I Have A New Job!!

Yes, it’s true!

I’m the new Theatre Editor for the Deseret News. How about that? So I’ll be covering all theatre from Broadway to high school and everything in between. Not only that, but the Des News is working towards adding more content to their website so I’ll also be doing video segments in addition to writing articles.

It sounds overwhelming, doesn’t it? Overwhelming but exciting.

I’ve been on the job for a week now and my thoughts and emotions on the job have run the gamut from ‘What on earth did I get myself into?’ to ‘How fun! I still have a voice in theatre!’ I’m currently working on find a happy medium.

I cover 80 different theatres across the state and the touring shows. I’m responsible for keeping up to date on auditions, show openings, closings, reviews, interesting/feature stories plus a little fashion and beauty thrown in just to keep things interesting.

Sounds exhausting.

But I think it also sounds really fun. I’m looking forward to finding interesting theatre stories to share.

My first byline was in the paper Sunday. I did a little blurb on “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” which is in town Tuesday. Other than an interesting editing move where they split up my paragraph, and one missing period, it looked good.

I love theatre. I so enjoy attending a great show or being on stage. I just love it. Whether it’s high school or Broadway, I love it. Hopefully you’ll catch my stuff in the Deseret News or head to their website www.desnews.com.

Victoria Update

For those of you interested in an update on Victoria, she’s doing great! Believe it or not she’s almost 4 months old. Time surely does fly.

She’s been sleeping through the night for the past 2 months which has been tremendous! I put her down between 7 – 8 p.m. and she sleeps until 6:30 – 7 a.m. Mom and Dad are pretty happy about that.

Of course, I think she’s just the most incredibly beautiful thing I’ve ever laid eyes on. So sweet and bright eyed and smiling more and more everyday. Actually, she’s right on the verge of giggling which will be fun.

Victoria still hates bath time (REALLY hates it) and she also hates getting burped. Any time you take her bottle away she just comes unglued. But think about it, wouldn’t you be upset too? You’re in the middle of a great meal and someone takes it away for a few minutes and beats you on the back… none of us would like it.

So far Mark and I have been able to break up our work schedules so that baby V is always with one of us which makes me happy.

Now we’re just hoping her first little giggle happens while we’re both home.

My Mole

I have a mole on my face.

A mole - not a freckle - a mole. Sounds outrageously unromantic, doesn’t it? Mole… what an ugly word. At any rate, you’d be surprised how rare a face mole is. Thank the lord for Cindy Crawford, Marilyn Monroe and Ginger (from Gilligan’s Island, not my dog) who turned the facial mole into a ‘beauty mark.’ I’m lucky my beauty mark landed where it did - positioned above the right side of my top lip. What if it had been on the tip of my nose or right between my eyes? I’m lucky.

I held my 2 year old niece the other day as we were doing ‘lipstick.’ She did my lipstick, then reached her little index finger out and touched my beauty mark. She looked at me and then did it again. I chuckled. It’s not the first time the mark has caused curiosity.

Today I like my beauty mark. I wouldn’t even recognize my face without it, nor do I think I’d like it. But I haven’t always been that way.

I remember, as a kid, standing in front of the bathroom mirror with a knife in my hand staring at the mole. “If I didn’t have that I’d be cute,” I repeated over and over. Plus, the small white scar of a mole removed would certainly be easier to cover up with makeup than this mole. Luckily my fear of pain won out and I put down the pairing knife.

I usually forgot about the mark until someone commented on it in which case I’d become very self conscious. In the locker room, after Jr. High gym class, I remember a girl getting so close to my face and shouting “WHAT IS THAT? IS THAT REAL?!” I was completely horrified. I shouted back “Of course it is! You think I get up and draw it on every day?!” She was convinced that my mole switched sides of my mouth frequently. She also swore I copied Madonna, (who was rumored to have tattooed hers on LONG before tattoos were so commonplace).

I’ve had people reach out and touch it (aside from my darling niece who can touch it any time she wants to), stare at it for what seems like forever, and had NUMEROUS people jokingly tell me I “have chocolate above my lip.” I fell for it the first 5,000 times – frantically wiping at my face not wanting to look like I can’t eat my chocolate. They all chuckle at their cleverness as if I haven’t heard that joke before.

One day, while getting ready to go swimming with friends, my Grandma grabbed my face and studied it. Keep in mind; she’d seen me regularly for the past 10 or so years. She studied me as though the thing had just popped up on my face and announced, in front of all my friends “Oh honey, you’re gonna’ need to get that removed. No man is gonna wanna kiss that!” I crumbled. Everyone turned to look at my stupid face which I was casually hiding behind a beach towel. How could my always warm and loving Grandma say that?! I stared out the window all the way to the local pool thinking about my life doomed to no kisses - imagining man after man turning me away because of this grotesque growth above my lip.

Then I became an adult.

Turns out men were okay with it. In fact, they thought it made me look like a super-model (again, thank you Cindy Crawford!) I also noticed that girls drew moles on their faces for Halloween, and I had cast mates in various musicals upset that they can’t draw on their trade mark mole for the stage because I’m standing there with a real one. How about that?!

So I’m okay with it now. People have called the beauty mark “glamorous” and “classic” and who could feel badly about that? I’ve also had a fun way to leave mouth prints on notes, and describe myself to someone. Aside from the time Mark told me I might want to “get it removed because it could be cancerous,” (perhaps a miscommunication?) life with a mole on my face is now pretty good.

There She Goes...

That’s it. We’re done. We’re officially hanging up our judging ballots. They’ve ruined it.

They’ve ruined the Miss America pageant.

If you’re like my brother, you’re wondering aloud if it’s possible to ‘ruin’ an already lame event.

But we’re diehards. We Hansen gals love our pageants and always have. We grew up on them – all the way back to the Bert Park days.

Now we’re done. This last go-round was such a disaster, we wore out the TiVo, trashed our vocal chords and have hereby resigned to only watch said pageant if the purpose is to rip on it; the “Treat and Trash Fest” we’ve named it.

