as much has been really hard. But... now that I am living in NYC, she is determined to visit often since we are at least on the same side of the country now.


She decided she would come up for her birthday, so we had a week filled with festivities and sister-bonding time.

She had been here before, but only once and for 3 days during which we saw Times Square, and yeah... that's pretty much all we saw during that trip.


So this trip, I wanted her to experience as much of NYC as she could... We pretty much walked the entire city (IN THE RAIN!). We walked through some areas I knew she would like like Greenwich Village, Chelsea and the Upper West Side... We also went out to eat a lot. We had some amazing Thai food from Chelsea Market and I introduced her to Fat Witch Bakery, Pink Berry and Maoz vegetarian.

We did the museum thing... Which I have to say I probably liked the MoMA more than she did. I am WAY more into art and grew up studying it, so I was basically in heaven. But I think she loved the MET, especially the part where they had rooms that were brought over from Europe. I felt like I was at Versailles... Not that I've ever been there, but you know... It all looked very Versailles-ish to me.

We also got to see some Broadway shows which is surprising because my sister is totally my opposite. She does not love Broadway the way I do. But she surprised me by saying she wanted to see Hairspray and/or Wicked.

On Wednesday, we got student rush seats to Hairspray and it was amazing! But we still wanted to see Wicked...Bad. So, we tried the Wicked lottery like four freakin' days... It was so discouraging, and I am convinced that "Shades" (AKA the guy at the Wicked lotto) was not pulling my card on purpose because he totally knows my face and he knows I live here.

Anyway, on Saturday, we recruited some helpers and ended up winning tickets for Saturday night. It's kind of funny actually, because we had three people there to help us and it was my sister's name that was called, not the helpers. Still.... a shoutout to Anna, Mary and Karene for being so selfless and braving the NYC rain to come help us win. I will totally help you win lottery tickets next time you need them.

Anyway, it was an amazing experience for her. I could just tell how excited she was to be there. It reminded me of my first time seeing Wicked and how I almost cried because I was so excited. After the show, I took her to the stage door to meet the cast (which is totally a tradition) and we our programs signed... We did this at Hairspray too because I LOVE Constantine Roussouli (AKA Link Larkin). Like... A LOT.

We also did the birthday thing... We went to dinner at Maoz which is so good, by the way. Then we went to Max Brenner's with two of my sister's friends and then we went to Arlo and Esme for dancing. Natalie, Elise, Kristin, Jeff and Rustin joined us for the dancing as well.

The weekend was a little more relaxed. We went through Central Park (which is so beautiful in the fall), walked the Brooklyn Bridge, walked the East Village, and shopped for vintage glasses frames. That last one took forever, but we miraculously ran into a vintage shop near the Life Cafe in Alphabet City that specializes in frames. So all was good.

My sister left very happy with her trip and I am so happy I got to spend nearly a full week with her.

Pictures to come soon. I promise!

Halloween...

So, I realize I am SUPER late in posting anything Halloween related, and that may or may not be because I don't really get excited about Halloween. But, I finally got some pictures from Ashley and thought I would share...

First, I was going to be Elphaba because I found out what they use for her make up and how they do it... I thought it would be a fun challenge... But, since I am probably the cheapest person you'll ever meet, I decided I didn't want to spend money on MAC Paint (actual paint, not the eye shadow base), an Elphie-ish outfit and a WIG (can you believe it? WHY did I ever chop off my hair???)


This is Julie Reiber who is the BEST Elphaba you will ever see... No battle.


So then I decided I was going to be a Pink Lady. I am not going to lie- that was totally a recycled costume from last year... which is hardly a costume. I just have to wear the jacket that Megumi made me...

But the night before, I decided I was going to be someone from Hairspray (the movie- because the hair in the musical is WAY more extreme and probably harder to do). I borrowed this vintage dress from Kristin and spent three hours at work teasing my hair and making it really big. Of course, my hair will NEVER do anything I want it to, so my hair deflated like every 5 minutes and I kept having to re-tease it. I also turned my hairspray bottle into an Ultra Clutch bottle and carried it around.





But anyway, here are the party pictures:


Me and Tony as Edward Scissorhands... I think he probably hates me because I kept breaking his scissor blades...



