Dear Evan Hansen

I love living in DC and all the great venues there are to enjoy live theater. DC is also great because there are many shows that premiere here in DC before they head to Broadway. I have thoroughly enjoyed being apart of those beginning audiences. 

Tonight I went to see a new musical called Dear Evan Hansen. It was amazing! Very moving and applicable to today's world of social media and trying to fit in when you feel so alone. The messages in the show were very moving. When tragedy happens everyone wants to be apart of the buzz and connect to it. This is true of many events, celebrity weddings, natural disasters, racial attacks, political agendas, etc. Woth today's social media everyone wants to have something to say and a connection. This helps them to feel apart of something. For those who normally feel alone, rejected, unnoticed in this world , social media gives them a way to feel like they belong. 

Budapest and Prague Food

I recently went to Budapest and Prague for vacation. One of the many things I was looking forward to was the food. I love to eat and knew that the food was going to be fabulous. Here is a look at some of the many treats I enjoyed in these beautiful countries. 

Cafe Louvre in Prauge had an amazing dinner of duck, red cabbage and dumplings. Finished the meal off with chocolate cake, cheesecake with peaches and raspberry crumble. 

Chimney bread filled with Nutella, strawberries and ice cream. The bread was covered with cinnamon and sugar. 

A hotdog baguette. They taste so much better stupider in a baguette.

 Hot potato. They spiraling a potato and spread it out on a stick before frying it and adding salt for taste. It literally is like eating fresh potato chips.

Grandpas rolls. It was little pig pastries with whipped cream and powder sugar on top.

Stuffed cabbage. It was amazing! 

This is a cans bar that is local to Hungary that every Hungarian misses when they leave. It's like a cottage cheese/ cream cheese bar with chocolate. Some have other favors stuffed inside as well.

Nutella pizza. Nothing more to say about it. 

Gelato flowers. I tried it with mango, white chocolate lavender and chocolate.

Goulash soup. 

Langos. Fluffy bread with sour cream cucumbers, peppers, pepperoni, goat cheese, jalapeños.

There were blossoms everywhere

Spring is truly here when you look out and see the daffodils and tulips blooming. There is a family farm in Haymarket, VA where you can go out and pick your own daffodil and tulip bouquets. It's so beautiful to go out and see these beautiful fields in bloom. It tells me that new life is here on the earth again as we change seasons and hope is in sight of we are just patient and weather the storm. 

No Day But Today

In the spirit of New Years resolutions I'm determined to live this year for each and everyday and not procrastinate what I want. If you keep putting off until tomorrow what you could have done today you will have a lot of empty yesterday's. 

Make new, enriching memories this year.

No Day But Today

Rent

There's only us, there's only this
Forget regret, or life is yours to miss
No other path, no other way
No day but today

There's only us, only tonight
We must let go to know what's right
No other road, No other way
No day but today

I can't control my destiny
I trust my soul, my only goal
Is just to be

There's only now, there's only here
Give in to love or live in fear
No other path, No other way
No day but today

There's only us, There's only this
Forget regret, or life is yours to miss
No other road, no other way
No day but today

No day but today
(No day but today)
No day but today
(No day but today)
No day but today
(No day but today)
No day but today

Children of Eden

As much as I love musical theater it never really occurred to me that I should try out to be in a show. I love to singe but don't think I have the best of voices and I definitely can't dance. So back in November when Sister Smith encouraged me to audition for a community production of Children of Eden I was a little skeptical of my chances to actually get in to a show. I went to the audition so nervous and not really sure what to expect. The music part was simple enough but I had no idea how to dance. By the time I got up to the reading I was pretty sure that I was not going to be cast in the show so I relaxed a little more and just went with it. Who knew that acting would actually be my best part. 

Weeks later I received a phone call with an offer to play the role of Aysha, one of the wives of the sons of Noah. I was thrilled as there are very few female roles in the show. Even though it was a small part I was very excited. 

The process of putting together the show was long and we had several bumps happen along the way. Our music director committed suicide a month in to rehearsal. We didn't have enough men audition for the male leads so we we're still looking for cast there. The directors mother had a stroke and was not going to fully recover from it. And then schedules never seemed to work out for us to all get together and rehearse. It really was a miracle that the show was able to come together. But for all the struggles that happened I was very touched and moved by the music and spirit that the show is trying to convey.