We’ve commented for years how they’re ruining it in their efforts to ‘freshen’ things up a bit. I maintain anyone watching or participating in a pageant is interested in tradition. We don’t really need the hip-ness of MTV.

Our reigning Miss America, Miss Michigan, can’t ride a bike (which she seemed to think was charmingly cute), certainly can’t sing (painfully obvious during her horrid rendition of “Somewhere over the Rainbow”), and can’t keep her lipstick straight on her face (check out her crowning moment). She’s a mess and she’s supposed to be “Our Ideal” as the song says? Come on! No one wants to be her.

But the fact that the lame-o judges overlooked our sharp, poised and stunning Miss Utah wasn’t the biggest problem of the Pageant.

First of all, they had an awful host. A no-name man, who seemed rough around the edges, stuttered, stammered and told stupid jokes. Where’s Donny Osmond or Ryan Seacrest?!

Secondly, they’ve broken the girls up into different groups for the beginning of the show. It has something to do with a reality TV show which followed the girls as they prepared for the pageant (another rant for another day). The groups were something like “States with the Most Wins” and “Runners Up.” Then there was the brilliant “Brown Eyed Girls” groups which I thought was the stupidest until they actually had a group of the oldest girls, they wittily called the “Grown Ups.” WHAT?!?!? Do we really need to point out who the ‘old’ gals are? And by old I mean 24. It was terrible.

Fast forward to the announcement of the 10 finalists (down from 16 finalists). This year instead of calling out the names of the winners, giving them their moment of celebration and giving us a chance to see who they are again, the Pageant folks thought it would be a good idea to announce the losers. Yes, that’s right. The No-name host said “This is the one time you DON’T want to hear your name.” And he proceeded to call out loser after loser beginning with our accomplished Miss Utah who, with much class, dropped and did some push-ups (she’s a military gal). How awkward. How awkward to hear your name and know you’re out of the competition. They had lost, they had to look gracious and then they had to go sit on the ‘grandstand’ – makeshift bleachers they’d set up on-stage for the losers to watch the rest of competition and “eat carbs.” Duh! Yes, they actually brought out trays of doughnuts.

I think the worst part though was the talent competition, which has long been my favorite. I used to eagerly wait as each girl stood at the mic, sat at the piano, or warmed up in their toe shoes (over the years we’ve even seen baton throwers, trampoline jumpers and one gal came out and displayed her seamstress work). This year the Pageant folks thought it would be a fun twist to have all 10 girls come out in their talent costumes but only let 8 perform. Isn’t that awful? So the girls sat there, all anxious to hear their name and wondered if they’d really get the chance to perform while the host would periodically come out and announce the name of another loser. As a performer I was outraged. How completely unfair. These girls need to 1) KNOW they’re performing and 2) Need time to mentally focus. It would be impossible to sit on stage, hear your name, feel thrilled you got to perform and then shove all that down so you can focus and do what you need to do.

Bleh!
So, officials of the Miss America Pageant, take note: You have now lost 6 devoted and loyal viewers who have watched your “scholarship pageant” faithfully, for the past several decades. And, for a show that used to have 31 million viewers and now only has 2 million, you can’t afford to lose any of us.

There she goes, Miss America…

Perhaps it’s time to put the crown in the Smithsonian and leave it as a piece of wonderful Americana.

Predictability

I love that I can come to my blog and see postings from some of you. Thank you so much for taking the time to read AND post. Hearing what you’re thinking has been great so thank you!

I also wanted to thank you for the support after my bitterness rant. You had some really nice things to say which I needed to hear – thank you, thank you!

I went to CostCo the other day to print up some photos. Along the entry way was a massive wall of vitamins which made me chuckle.
What a wonderfully predictable society we are and I love that about us!

I love that come January we’re all tightening our belts both financially and calorically. We’re getting out of debt, and getting out from underneath our extra fat layers. How fun to know that we’ll all be gluttonous together starting at about Halloween. Then we try to stick to the ol’ resolutions, at least through January but then – it’s Valentine’s Day!!!! And it’s all downhill from there because we have a new reason to celebrate every month.

There is great comfort in that, I think.

Mental Vacation

Wow… has it really been over a week since I posted?

I’m sorry. I know you’ve heard it before but I simply don’t have the luxury of the precious time I had before. Not to mention, when I do have time my surroundings are NOT conducive to any creativity. Who can wax philosophical about anything when you smell a mix of formula (baby’s), Diet Pepsi (mine) and dog breath (Ginger’s)? It’s hard, I tell ya, it’s hard.

I’ve been working on getting myself together and ready to find some type of gainful employment. I chuckled yesterday as I was all dressed up (to seek said gainful employment) in my red pea coat and fabulous heels walking around with my good pen in one hand and juggling a big box of wipes and 4 diapers in the other. Wow… this is different, I thought - sort of felt like I was in a movie.

There are actually quite a few things that regularly remind a new parent something strange is afoot. But that’ll be a different list for a different day.

Today, I’d like to take you away from SLC. Doesn’t that sound nice? I’m looking out at the sheet of white lying over my car and the candy bar wrapper that must’ve fallen out as I slung my clubby snow shoes to the ground. The sky is such a heavy gray not only can I not see the mountains, I can’t see where the pavement ends and sky begins. At this Starbucks we’re all pale, and drab-looking, bundled up in our layers and dreading any time someone news comes in, opens that door and allows a rush of Old Man Winter’s blades of fury and rage to stab into our skin and cut through our chest. Hmm… that was a little dramatic, wasn’t it? Perhaps, but I’m painting a picture here.

Cue slack key guitar.

Today, we’re going to Maui!

Doesn’t that sound nice? Run to your closet or anywhere else you may have buried your long forgotten summer clothes - Shorts, swimsuits and flip-flops a must.

We get off the plane in Kahului to a wonderful aroma of something floral, something sweet and pleasant - Plumeria or hibiscus. The airport is open, no fluorescent lighting, no manufactured air, and no drab walls with lame artwork. Our skin instantly drinks in the moisture, relieved to not be ensconced in gloves and happy to be getting nourishment.