Ashley (80s Jazzercise Instructor), Amanda (Dorothy), Kristin (Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's) and I at the party.



Anna and I



Ash and I






And now, if you'll excuse me... I need to go find some breakfast.

More later!

I always knew I would meet Edward... haha

Wanna meet Robert Pattinson????

Today is your lucky day!

The star of hotly anticipated new Twilight film will be at Planet Hollywood Times Square this afternoon to whore out the movie and take part in a handprint ceremony.

And, if you scream loudly enough, he might take a picture with you and give you a hug and shiz!

WHEN: Tuesday, November 4, 2008 at 5:00 pm

WHERE: Planet Hollywood Times Square - - 1540 Broadway (corner of 45th Street)

Send us your photos!

xoxo

A tribute to Nessa (who is alive and well)

My other half is leaving me to go on a mission on Wednesday to Malaga, Spain. I sure will miss her, but I am glad she will get to fulfill her dream of serving a mission for the Church. She will be able to share the joy that the Gospel brings into people's lives.

I sure hope they have ice cream (and LOTS of it) in Malaga or I am not sure how V is going to cope.

Here are my favorite Vanessa memories:

* Kylie calls me to see if Vanessa can come to my birthday dinner, and without thinking about it, I say "I don't know her..." Hahaha.... Sorry, V... You know I love you.


* Vanessa calls me after a VERY long day at school to see if she can move in because she hates her apartment. Thus, began the Summer of Nina and Nessa.

* CPK, swimming pool, Dairy Queen... Need I say more?

* Prank calling Nathan Cashion every 5 minutes for an hour. He SO loves us.

* Trying on ballroom dresses in the RB... If I had a picture of the Copa Cabana samba dresses, I would totally post it

* Buying matching velour suits and wearing them to the ballroom closing social

* Cookie making = a weekly tradition

* V thinking she was SO sneaky the day she picked me up from work at Del Sol

* Throwing Kylie a Happy 3/5ths Birthday Party

* Making up our own samba routine in 285 complete with bacha caras and bota fogos

* V talking back to Brent Keck... AND NO ONE talks back to Brent

* My weekly Facebook message from Ness with photo commentaries

Anyway...those are a few. I hope Nessa's future companions can put up with her morning monster syndrome and with her humor...


So looking forward to the reunion!

xoxo,


Me

Hawaii

OMG. Remember when I lived here? Remember how I wish I still did?

This morning...

A pigeon flew into our living room... A dirty New York PIGEON. Gross.

Hello, ballroom. Welcome back to my life.

Anna gets about 1,000,000 cool points for this.

Somehow Anna got two free tickets to this show called "A tribute to Broadway and Dance" and took me as her guest.

Well, imagine my surprise when I got there and saw Melanie LaPatin. It turns out the event was a ballroom student showcase for Melanie's studio with special guests (such as Pros, Amateurs and previous "So You think You Can Dance" contestants.

It was fun to see what the students were learning and gave me the encouragement I need to go find a good dance cool in the city. But, even better, I got to see Sabra and Neil Haskell perform... and it is not secret that I REALLY love Neil. He is an amazing dancer and I may or may not have voted for him A LOT last year for SYTYCD.




But, the highlight was when Eugene Katsevman and Maria Manusova came out (which I totally didn't even know they would be there). I got to see them dance Paso Doble, Rumba, Jive ad Cha Cha (not sure why they left out samba).





It's so good to be reminded of how much I love ballroom dance and why I started doing it in the first place.

Tyra+us= Fierce

So... Last Thursday, Anna, Ashley and I got to go to the Tyra Banks show. First of all... I am a huge fan of America's Next Top Model, but I think Tyra is a little crazy sometimes. I love how EVERYTHING is always about Tyra.

Anyway, I got us tickets to the show and so we went. When we got there, we found out the show was about "Modelville" which was a total plus because I had read that the show was supposed to be called "Bromances." No doubt Tyra came up with that herself. Modelville is about five contestants (Renee, Fatima, Lauren, Dominique and Bianca) from previous cycles competing for a chance to win $50,000 and a spot as the next spokesperson of Carol's Daughter beauty line.