The show is written by Stephen Schwartz who also wrote Pippin, Godspell and Wicked. It is literally the first 8 chapters of Genesis. The first act covers the creation through the death of Abel. The second act starts by going through the generations of Adam down to Noah and then covers the steps of Noah and the flood. It ties in the lessons that are taught in the first act with the second act. There are some great lessons that they draw about love, being a parent, forgiveness,. Some of my favorite songs are Spark of Creation, Lost in the Wilderness, and Hardest Part of Love. 

I also really enjoyed studying the life and decision of Adam and Eve in the garden and about the creation. Even though it wasn't all told on the way that I believe I was really touched to hear how other religions teach the creation and view the garden of Eden. 

I was so grateful to all my friends who came out to see the show and support me. They are the best and I'm so blessed to have such a great support system in my life. I made some great friends in the show and was able to stretch myself into doing something new. I even learned to dance a little bit. Looking forward to other shows to audition for and perform in.  

Snow Day

Well it's no surprise that this past winter has been crazy when it comes to the weather. We had a few days of nice weather warmer weather and then I think Jack Frost somehow got out of his cage. Someone forgot to tell him his time is up and Mother Nature needed to move on her the next season. At the beginning of March we had 8 inches of snow dump on us very quickly. I woke up that morning and there was nothing on the ground. I proceeded to get ready for work and when I was about ready to leave 45 minutes later there was already an inch of snow on the ground! Frosty didn't waste any time. There was 8 inches of snow on the ground when I went out for a walk after working from home 8 hours. Crazy!!! But the kids outside loved making snowmen one last time. I had a little bit of fun with my roommates cars as well ⛄️

Baby's Coming

I decided that my sisters baby shower was an event I could not miss. I flew home for the weekend to attend my sisters baby shower. I am so excited to be an aunt again and for my sister to start this next phase in her life. She is such a cute pregnant mommy. 

I had way to much fun shopping for baby clothes for him. I bought a little kimono when I was in Japan for him to wear. And a couple (ok several) fun indies for him including one that says "I ❤️ (inside the heart says amazing, gorgeous, funny) aunt *contact info upon request". I mean why shouldn't the little guy help out in finding me a man? I had also bought Kayla a diaper bag when I was in Taiwan that is waterproof that has all kinds of cute animals on it. She got so many cute clothes this kid will be a well dressed young man. It was a short trip back but I'm so glad I did it. We can't let distance stop us from making memories with our family. 

And All That Jazz

I figured what better way to celebrate Valentine's Day then going to see Chicago. A musical about women who murder their husbands. Cause when your single you don't want to celebrate this day by watching a sappy love story right?   I'm so glad Anne came with me to the show and we were able to catch up over lunch. 

Thateveningbibwent to the Lonely Hearts Film Festival which is a movie contest by the LDS singles in the DC area. People make short videos and there is an awards ceremony afterwards like the oscars (no really, they win Oscar like statues). I have to say even though I was single I felt hot in my new red dress. This year I was able to be single and happy on Valentine's Day and I may have even bought myself my own roses this year because who says flowers have to one from a significant other?

Do you hear the people sing Lea Salonga?

I have loved the voice of Eponine played by Lea Salonga in the 10th anniversary Les Miserable concert since I was a little girl. I grew up listening to that version all the time.its probably why Les Miserable is one of my top five favorite musicals ( don't ask what the other four are, I couldn't narrow it down that far). So when a tribute concert to Mitchell and Schumberg with the symphony orchestra in DC featuring Lea Salonga I had to attend. I was not disappointed. Hearing her sing On My Own love with a full symphony is enough to send chills up your spine. There were other musical tributes as well: Miss Saigon, the Pirate Queen, and Les Revolution. But my favorite was Les Miserable. They did so many of my favorite songs including I Dreamer A Dream, Stars, Master of the House and In My Life/A Heart Full of Love. So amazing! It was fun to have the actual writers in attendance as well. 