The ride to where we’re staying is so immensely gratifying your body almost aches with relief and delight. Windows down, the 80 degree air blowing over your skin, you inhale deeply letting the last of SLC out and letting Maui and its island warmth in. Our room overlooks Ma’alaea Bay, a crescent shaped harbor where the whales congregate to birth and frolic. Opening the sliding glass doors, we instantly hear the lull of the right now lazy ocean rolling onto its sandy bed.

Eager to greet the ocean and banish the gray sheen that has settled onto our complexions, we hurry to get out of these Utah clothes. Slowly removing layer after layer we excitedly (and grudgingly) crawl into our swimsuits, wrap a brightly colored beach towel up to our necks and flip-flop out to the seaside.

Lounge chairs perfectly placed with the proper combination of sun and shade, we lay down the towel, then ourselves. But it’s nearly impossible to lie still with our eyes closed - how can one be in the midst of such breathtaking beauty and not want to sneak a peek… several peeks for that matter. The majestic and willowy palm trees move gracefully against a brilliant and cloudless blue sky while the sea’s expansive arms reach out to the horizon so that, again, we can’t tell where the sky begins.

The wafting scent of dog breath fills the air…

Wait a minute… what?

Sadly… I must return you to your regularly scheduled weather forecast which I believe is somewhere in the scary 20s or something.

Duty calls.

I hope you enjoyed this mental vacation since, I don’t know about you, but it’s the only one I can afford!

Aloha!

A Letter From Mom

Dear Victoria,

It’s 9:40pm., January 2, 2008 – Happy New Year!

You’re about 8 weeks old. I’ve bathed you which was very harrowing for you, sorry about that. I’ve put you in your very warm fleece PJs , fed you your 4 ozs, swaddled you and laid you in your crib.

This is the first night I’ve given you a bedtime. You were in bed by 8p and it has been glorious for me. I’ve been able to fold the laundry, wash your bottles, have a treat and even watch a little TV. Someday, you’ll understand.

But I miss you. I miss looking down and seeing you slumber – your incredibly sweet little face; peaceful, safe and content. I miss seeing your rosy, plump cheeks, your little lashes and your perfect nose. I can’t help but put the baby monitor up close to my ear every few minutes just to hear you breathe your little baby breaths.

I don’t know when you’ll read this; when you’ll be old enough to understand.

I hold you and wonder about your future, like every mom does. I wonder about who you’ll be, the choices you’ll make, and hope you’ll be happy with your life and yourself. I find myself feeling envious of you sometimes. Your life has just begun and you have this clean slate – a beautifully clean slate full of opportunities and adventures. Today you have no regrets.

Then it breaks my heart to know I can’t protect you from pain and hurt. That someday someone will hurt your feelings, and you’ll hurt someone else. Someone won’t like you, someone will say mean things, some boy will break up with you, and you’ll feel fat and ugly. It will hurt. It will shake your confidence in yourself and there is nothing I can do about it. As helpless as you are now, it leaves me feeling more helpless.

So for today, I just enjoy you.

It’s amazing to look at your beautiful bright eyes, your delicate fingers lightly resting on the bottle.

You are utter perfection.

I used to gripe to my mom about how I thought my hands were ugly. She’d come back quickly and say they weren’t and they were “hands with talent.” How lame that sounded to a young girl who was far more interested in being cute than having talent. But I get it now. I know there will be a day you’ll look in the mirror and see nothing but flaws, we females are like that. How do I show you the perfection you are? How can I bring you back to this moment, this time of pure innocence and show you just how exquisite you are? It’s baffling to me that you could look at anything about yourself and not think, “I’m completely amazing.” But I’ve been your age and I know that it’s difficult.

So be kind to yourself. Please be kind. For this perfect wide-eyed creature resting so peacefully in my arms, please, please promise me you won’t be mean to her.

The Sound of Romance

I don’t want to speak too soon… but I think I have a few minutes of downtime! I’ve been doing lots of reading and research and I think I’ve figured out how to get Victoria in bed a skosh earlier and actually buy myself some quality down/writing/cuddle-with-ginger/eat-my-chocolate time! Feeling pretty good about it… so far… Again, no jinxing!

Sound of Music was on the other night, did you watch it? I trudged in the house dragging Victoria in her 50+ pound car seat, my 50+ pound purse and 50+ pound Ginger pulling at her leash. I came in, flipped on Channel 4 and there it was. Now, I know you’re thinking this is going to be a big ol’ gush-fest about how glorious a musical it is… and you’re right! It is – it’s brilliant. But no, that’s not what this is about.

This rant is about romance.

Remember the scene where Maria and Cap. Von Trapp dance out on the patio while the big gala is going on inside the Von Trapp estate? Maria is teaching the kids how to do this particular waltz and then the Cap steps in. The electricity between the two is utterly captivating. I stood in my living room, with Ging running around waiting for her food, my coat still on, keys firmly wrapped in my fingers and watched. I felt flushed as Maria looked in his eyes, my hands heated yearning for that deliberate yet indulgent touch and I tingled as I felt Cap Von Trapp’s stare, “Wow… does anyone really look at anyone like that?” I muttered to Ginger who was sitting intently at her food bowl - waiting.

THAT is romance!

The next day I mentioned to my mom that The Sound of Music was on TV and the first thing she said, unsolicited by me, “That is one of the greatest love scenes ever!” We sat there with our Diet Pepsis reliving the pure romance of that scene and how brilliant it is.
Movies are missing that these days. Each time I settle into a romantic comedy, or any movie where I know a man and woman might mingle, I’m hopeful. I’m hopeful that the fool-directors might possibly get it right this time. Yet movie after movie, I’m left disappointed. All too often they completely skip the romance! Movies today do a couple of things: Skip the romance all together and cut to the couple rolling in the hay. Or, they show the woman throwing herself at the man; lunging at his lips like a linebacker towards the opposition, hardly a romantic image.

Where’s the romance?!