The show itself was pretty fun. We got a lot of camera time, so look for me on national TV...er... or whatever cable channel Tyra airs on.


The best part of the day was the free bag of Carol's Daughter products. Anna and Ashley looked up the prices of the stuff we got and it added up to $120. THANKS TYRA!

After the show, Anna, Ashley and I went out to lunch at this white trash hamburger place in Chelsea. I loved it! There is this hideous wall paper everywhere and tons of pointless decorations (i.e. trolls and plastic tiki lamps).

To close out the day, Ash and I went to the Chelsea Market which was disappointing because it was much smaller than I imagined. But... I did get a free Wicked brownie.

The latest

As you can see, the blog got a face lift! I hate changing my blog background because if you use Pyzam, you lose all your links, which means you have to start entirely from scratch. And... sometimes, Cutest Blog on the Block is a little too MoMo for the likes of me... and they had all these free Halloween-type backgrounds... but then I remembered that I actually reeeeally hate Halloween. So, buried between all the Halloween and baseball and leaf/ribbon/ugly flower templates, I found this little gem.


All right... enough about that. Let's talk about ME!


So, here are some happenings worthy of mention:

* I received my BYU Diploma! I was so excited I asked some random girl at the airport to take my picture. I was en route to Miami when I got it!



* I got a "promotion" at work... and it is between quotation marks because it isn't official yet. I am now part of the creative team at The Bravo Group. I will be a traffic coordinator, meaning that I will be focusing on taking every piece of creative advertising from start to finish. As a part of my training for this new position, my company flew me out to Miami, and I got to stay with my AWESOME family.

* While in Florida, I got a rental car- a Chevy HHR... It is the sort of car that you would NEVER buy, but it is okay to rent it... It kind of looks like a hearse, I am not going to lie... But, I certainly enjoyed driving for a change...




Also, while being at home, I was pretty much laughing the whole time. My mom is the funniest person ever. No battle. Here are a few examples:

* Calls me on Wednesday around 6:30PM and wants to know why I am not home yet. She said "get home NOW...You are going to miss Project Runway." And... my mom absolutely LOATHES Kenley, so it was funny to watch alongside her commentary.




* When I got home, she asked me to take out the trash, so I did...and then as soon as I walked back inside, she wanted me to come look at something she had bought. When i told her to wait because I needed to wash my hands, she replied "Our trash is clean."


Another highlight was going to see my brother's family in Fort Myers. It was good to spend time with my little (or maybe not so little) sister, Amalia (who will soon be 23) on the drive up. We got to spend two days with my brother, his wife and THE BABY.







Is he not so cute? I am so happy I got to see him again.

Thanks, Aaron. You heartbreaker.

For further evidence that all is falling to pieces on the Broadway front, click here


Good bye, Fiyero...



Fiyeeeeeeeroooo! Elphie and Galinda (the GA is silent) will miss you.

What is happening to the world?

SO, RENT closed on Broadway... but I still had other musicals to enjoy, such as Legally Blonde, Hairspray, and Wicked...


Get this...


Legally Blonde- Closing October 19th

Hairspray- Closing January 2009


What's next? WICKED????


Yet, The Little Mermaid (a.k.a the worst musical ever) lives on...

Lights Up on Washington Heights

Well, as a follow-up to the previous post... Here are some pictures from In the Heights to retell our victory!

Kristin and I decided that afternoon that we wanted to enter the lottery, so we went. Of course, Kristin won...and then some other people won... and then, my name was called! Hooray! I hope it is the first of many Broadway victories.



Kristin and I with our Playbills.




We tried to doa jumping shot but sadly the camera was running out of battery, so this is what we got instead...



Ashley is reacting to a lady yelling at us, telling us we can't take pictures inside the theater.



LOVE it!



Since Kristin and I both won two tickets each, we took Anna and Ashley, fellow Broadway enthusiasts



This is the creator of In the Heights. He is also one of the leads in the play.



Ashley and I

The only disappointment:

We got an understudy for Graffiti Pete... Apparently, the real one is supposed to be really good (according to Irasema) because he looks like a good singer...This is of course, based on this picture only: