Task #5 -Visit All 50 States

I'm back from Chicago; but am still filtering through the many, many pictures that were taken during my long weekend! In an attempt to try to post every day remaining in December, I am visiting task #5 on my Goals/To-List.

My goal is to visit all 50 states, with a stay of at least one night or longer. Just driving through the state does not count. These visits are being counted post-college only; and I haven't given myself an end date to accomplish these visits.

I can sort the 50 states into several categories: States I've Lived In, States I've Worked In, States Already Visited, States I'm Already Planning On and States That I Still Need To Visit. (In some cases, I've done lived/worked in the same state; they are only listed once.)

States I've Lived In: (4)
California, Indiana, Missouri, Texas [note: "lived in" means stayed for a period of longer than a show contract; and not necessarily tied to a contract either]

States I've Worked In: (7)
Colorado, Florida, Kansas, Michigan, Oklahoma, New York, Utah

States Already Visited: (9)
Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia

States I'm Already Planning On: (3)
Alaska (Jan/Feb '09), Hawaii (Mar '09), Arkansas (nothing concrete yet, but see #36 of the List)

States That I Still Need To Visit: (27)
Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming

Having accomplished over half already makes me breathe a bit easier; but there are still 27 to go! 28, really.

Just out of pure amusement, if I'd counted driving though, I could have knocked off New Mexico, Ohio, and Tennessee. But that would be cheating - and I would really like to give those states more than a drive-by.

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Photos will return soon, I promise! I've quite the backlog!

EDIT 12/11: As mom pointed out, I went to good ol PA for a wedding, so that does count!

Happy List, Week 2

Hey, look! I'm posting on a Monday. You'd think with all this free time, I'd have time to blog more. Maybe it's time for a new resolution... except I've already missed a few days in December... but I know I'll have reasonable access to the internet for this entire month (versus next month), so perhaps this is the way to go!

Anyhow, more on that later, on to my happy list for the week which is actually posted on a Monday! Again, in no particular order:

1. My new warm coat, scarf, gloves, hat, mittens. I've ventured up to the continental US version of Alaskan weather: Chicago. A good testing ground for my newfound winter clothes. Winners all around!

2. Really good friends from college. They're the best. I need to remember that when I'm unhappy for any reason, and call them so they can cheer me up.

3. Specifically, RT and HT for hosting me last-minute when I realized that December was slipping away quicker than I thought and I'd promised a visit! And also to RT's family for welcoming (and remembering) me as well!

4. RT for being a pilot and taking me out for a spin yesterday at dusk. Chicago is an amazing city, especially when viewed at about 3000 feet. And I have the pictures to prove it.

5. Downtown Chicago - in all of its Christmas splendor. Despite the cold, it's a great city and I'm really happy to be here!

Are you seeing a trend here?

6. My camera. I really do love it and I've been taking SO many pictures. I have lots of good subjects including RT's sister, A's lovely two pups and R&H T's adorable pup. My camera and its gear is proving itself worth every penny I paid.

7. My new-found ability to pack light. This must transfer to when I pack for Alaska. EEK!

8. My pups for just plain being cute. They are certainly loving to cuddle this time around, especially the wiggly one. I'm not complaining.

9. The West Wing because the show is brilliant. Even after Aaron Sorkin left and the really good writing went out the door, the actors can still make it watchable. Thank goodness.

10. Purple for being the in-color this season - and in exactly the shade that I adore. I love purple, but I'm super-picky about the shade.

11. Eddie Bauer and its fabulous sales. They ain't cheap, but they make excellent clothing, especially for cold weather, and their holiday discounts have made it more affordable for this gal.

12. Holiday sales in general. The economy may be tanking, and retailers may be getting desperate - but I'm certainly benefiting from it - especially when the purchase were fairly mandatory versus optional.

Hey look, I did more than 10! Guess I have a lot to be happy about this week.

(p.s. did I mention that the happy list usually pertains to the week previous?)

Happy List, Week 1

I am going to try to do these on Monday... but obviously, I've missed the boat this week. In no particular order...

1. The noises that Pippin makes when she first wakes up. They're little, cute, and virtually indescribable, and will make any person melt.

2. The manner in which Tommy sleeps: upside down on his back, all stretched out, and completely relaxed.

3. The unconditional love from my adorable pups. Especially amazing when they cuddle with me (Tommy especially) and stare into my eyes like I'm the best person ever.

4. Deep-Fried (really flash-fried) Philly Roll at Drunken Fish sushi. The best sushi I have ever had. It's a Philly Roll that gets dipped lightly in a thin tempura batter and flash-fried.

5. Oliver Winery wines. Just enough sweet for me, not too sweet to alienate others.

6. Bargain shopping. Contrary to public belief, I don't love shopping, but when I need to shop, I bargain hunt like crazy. The phone helps me out on this for comparison shopping is king. If I'm going to part with my hard-earned money, I'm going to spend it wisely.

7. My iPhone, one of my favorite purchases ever. How did I ever survive without one?

8. Polartec socks. AMAZING. My new favorites.

9. Botan Rice Candy. You know those little green and red boxes from those little Asian grocery stores. They have rice paper wrapping on the candy that you can eat!

10. REI. They helped me purchase necessities for this winter without breaking the bank... much. I would've spent a lot more money elsewhere. And thank goodness for their sale!

Thanksgiving

This year, we had an impromptu quiet Thanksgiving. Mom and I did a majority of the cooking; though Dad couldn't resist helping out.

Here's cranberries in-process:



The pups couldn't resist being left out, too:





But despite those adorable faces, they didn't get a taste.