Isn’t anyone romantic anymore? Where are the men who act like men? Who make the first move, who move in on their woman and wrap her in his arms, and linger… linger above her lips… and maybe say something so she feels his breath against her delicate skin. Where are the men who would be slightly off-put by a woman they barely know throwing herself at him? Are there no men who yearn for the chase?

What about the women? Come on ladies… think back. Admit there is nothing like being kissed by a man. A real man. A man who saw you, looked at your perfect lips, couldn’t hold back any longer, and moved in for the kill.

Mmmm….

Why on earth would ANYONE want to skip over the chase, the dance, and the cat-and-mouse? That’s the best part! That’s the part that leaves us tingly and wanting more. Then it’s only more gratifying when the couple actually comes together.

Go watch The Sound of Music and you’ll see what I’m talking about. It’s pure romance. The shortness of breath, the heat, the intensity, and there were no clothes falling off, and bodies entangled.

And it’s perfect. Utterly perfect.

The Joy

Have you ever commented that something is a lot of work and someone quipped “Everything worth doing is.” And you had admit, “True.”

Thus the grand mantra of parenting… and I’ve only just begun.

Just when I was finishing my 8th feeding of the day and cleaning bottles for the 9th, there was a little moment that stopped me cold, “So THAT’S what they’re talking about!”

I stood in the kitchen holding Victoria with my left arm, taking a few pics of her peaceful face with my right, when I caught a truly priceless moment of being a mom:

A Little Venting

Wow… where does the time go? Somewhere between Christmas, a new baby, visiting in-laws, and working off this baby weight, I have no time to write.

I miss it.

Of course, just as I sat down and logged on someone realized she was wet and decided she was hungry. So here I sit: pathetically poured into a pair of pre-prego jeans (I can’t bear to wear maternity stuff anymore) eating a Zone bar (no time for anything else), left arm wrapped around Victoria, right arm pointing, clicking and typing. I seem to always be doing two things at once but never get anything done. Sound familiar?

Moving on…

I wasn’t very Christmas-y this year – strange to me that it’s already come and gone. I’m in a funk and I’m sure how to snap out of it. May I vent?

I’m bitter. I’m bitter over what happened to me with the awful radio station that shall not be named. It dawned on me while I roamed the mall last week - I’m still bitter. I had this great job that I loved and I made pretty good money. Plus I had the pleasure of sharing my beloved showtunes every week. Then a new boss rolls into town and without knowing anything about me or even giving me half a chance, he cans me. The old “new direction,” “starting fresh” line. Ever been “new directioned?” Not fun. He didn’t even thank me for my hard work, he didn’t say he was sorry, nor did he even act remorseful. The whole stupid firing was a whopping 9 seconds long.

All of that aside, I’m really in a bind now. Do you think when bosses fire people they ever give thought to what this truly does to a person? I’m sure some do – they’re still human, right? My job was going to be perfect for having a new baby as the hours would have allowed me to be home at 11 or so - long before Mark leaves for work. But now I have this beautiful baby girl and I do not want to put her in daycare. What do I do? I’m really limited now. I either have to find a job with super-early hours, one where I can work from home or a part-time job somewhere. I sit and feed my bright-eyed baby and worry about my future employment… just not sure what’s out there.

I’m also bitter because I feel like they ruined what should have been a really fun time in my life. How often is someone 7 months pregnant? Not very. My last few months of pregnancy were stressful and taxing. I was also looking forward to sharing the pregnancy and birth with listeners. I’d gotten so many e-mails and well-wishes from so many listeners/friends and then nothing. I was just sort of cut-off while the new pregnant host gets my listener support and full paid maternity leave. Life, as they say, is not fair.

Whew!

That feels better, thank you. I’m trying to be optimistic. I’m trying to be positive and I’m trying to remember that I have so many reasons to be thankful. My loved ones are well, I have a warm roof over my head and I’ve been blessed with a gorgeous and healthy baby girl who smiles more and more everyday. But I can’t but think it would all be a lot more enjoyable had I been able to share it, wasn’t involved in a job hunt and didn’t have to worry about how I was going to keep diapers on her cute, little bum.

A Very Broadway Christmas!

So, Showtune fans, we’re getting very close to Christmas now. What have you gotten for the Showtune fan on your list? I’m sure over the years you’ve beefed up their CD collection, gotten the requisite Phantom of the Opera beach towel and perhaps tickets to a touring show were thrown in there too.

Now what?

Well, I have the answers for you. Make sure you check out the Broadway Cares Equity Fights Aids website: http://www.broadwaycares.org
They have MANY Broadway related items from which to choose – they even have greeting cards designed by Sutton Foster!

How can you go wrong with a Broadway snow globe? That’s one of my favorites! The only problem is you’ll start feeling a need to get the latest one every year. That can get a tad pricey, not to mention where on earth would you store 25 snow globes that are mostly the same?

I like to check their website for myself from time to time. I bought a fabulous Broadway bracelet that has logos from all the current Broadway shows, most of which I’ve been lucky enough to see. But even you haven’t seen any of the musicals, you still have the CD, know the music and it’s a great conversation-starter!

If you remember last year – while Showtune Saturday Night was still mine – I played some Christmas songs as done by Broadway casts. It was great fun and I had a wonderful response to the songs. The Broadway Cares website is where you can get your hands on all of those fun recordings. And remember, a portion of everything purchased at the website goes to AIDS research.

So hurry! You may still have time to peruse the site, get something for that fan in your life and maybe throw a little Christmas cheer your way too!

Merry Christmas!

There's No Wrong Way

I always wait about 30 minutes too long. I’ll be visiting my folks and suddenly hear the preliminary squawk of a baby getting ready to eat her 1,000th meal of the day. I frantically glance at the clock and realize it’s past time and my choices are to a) Hang out for another 45 minutes – therefore putting me home too late for Ginger’s bladder or b) Fly out the house RIGHT NOW to begin the 10 minute drive home while the meltdown begins.