The Struggle of Changing Your Mind

In November of 2014 I had hit a low in my life that called me to make some major changes in my life. I knew that I needed to make some big changes to get out of this rut that I felt I was stuck in. The wheel of life was spinning each day with routine but I wasn't going anywhere. The scenery was not changing around me and I felt myself sinking further and further down into a never ending cycle. I had to change. I had to get out of this rut before I sank too deep to get out. I recruited help. I contacted for of the bishopric wives who is a health coach to help me feel better about myself physically.

At this point in my life I want you to know that I know I am a daughter of God and that he loves me. I also know that I have family who loves me. I have friends who wee there for me to support me and love me. But because I did not love myself it was hard to always believe that what others wee telling me was true. I couldn't believe that other people could love seen since I did not love myself and most of that came from a physical appearance which also is connected to an emotional mentality. I truly believed that I was a rejected daughter of God. I haven't dated anyone in 8 years and while I have had several guy friends I was not dating any of them and I believed it was because of my weight that caused my lack of dating opportunities. Now. While I wanted to lose weight because I thought it would make me more attractive to men. I didn't want to do this in an unhealthy way. There were other things in my life that I needed to find happiness and fulfillment in as well. 

Sister Wood introduced me to a program called Take Shape For Life. It teaches you principles to take care of your body not just with the food you eat but the mentality of how you eat, why you eat, giving yourself plenty of rest, water etc. I felt that this program was going to be challenging but worth the effort. What has surprised me the most is how easy it has actually been for me and I know that is because the Lord has been helping me along and given me the strength to stick to the program. I have stuck to this habit of healthy eating and taking care of myself for 4 months now. I have lost over 4lbs in what seems like such a short amount of time. I feel great! I have so much more energy and confidence than I have had in a long time. I am wearing sizes that I never thought I would be buying again. People are telling all the time how good I am looking and I know they are right because I believe it. I have now learned to love myself which allows me to believe that others love me as well. I think that is key. If you don't love yourself you will never believe what others say about you. 

But now there is a new trial that I am dealing with that no one tells you about when you lose weight. How do you change your mindset of seeing the "fat" girl in the mirror that you have seen for so long and see the beautiful healthy person you are now? I've been the fat girl for so long that my mind still sees itself sometimes as that person still. Even as I look in the mirror and see how much better I look and skinnier I am my mind doesn't know how to register it I find myself sinking back into that mentality of seeing myself as someone who is fat. 

How do you train your mind to think differently. Being healthy and losing weight is not just measured by numbers on a scale. It is actually changing the way your mind thinks about your image as well. You have to learn how to look at yourself in the mirror and see the changes you have been making and really feel it in your heart as well. The connection of what your head thinks and your feels need to align with each other if you are really going to believe in the changes you have been making both physically and mentally to really understand the emotional change you have been taking. 

While I am still struggling with making this mental change in the way I think about my appearance to connect with what I know is true about how I really look; I will continue to seek the guidance of the spirit to help me . One thing I will say through all of this is that I no longer believe that I am a rejected daughter of God. I truly believe that he loves me because I have learned to love myself. I believe people now when they tell me that am of worth because I have accepted this of myself as well. So maybe this is the answer. Know your worth. Embrace your worth. Feel your worth and know that you are loved. 

Disney World: Mardi Gras, Chinese New Year, Presidents Day and Carnival Style

I have great friends and some that, like me, love a good themed party. Jennifer took me to a whole new level of themed parties by introducing me to themed vacations! She took me to Disney World in Orlando, FL to celebrate Mardi Gras, Carnival (Mardi Gras in Europe) and Chinese New Year with Mickey and his friends. I have to admit I was pretty excited to get out of the freezing cold weather that was surrounding us in Virginia.

Themed vacations was a hit. We stayed at the Port Orleans French Quarter hotel that was fabulous decorated for Mardi Gras.

 






The first thing we did when we got there was order biegnets (squared powder donuts), YUM!!!! It was a little bit of a shock to my system since I haven't had that much sugar, fried food and bread in a long time. (more on that in another post)

We then headed to Downtown Disney for some Cajun food for lunch. Jenn is big for themed food and I wasn't going to object. House of Blues apparently gets pretty booked at night so we went for a late lunch. The atmosphere was very New Orleans and the salmon salad I ate was delicious. I can't ever get my salmon to taste that good.