Here's our final feast: turkey, baked stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes with pears, cranberries (dried and whole), and green beans and peas.



Accompanied by a delicious Riesling from Indiana's own Oliver Winery:



This is what happens when you eat too much good food:





Just kidding. :) These photo were taken the following morning (this morning) and neither pup partook in our Thanksgiving Feast. But were too cute not to include.

More pictures of the pups to follow...

These Past Few Weeks

These past few weeks have been absolutely jam-packed with work. When i wasn't in rehearsal, I was working on something that related to the show. My source of internet was painfully slow dial-up and I just never carted my camera everywhere like I usually did.

Here are some pictures from the last few weeks:

A colleague and her darling companion:



A harvest moon:



These are pictures from our show, sets designed by Maurice Sendak, taken with my iPhone during a tech:



An exhibit at Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis:



That's all for now: next up are some lovely holiday decorations which I won't post until after Thanksgiving and some pup pictures, of course.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Goals/Life List

I just signed in for the first time in awhile (boo to dialup and jam-packed work schedules), and realized that my last, somewhat boring post, was my 100th! I wish I could say I planned the 101th post to celebrate such an event, but I did not. It was simply happenstance.

A fellow blogger and colleague posted her Ultimate To-Do List last April. I was indeed inspired by her list of goals, and have unofficially been compiling one since then. I kicked it up into gear because I recently worked with a colleague, KS, who is trying to visit all 50 states before she is 30. We're accomplishing state #50 on her list in March with a vacation to Hawaii. Wheee!

However, chatting with her about said list inspired me to actually post mine and, by publishing said list, will help me stick to it. It's not exactly a bucket list; and there's varying lengths on time-frames, but they are things I would like to accomplish in the near future. I'll elaborate on some later. And I'll probably revise them as I get a chance to see the too-close parallels that may lie between some of them. I think I caught most, but I'm not sure.

So here's my list of 50, in no particular order:

1. Make a weekly happy list for a year and publish it here.

2. Live in a city I love, or at least, don't hate.

3. Help someone else cross something off their list.

4. Learn another language.

5. Visit all 50 states. (And stay at least a night, or more. Driving through doesn’t count, unfortunately.)

6. Go back to writing good old-fashioned letters.

7. Fall in love.

8. Get paid for my photography or a photo of mine.

9. Lose weight and keep it off.

10. Incorporate exercise into my daily or weekly routine.

11. Teach someone to read. Bonus points if it’s an adult.

12. Become a better photographer and master my camera.

13. See a movie at a drive-in.

14. Take a picture every day for a year.

15. Take a road trip across the US.

16. Raise and train my own dog.

17. Remove money as a driving concern in my life.

18. Make a high-school reading list of books I never read. Read them.

19. Fly first class, preferably internationally.

20. Train a dog to help others (seeing eye dog, therapy dog, rescue dog, I’m not picky.)

21. Live in a house with a porch, preferably wrap-around.

22. Visit all the national parks in the continental United States.

23. Spend New Year's Eve on a beach.

24. Have a baby.

25. See Northern Lights in person.

26. Grown my own food. (I’m talking like an herb or vegetable garden, not farming.)

27. Learn how to do my own taxes.

28. Build a house for Habitat for Humanity.

29. Visit South Korea.

30. Build my own furniture (IKEA and DIY kits don’t count).

31. Go on a hot air balloon ride.

32. Widen my social circle, meet new people.

33. Accentuate the positive/downplay the negative in my daily life.

34. Remember to take time for myself.

35. Learn how to manage stress better

36. Visit the Crater of Diamonds and find hopefully find one.

37. Get over my fear of needles and join the Bone Marrow Donor Registry, and maybe save someone’s life.

38. Own my own home.

39. Consolidate my possessions and learn to live less materialistically.

40. Eat more locally.

41. Learn how to cook less like a college student again.

42. Learn how to play a stringed instrument (violin?) don't have to be good

43. Make more time for reading books.

44. Take a calligraphy course, in order to improve my handwriting. (worked the last time, for awhile)

45. Travel via train, preferably cross-country.

46. Own a piece of Chihuly glass.

47. Be a bridesmaid.

48. Donate to a charity regularly, despite my non-richness.

49. See a really spectacular fall foliage display since I’ve lived in areas without seasons for too long.

50. Blog about each item done.

Any suggestions? Comments? What's on your list?

I'll also be catching up on other posts intended for... well... a month ago.

Fall is Here!

Long time, no update. The internet situation in Indianapolis is slo-poke dial-up for the most part. Photo-blogs might go on hiatus, but I couldn't pass up the chance to share glorious fall color with you before all posts turn to word-only.







Rehearsals are going well; we're into the second week of rehearsals and I am tiring of children. Somehow pre-teens are a little more crazy than having younger kids. Strange but true. Less running around and screaming, but more volume and more silly teenage stunts. The adult cast are amazing and I thoroughly enjoy working with them all.

The other two assistant stage managers are also here which is a welcome change in rehearsal as well as they are both colleagues and friends with whom I've worked with before. We'll be into tech before we know it... this show'll keep us busy for sure.

More soon... The weather now is chilly and my last day off was rather dreary - which mean no good picture taking opportunities.

And I cannot let this blog post go by without acknowledging a sad tragedy back in Houston. The adorable baby elephant that I snapped pictures of mere months ago passed away suddenly. 48 hours from diagnosis to passing on. Poor little thing. :(

Here's him playing around instead of napping. RIP, Mac!