This past time I opted for the latter. My mom helped me gather the baby detritus lying about the kitchen while I tossed everything chaotically into the diaper bag (I’ll organize it later!) and grabbed a handful of Hershey’s Kisses. Mom lovingly swung the car seat back and forth trying to calm Victoria who apparently has never eaten before in her life and the injustice of it all results of wails of furor and pain.

Off we go. Victoria, her powerful lungs and me.

When my attempts to calm her en-route fail, I become absorbed in my Kisses. I steer with the outside of my palm while prying the foil away from the chocolate nugget. The only difficulty is not being able to see the miniscule chocolate specs that inevitably fall from a freshly opened Kiss. You Kiss eaters know what I’m talking about. At any rate, I realize at this point, I’ve created the perfect method for eating the all-American chocolate. You open the foil, stick your tongue out and tip your head back therefore all specs will either stick to your tongue or fall in your mouth. Then I like to take the point of the Kiss and feel it in between my two front teeth. But you may have your own method.

Against a backdrop of caterwaulering from the backseat, I had the thought that we all probably have our methods for eating just about any food. How do we compare?

Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups: I peel back the brown wax paper, eat around the pointy edges until I have an island of peanut butter sitting atop my thumb, then I begin biting. Usually three bites worth.

Hostess Cupcakes: I dump the package upside down and let my cupcake sit on its lovely frosted top. I pluck the cake off the bottom and eat that. Then I pick up the glorious top piece and slowly eat that. Best piece for last you see!

Banana Bread: After lightly buttering a fat piece of B-bread, I eat the side edges and then the bottom edge saving the middle and super-moist top edge for the last bites since they are, of course, the best. (Mark toasts his banana bread. I believe the toasted flavor gets in the way of the banana flavor).

Cake: I tip the piece over on its side so I can easier access the cake portion, therefore saving the frosted top for last. Are you sensing a system yet?

French Fries: Fry Sauce – always. If none is available, I’ll eat the Fries plain. Everything else desecrates the purity of the fried potato.
Twix: A steady, even, straight-forward biting while holding the opposite end carefully ensconced in the wrapper so as not to soil my fingers.

Hmm…. Thus far, I sound slightly like I might have a sweet tooth… Or perhaps sweet foods are more fun to use creative eating methods?...

At any rate, once at home, my Kiss foils are crumpled into tiny balls resting in the bottom of my pocket and I’m continually amazed that the quiet-inducing power of a bottle!

New Discoveries

My sis came to town this week. I told her not to come down anymore. Every time Jamie shows up, my regular life stops. I quit cooking for Mark, I didn’t do any laundry, I barely even got my precious TV shows watched. Keep in mind, she stays with my mom. So it’s not like she’s crashing at my place keeping me from my other tasks. You might be asking what is it that I do when Jamie is here… good question. We mostly sit around and talk. Really. That’s pretty much it and that’s just the way we like it. We hash out everything, several times over, and then we get together the next day and do it again. We sprinkle in a few baked goods for nostalgia sake (and because we’re dough-eaters) and we talk and I love it. Luckily, Jamie lives fairly close and we get to see her regularly. She leaves Monday and I’m already looking forward to Christmas!

Will you take that as any type of justification for not blogging all week? I don’t even know if I buy it, but it’s all that I’ve got.

My question for you:
When is that last time you listened to music? I mean really listened, while not doing anything else. I’d imagine we have it on all the time, but we’re always multi-tasking; getting ready for work, driving around town, cleaning the house.

Earlier this week I was doing Victoria’s brunch feeding, 9ish or so, and we sat here at the table by my ipod all plugged into its speaker. I sat here with my beautiful daughter (still sounds weird to say that) and we thumbed through my ipod and its offerings. Carefully balancing her bottle against my chin, I moved my thumb around the dial. Aren’t ipods great, by the way? Amazing to sit here with my entire CD collection in this little device. But I digress…

I thumbed past my recording of 1940s Radio Hour (a fabulous musical I was in), 70s disco, Back in Black (AC/DC… only for working out), Dirty Dancing, Garth Brooks, Les Miserables, My Best Friends Wedding soundtrack, Patsy Cline anthology, The Sound of Music etc. Victoria and I sat here enjoying her brunch and music. She loved it and so did I, though she’s a much slower eater to some tunes!

I sat here by the fire, looking out at the snowy blanket lying over the empty bird feeder and I rediscovered many fabulous songs and found a lot of new ones too!

If you’re interested in adding a few new tunes to your ipod, I thought I’d share a few little-known gems that really put a smile on my face (and none of them are showtunes. I’d hate for you to think I was totally one-track minded… let me know anytime you want to talk showtunes!)

In the Jazz realm:
Robin McKelle – A fabulously throaty voice and marvelous big-band arrangement of the Great American songbook. Would kill to sound like that!

Stacey Kent – A tiny, pixie of a woman, with a soft, delicate touch on the same songbook. She sings with a tiny ensemble with her cute hub on saxophone. By the way, she comes to SLC fairly regularly!

Justin Hayford – He’s a cabaret singer from Chicago who loves to find long lost songs from our Great American Songbook. It’s wonderful! I love hearing some old Cole Porter, Frank Loesser, and Comden & Green that I’ve never heard before. Worth checking out.

Country:
Cornell Hurd: I LOVE this band. I went to Austin, TX a few years back with a girlfriend. We went to some honky-tonks at night to do a little Texas two-steppin’ and we were lucky enough to catch the Cornell Hurd band. They’re the perfect example of two-step tunes which always cheer me up.

Okay, okay… for your showtune folks:
Anthony Warlow: He’s an Australian fellow who, for some reason, doesn’t want to perform anywhere else. He did Jekyll & Hyde which I think is the best recording. He’s absolutely phenomenal and he also does some jazz standards as well. It takes a little searching but he’s well worth it.

Well, my new daily ritual seems to be over for now. Mark is awake, Victoria needs a little more food, Ginger needs to go outside, the TV just got turned up… the daily grind has begun. But, I look forward to tomorrow morning when I can get lost for a minute or two in my ipod and a few more discoveries.

