With help from Fay, I have rediscovered reading. For the last two weeks I have been submerged in stories about wizards and vampires- two entities I normally steer clear of. After visiting my roommate’s elementary classroom, I decided to give Harry Potter a chance. I have never seen a movie or read one of J.K. Rowling’s famous novels, so my knowledge of Mr. Potter was merely that he was a literary phenomenon. I never understood what all the hype was about and how so many different types of people, ages, girls and guys, etc could be so obsessed with wizards! Well after reading about Harry’s first year at Hogwarts, I get it. I think the best way to describe how you can get sucked into these books is by the quote: " Reading gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are." Mason Cooley So far I have read Year 1 and 2 as well as seen the movies, which just like the books- are captivating. I’m about to finish Year 3, and then it’s movie time before moving on…. Now, not only have I hooked...

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 Due to the recent stormy weather, Jacksonville has turned into “Overreactionville,” a new nickname for the River City that I just recently read on one particular social network...

I’ve got it. I really didn’t see it coming. It keeps me up at night and constantly distracted. I have Olympic fever. Woooooo!!!! Go USA!! It all started last Saturday night. A group of us (about 10 people actually), were enjoying dinner at Al’s Pizza when we realized- MICHAEL PHELPS is going for his first gold medal in this Olympics. As we all huddled around to get a view of this iconic athlete, the energy was contagious. We caused quite a scene, but it didn’t matter- the cheering continued and the celebration had everyone on their feet when his first gold was achieved. And that’s when it started. So for the last 5 nights I have been glued to NBC. I’ve caught a few beach volleyball games, but my main focus has been swimming and gymnastics (and when track and field begins, I’ll have my fix!). I’ve seen Mr. Phelps win all 6 of his Gold’s...

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I will be taking a road trip today. Packing up the Honda, plugging in the new 80 gig and peeling out. Ahead of us, my best friend Brittany and me, will be about two-and-a-half hours of beautiful Florida highway, some ridiculous singing, a possible caffeine pit stop and a college town, complete with our two other best friends. Yes, Jacksonville, I am calling the next two days a Tallahassee weekend. And it couldn’t come at a better time. A transitional period always calls for a vacation. Our season will begin soon, within the few months (so be on the lookout for all our upcoming shows!), and with that the sleepy summer will pass. Many nights out of the week will be spent at the theatre, far past the usually 9-5ers. Everyone kicks into high gear, and we all become a little nuttier than before. But that’s the sparkle of working in a theatre; it gets your blood moving and your mind working. So before that tidal wave comes, I’ll wade myself across the state to spend some quality time with the people I love,...

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I will be taking a road trip today. Packing up the Honda, plugging in the new 80 gig and peeling out. Ahead of us, my best friend Brittany and me, will be about two-and-a-half hours of beautiful Florida highway, some ridiculous singing, a possible caffeine pit stop and a college town, complete with our two other best friends. Yes, Jacksonville, I am calling the next two days a Tallahassee weekend. And it couldn’t come at a better time. A transitional period always calls for a vacation. Our season will begin soon, within the few months (so be on the lookout for all our upcoming shows!), and with that the sleepy summer will pass. Many nights out of the week will be spent at the theatre, far past the usually 9-5ers. Everyone kicks into high gear, and we all become a little nuttier than before. But that’s the sparkle of working in a theatre; it gets your blood moving and your mind working. So before that tidal wave comes, I’ll wade myself across the state to spend some quality time with the people I love,...

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Katie and I are collaborating on this blog and going to put the food critics of the world to shame. No, not really, but we will tell you about the great places to eat here in Jacksonville! Monday Al’s Pizza (Riverside) - definitely one of our favorite places in Jacksonville. On this particular day I had a BBQ Chicken calzone, which sounds crazy, but the combo of cheese, chicken and bbq sauce is unbeatable! Katie had the classic- Al’s Chicken Salad, and that will make anyone a salad lover. Tuesday Lunch: We were lucky enough to have a “lunch meeting” with Gayle (AAF Prez, boss’s wifey, good friend!) and ordered a little bit of everything they had!!! We munched on tabouleh, stuffed grape leaves, fried kibbie, meat pie, falafel, labneh and makdous. If you are unfamiliar with any of these terms (which we were, no worries) visit http://www.thecasbahcafe.com/. All was delicious! Dinner: Moss Fire Grill!!!! (Five Points) First of all we got the best place to sit- the couches upstairs! Feels like you are...

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Home. Home sweet home. Home is where the heart is. Home is where you lay your head. Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in. Nice one, Rob Frost. I think I like that one—like a proverbial insurance policy. Home is an interesting concept. There is no concrete position of home. You can’t find home on a GPS, now matter how that little Tom Tom tries. Home is an abstract reality that one creates to satisfy the need for belonging, the need for refuge. It is often a place of biological reference and often a dwelling for all the loves of your life, be they human, animal or mineral. When I get a call from my parents’ house, my caller id rightfully says home. Now it would be ridiculous to say the house was calling me. Houses don’t make phone calls, unless it was one of the houses of the future where all the appliances talk to you. Maybe those houses make…house calls…So it is not the house calling. It is my home. Actually, when home calls it also plays O.A.R.’s...

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Earlier today I wasn’t feeling inspired to write a blog, maybe after reading my horoscope- “Today is a 7, you have had a tough week”, my creative juices were lacking. I didn’t know what to write about or what direction I wanted to go in. So it got me thinking, what does inspire me? Reflecting over the last week I realized that I may be one of the luckiest people ever, because I can think of a number of things that have inspired me in just one short week. Last Friday I made the trip home to Brevard County Florida to attend my Grammy’s 80th surprise birthday party. Talk about inspiring. The experience of sharing the moment with her was overwhelming. The pure join, shock and appreciate was contagious. She is more than just a grandmother to me, she is a best friend and someone I truly look up to. I turn to her for guidance and for the extra push to get me through the day, week or month. She is an abundant supply of inspiration. This week we had our monthly board meeting. For the last year I have only been...

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One of These Things is Not Like the Others… When I was growing up, one of my favorite shows was Sesame Street—wasn’t it everyone’s really? I think Sesame Street has been on since the dawn of time teaching children numbers, letters and the simplest yet most important lessons in life, like sharing and equality. One of my favorite song snippets from that show was “One of These Things is Not Like the Others,” where you had to choose which of the three or four things in a series didn’t belong. The lyrics went: One of these things is not like the others. One of these things just doesn’t belong. Can you tell which thing is not like the others Before I finish my song? They would show four Weimaraners in a row, but one of them peculiarly had spots. Oh that sneaky Dalmatian! He doesn’t belong! It was always great fun, but certainly taught a lesson in identifying those things that stick out of...

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So Katie and I have decided to audition for American Idol this year, because as luck would have it auditions will be held right down the block from us in Jacksonville, FL. We really feel that this could be our shot to take our act nationally. Katie has already reached a national level of fame with her amazing appearance in the HBO movie Recount, but the extent of me on any kind of screen has been in the UNF Freshman orientation video. So this just seems like the most logical idea for instant fame. We are back and forth on what song we want to sing- because we figure a K- girl audition would be better than individual. How could they not love us? Maybe we’ll sing a Sara Evans song- so when she comes to play the Florida Theatre in September we can tell her all about it. Perhaps “Born to Fly”, that could represent us well. Or maybe a past performer’s song that has inspired us, like Trisha...

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