 And no trip to Florida is complete without some time at the pool. I needed to thaw out from the freezing VA weather we had been having. I think I may have been singing Olaf's song about summer at one time or another.

 Dinner that night was at the Boatwrights Dining Hall at the resort. I had some amazing shrimp and grits for dinner. I have never had grits before but it seemed like an appropriate southern style food to eat. Man was it good and I had been craving some good shrimp for a while. it was very satisfying indeed. Dinner was made even better by the presence of my old friend Sara Smith Bolling who drove up to meet us. It was great catching up with her.

So this mask was at the gift shop and it is hand made in Italy and then shipped to Florida to be decorated. it was so beautiful but definitely more money than I will ever be able to afford. Did you notice my clothes are coordinated colors for mardi gras?

The rest of the week was spent exploring Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom. Such a fun time. I ate a lot of food but hey, we were walking 10 + miles a day so I didn't feel bad about one bite. I love being in Disney World. It makes me feel like a kid again and it really is a place where dreams can come true.

Presidents Day march

American food at the Liberty Tavern for lunch. Another great salmon salad and I even had a gooey toffee desert which was divine!

Aurora is from France and they love to celebrate Carnival there.

Tiana and Prince Naveen are from New Orleans and they love a good Mardi Gras celebration. When Naveen asked us where he should take Tiana on a date to in VA we told him to go to Alexandria for food. When he asked what they should order Jenn suggested frog legs. He didn't like that idea very much.

In France at Epcot they started getting ready for the Flower and Garden Festival with all the topiaries. Belle is from France and they like to celebrate Carnival too. So pretty.

So of course we had to meet Belle and ask her what we should eat.

Some kind of chocolate cake covered in a ganache and shaved pieces of white chocolate. Oh my taste buds were in love.

Macaroon with raspberries and lemon pudding.

 

It was so good. I may have had two. YUM!

A real Ceasar Salad in Italy and an amazing 4 cheese pizza.

Another desert from France. Chocolate Cake with raspberry pudding and fresh raspberries and sauce on top. A great way to start the day.

Chinese New Year should be celebrated in China. Hurray for the year of the Ram! or is it a goat? Or maybe a sheep? No one can really decide in the US what it is. Oh well, Good wishes to all.

I'm not shy, just using the art of the fan.

Mulan celebrated Chinese New Year with us.

Lunch at the Yak and Yeti restaurant was a great treat. I think I've eaten all I can for Chinese New Year.

Rough Times Bring Beautiful Wonders (Taiwan 4)

New Years Day we decided to head to the top of the country to explore a geological park. The park was along the northern coast looking out over the Pacific Ocean. It was a bit of a windy day but the temperature was perfect for hiking outside.The scenery was gorgeous! I have never seen a coast like this before. We hiked along the touristy area for a while and then made our way to higher ground where fewer people went. I was listening to music as we were hiking and thinking because the night before I had gone through something of a breakup. Basically a guy told me that the reason he couldn't develop feelings for me was because he had feelings for my unavailable roommate. Ouch! Yes, it hurt and I did not get much sleep. (like 4 hours of sleep). I fell asleep crying after getting off the phone with him. I told Daina what had happened so she was a very supportive of letting me have my quiet time as we walked. I was trying not to be in a bad mood and to be honest I really wasn't. I was more contemplating my life and what had happened in the past and how I wanted to change so that I wouldn't feel like I was repeating the same trials over and over again.

I started comparing trials to the waves that were beating against the coast we were hiking on. The waves were sometimes really low and light against the surface. But when the winds picked up the waves were bigger and hit harder against the rocks. Now the entire time we were walking around I was amazed at the landscape and the beauty of it. The coast was very porous from the waves hitting it so often and I realized that it was because of all the waves coming in that the surface was formed and shaped to be so beautiful. Had there been no waves the rocks would have been flat and dull. It was all the unique shapes in the rocks that made the rocks so amazing.

We have to allow the waves of life to come in and help to shape us into something beautiful. It's how we grow and form who we are in the world. While breakups are not fun I definitely have learned what I want to do going forward with my life and I can say that I have been changed for the better.

Meditation time

It's skull rock