1 Month Update

Thank you to those of you who asked about Victoria and wanted an update.

As you know, we had her over a month ago now… can you believe that?! She’s a month and 4 days old!

At her 3 week check-up, she was already tipping the scales at 8+ pounds which seemed to surprise her doc. That’s a pretty hefty gain for a little lady.

The best part is, this past week we got up to 5 ½ - 6 hours of sleep at night! We’re feeling like a million bucks. Other than the fact that the same night Victoria went 6 hours, Ginger got some sort of stomach thing and needed to go outside every hour to take care of her business. So we’re trying to get everyone on the same page.

I know that every single mom you talk to will tell you the same thing, but gosh, Victoria sure is pretty. She really is such a beautiful baby. Perhaps it’s a survival thing for them? The cuter they are, the less likely you are to have your own melt-down while they’re having theirs? Either way, I could stare are her for hours.

The strike is over!! The strike is over!!

I've been utterly heartsick about all the folks who finally made their big trip to the Big Apple only to find a mostly-dark Broadway. Can you imagine? New York City is an expensive venture and it's not something most of us can turn around and repeat. So, you've saved, you've anticipated you're finally there and then a strike?!?!?! Awful. I'd be in tears.

Plus I was also sad for Broadway. Lots of people who aren't normally theatre-goers see their first play in NYC. Many of them probably go home and realize theatre is a wonderful way to spend the evening and continue to support the art form. How many folks were gypped that moment? So BRAVO to anyone involved in ending the strike. Bravo!!

In other Broadway news...

Last week I talked about the Broadway stars who are in current TV shows and it brought me to Ugly Betty.

Did you see the episode where Betty and some others went to Wicked? If you didn't, pay attention because it'll be on again.

When Mark and I were dating, I wanted him to see the movie that brought us together: “Up Close and Personal.” I was a Marketing student ready to graduate, not liking the job descriptions for which I was interviewing and I saw Up Close and Personal. It's a romantic comedy with an up-and-coming TV reporter Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert Redford, the News Director who discovers her.

I realized I'd always wanted to go into Broadcasting and so I stayed in school another year. Long story short... that movie is the reason Mark and I met at Channel 4 oh-so-many years ago.

Well Mark, an award-winning news photographer hated the movie. He just couldn't get past all the errors. “THAT would never happen!” “I'd love to be able to do a live shot without any cables!” “Where's their batteries?” “We don't hold the cameras that way.” etc. etc. I didn't understand why he just couldn't look past that and enjoy the movie. Now I understand.

Fast forward 10 years...

Ugly Betty goes to Wicked. I was initially SO excited about the episode. I'd seen the commercials, I love Wicked and I settled in for what was going to be a great show.

I'm first highly annoyed that Betty and her friend text messaged each other throughout the show. Keep in mind, the actual musical is on stage, they're singing “Popular,” but Betty and her friend and busy texting “When you hear soemone cough it's me saying hello.”

EXCUSE ME?! Text messaging during a play? Absolutely NOT. I've scolded people for that very thing. It's distracting, it's rude and it shouldn't be allowed. Period. They go through a long series of this... not to mention the whispering and arguing back and forth.

The other bothersome thing is everyone in the audience is smiling as though they're completely unaware that someone is rudely talking through a Broadway musical for which they've paid $100+. Clearly they weren't sitting by me!

Here's the real rub though... Betty and her boyfriend go for a walk – in the MIDDLE OF THE SHOW!!! (Again, why pay 100+ for a show if you're going to talk about your relationship out in the lobby?) Anyway, while they're roaming about they suddenly find themselves backstage.

I shout out “That would NEVER happen! There is NO WAY they'd let two random people wander into the backstage area!” Mark just smirked. Then they just happen to climb inside Glinda's bubble. Again, “That would NEVER happen!! What is this?!?!”

Come on, show tune folks... let's be honest... Broadway houses, Union shops no less, do NOT let anyone - even cast members - climb around set pieces when it's not the proper time. Period.

Here's the worst part though... Elphaba and Glinda are singing “For Good” - such a glorious moment in the show. Then Glinda's bubble randomly comes floating out onstage with Betty and her boyfriend standing inside. “That would NEVER happen!! COME ON!!! There's NO WAY a professional stage manager is going to call the bubble cue this late in the show. There is NO WAY that would EVER happen. Period!! This is stupid. This is totally stupid!!!”

Mark smirked and said “NOW you know why I hated Up Close and Personal.”

Point well made. Point well made.

Did you see the show? What did you think of it?

Send your thoughts to: Showtune.erica@hotmail.com

Charlie Brown and Me

I’m not sure if it’s a sign that yes, I actually am getting older, but my right eye seems a touch fuzzy. Hope it’s just lack of sleep…

I’m trying to have ‘tummy time’ with Victoria, scratch Ginger with my right foot, and eat a cheese stick with my right hand - A true master of multi-tasking. But, I’m drawn to A Charlie Brown Christmas on TV. I’m not watching it, it’s just on.

I don’t get it.

This is going to be a very unpopular thought on a beloved staple of Americana – perhaps even un-American… but I don’t get it. And truthfully, I never have. Oh sure, as a kid I remember thinking I liked it. I remember getting excited when I saw that it was on, but I think that’s mostly because that’s what I thought I should do…it was a cartoon so it must be good, right?

Well, between you and me, I don’t think it is.

I guess for me, it’s just a show of a bunch of mean little kids. I know that Charles Shultz was making a social commentary portrayed through the eyes of children. But they’re mean.

Let’s take a look:

The ‘hero’ of the show, Charlie Brown, is an utter loser. No one sees Charlie Brown’s redeeming qualities, other than his cute round head. No one likes him, even Man’s Best Friend, Snoopy, laughs at him. His own dog?!?! How sad is that?! Charlie tries hard. He’s friendly, he tries to participate, he tries to be involved, he tries to make friends; even at the risk of trusting the wrong people, and he always gets dumped on.

As I look down at Victoria, I find myself thinking. “If she turned out like Charlie Brown I’d be SO disappointed!” Who wants a child who can’t stand up for themselves, can’t even see their own self worth and whose sis and dog won’t even back you up? Not me.

Of the whole cast of little characters, one of the most popular is Lucy. Why? Why do all the other little kids like her?... or maybe they’re just afraid of her? She’s awful! She’s mean to basically everyone. She’s shallow, she’s narcissistic, she’s a know-it-all, she’s selfish and she’s mean, mean, mean. Again, a great disappointment if Victoria or my nieces turned out like Lucy.

I’ve always thought this about Charlie Brown. So tonight I watched it with fresh eyes to see if I’ve been wrong all these years. Turns out, I haven’t been.

Here’s my biggest beef: No one redeems themselves at the end of the story. Charlie Brown goes and gets the littlest, scrawniest Christmas tree – the only character who can see any good in the ‘underdog,’ the ‘weakest link.’ Of course the chorus of “Geez Charlie you suck!” begins. They all talk about how lame Charlie is, he agrees and leaves.

Only when he’s not around do they decide they’ll take a second look at the tree and decorate it. They never apologize for being so mean, they never tell Charlie to his face that he’s alright after all, he never tells them to buzz off and no one ever tells Lucy to SHUT UP!!

The Grinch has a change of heart at the end. We all learn something and the lesson is uplifting. Same with Rudolph - We learn not to judge, to love everyone and especially those who are different from us.

Not so with Charlie Brown. Everyone just goes on being the same crummy person they were in the beginning of the show.

So I’m sorry Mr. Shultz, and I’m sorry America, I just don’t get the love affair and I never have.

But I love apple pie and… well I don’t really love baseball either. But I love figure skating, that’s American, right?

Showtuners In Primetime

Hey Showtune fans!


Have you been watching primetime TV this season? Some of our Broadway faves are making a great showing!

Of course, the lovely and very talented Sara Ramirez has been gracing the Seattle Grace Hospital on Grey's Anatomy for a while now (still waiting for a karaoke night though). She's great in the show, but it always takes me back to seeing her in Spamalot from the 3rd row. Sara was utterly captivating! Her stage presence was unparalleled and that is something that, sadly, a TV camera can't capture. Alas, I enjoy watching her.


How about Pushing Daisies? It's a quirky, new show on ABC (Wednesday night at 7p). They're swimming in Broadway folks which is great for us geeks. Kristin Chenoweth steals her scenes, for starters. She plays Olive – a slightly less-than-bright, innocently sexy server in a pie shop with a crush on her boss. She is wonderful! Again, I'm always sad to see outstanding singers doing something in which they're not singing... but I'm sure the money is a hard thing to turn down. And, it's great to see her up close and personal!


But the show boasts other Broadway folks as well. Imagine my delight when Raul Esparza walked into the pie shop a few weeks ago. I sat there with Mark and shrieked “That's Raul!”



“Raul who?”




“Raul Esparza!”



"Who's that?"



*exasperated sigh*



He was a traveling salesman of sorts peddling homeopathic mood lifters. Such a treat to watch Raul and Kristin have witty banter with each other... with a sort of a flirtatious undertone. I'm hoping they bring that character back – they left the story line open for such a return and I'm anxiously waiting!


Then Mark spotted Ellen Greene on the show. I know, I know, the name didn't ring a bell with me either. But she was none other than Audrey in the Steve Martin movie version of Little Shop Of Horrors. Mark was sure of it. It had been so long since I'd seen the show that I wasn't quite sure. We looked it up that night and sure enough, it was! She played that role on Broadway also for a few years. Again, in another non-singing role. She plays Vivian Charles a very eccentric former water ballerina (would that be the proper verbage?).


Tony Award winning Swoosie Kurtz is also in Pushing Daisies. She's the twin sister of Ellen Greene's character. Though not a musical gal, she's graced the Great White Way and is doing a great job in Pushing Daisies.


Taye Diggs is walking around, looking quite nice in his very-fitted shirts, in LA starring in the new Grey's Anatomy spin-off Private Practice (ABC Wednesday, 8p). Don't you think they really should write some type of singing thing for these stars? He's a doctor in Private Practice and he's great. Of course, any time he smiles he absolutely steals the scene!! More Taye, more smiling and a some singing would be good too!


Then there's Ugly Betty. I have some thoughts on a recent episode where the lead couple went to Wicked. Yes, I have some issues with it and we'll talk about that next week.


In meantime, tune in and support our Broadway stars. I know, we'd all rather have them on Broadway. But, since we're all interested in making a paycheck and hopefully it'll allow them the opportunity to grace the stage again, we should support them in their TV shows too! Besides, at least we still get to see them perform!!

Baby & Ginger & Stuff

Hey gang!

I know it’s been a while. I’m continually amazed at where the time goes. I mean really…. Does changing diapers and feeding a 6 pound infant REALLY take THAT much time?

Answer: yes. Yes it does.

Not to mention the continual changes of her outfit, my outfits (not because we’re fashion plates, but because we hate smelling like milk). Plus changing of the cover of her changing table, the constant search for burp cloths that are never where I want them to be, and the constant battle of binky, no binky, binky, no binky, binky, no binky. She loves the binky and wants the binky, but she’s really good at spitting it out and not so good at putting it back in (and when she can put it back in, I suppose it’s time to get rid of them!). Ugh. That’s where my blogging time has gone. Oh, and I still try to get a good cuddle or two in with Ginger.

Ging has done really well with the change but I think it’s been tough for her. She’s very gentle with Victoria and for the most part is uninterested in all the goings-on (except for the dirty diapers…. She’s VERY interested in those!). But I think she’s sad. The stroller takes up half of her car space which leaves her looking concerned and whimpering while we’re out and about. She has less cuddle-time. Initially I thought our cuddle-times were more for me than her, but I’ve changed my mind. Now when we cuddle she really cozies right up and nestles in to get as much out of it as she can. I guess my dog-voice and my baby-voice are about the same which leads to much confusion for Ging. But I think we’re adjusting.

Anyway, the good news for me is: I can finally drive!! They told me not to after having surgery and I was going a little stir crazy. It’s amazing how being able to take a trip to the grocery store can boost your spirits – it’s the little things. So, now we’re two gals about town which should be remarkably better than two gals still sitting on the couch!

New discoveries:

Victoria gets better and better at holding her head up. It’s cute to watch because her little head finally gets SO heavy it crashes back on my shoulder in utter exhaustion.

She’s also focusing more on different objects and faces.

And, her cord fell off! Rather startling for this first-time mom, but it’s gone. She’s a big girl now!!

Thanksgiving 2007

So, I’m not sure how long you’ve been reading my blog but if you’ve been around for longer than a year, you may remember reading about my last Thanksgiving.

Quick recap: I was assigned rolls and, as an afterthought, and appetizer. I wasn’t smart or organized enough to show up early with the stupid appetizer, so they were fairly useless (the rolls were great). But I was completely shown-up by my LITTLE sister!! So much so, that I walked away deciding to make some Thanksgiving Resolutions that included:

(Taken directly from last year’s blog!) "I hereby resolve:

1. To learn a new dish or two – something OTHER than cookies.
2. Show up at Thanksgiving with a little more than I was asked to bring.
3. Figure out a treat NOW to show the young-‘uns how it’s done at the summer BBQ."

Well, come one, was I REALLY expected to remember, let alone ACT on said resolutions? How many of you have truly kept your resolutions? That’s what I thought.

Needless to say, I completely forgot about what happened last year. But in my defense, my life is slightly different this year: I’m a new mom of an infant who did NOT want to sleep the night before the big feast leaving both Mark and I quite bleary-eyed. I’m still unemployed and in preparation to move (which we were planning to do before I got fired) but a good chunk of our belongings (including some pots and pans) have been boxed up and moved to storage. I feel like we’re newlyweds all over again.

At any rate, I was assigned the very difficult task of Stove Top stuffing (perhaps Mom knows I’m not able to offer up much?) True to Erica fashion, I waited until Thanksgiving morning to dash to Albertson’s to pick up said boxes of stuffing. Luckily they store still had some AND they were on sale. Mom said I could make them up at her house (another cop-out on my part). We arrived and everyone was sitting around waiting for us. I kept thinking…. Technically I still have 8 minutes before designated time. 8 minutes is GOBS of time to whip up this fabulous stuffing!

I got the water and block of butter boiling and started opening the packages. Imagine my slight, or great, embarrassment when the pot boils over, water splashes all over the burner and smoke fills the kitchen so rapidly that soon we’re listening to the ear-piercing wails of my dad’s new fancy smoke detectors. My mom’s running around opening windows and the kitchen fills with even more commotion.

My little sister, on the other hand, arrived early and prepared some fabulous yams topped with some type of wonderfully crunchy crust. And, she also did a homemade, fresh, cranberry sauce. UGH!! Again, I was shown up again by my little sister. We sat down at the table and I looked at her and it all came back to me, “I blogged about you and your contribution last year, as I recall.”

I became the butt of many jokes – again – around the Hansen feast. Everyone especially getting a big kick at my lighting water on fire, except my Dad who was actually really glad I tested his new detectors.

I promise THIS time, I’ll remember my resolutions. I would really like to show up with something real to serve.

Thanksgiving 2008 is MINE!!

First Week

I’ve been a Mom for one week now. One week and 10 hours, to be exact.

I never expected newborns to really do much, and truthfully, they don’t. Victoria basically sleeps most of the day, until her hunger gets so severe it overwhelms her and catapults her from a state of deep sleep to a state of agony – wails, and tears until she tastes the milk. She blissfully eats, burps, poops, gets her diaper changed and starts all over again. That’s her day in a nutshell.

But, I’ve had some great moments of discovery already.

- She seems to recognize my singing!! My first evening with her, after everyone left, I sat in the bed with my baby and talked to her. As soon as I started singing, her eyes opened up and looked at me. Every time I sang to her that night, her eyes opened. How amazing!! That brought tears to my eyes… my little girl seems to recognize my voice, my singing and the songs I love.

-I still love staring at her sweet face. I stare at her for very long periods of time. She pulls the most wonderful little faces while she sleeps. I think it’s an insight into what her expressions will be like once she starts using them. I think she’ll have a killer smile, be able to raise one eyebrow and be able to do an Elvis-like lip snarl.

- Mark is great with her! He’s wonderful with jumping in to help feed, change and comfort her. I love watching him with her – especially when he makes up words to songs since he doesn’t know the real words.

- I love how smitten the grandparents are with her. They just coo, cuddle, stare and marvel at her as much as I do. Plus, I love watching my folks as grandparents – it’s a new role and it’s a pleasure to sit back and watch.

- I’m amazed how quickly time goes. Just when I think we’re going to be ready to actually do something on time, I look at the clock and am just stunned at how much time such a little person can take. At least Mark can’t blame ALL of our lateness on me!

- After I feed Victoria, she purses her little lips together in the most beautiful little pucker. She already seems totally proper, dignified… it’s such a distinguished little pucker. As if to say, “Mom, will you please wipe my mouth?... I’d hate to be seen like this.” I watch for it every time I feed her.

- When newborns rest, they seem to practice their facial expressions, flexing their muscles. Sunday night while visiting the fam, my Mom and I were staring at her. Suddenly her face just lit up in the most beautiful, wonderfully, big smile. Her whole face was alive with the biggest, gummy, happy grin I’ve ever seen. It was beautiful and again, brought tears to my eyes. I know she doesn’t know that she’s smiling yet, but if that’s any indication – are we in for a treat!!

- Last night she did a really strong grip for the first time. My Father-in-law was holding her and she reached out and cupped her little hand around his thumb – like his thumb was a stick-shift. She gripped it like that for quite a while and of course, we were all abuzz with her progress!

- I think she has my eyebrows. Can’t tell for sure, but they seem to be the same shape. Weird, huh?... fun too!

What a busy week, 10+ hours we’ve had!