I'm an Award Winner!!!

I just found out this morning that I was given an award by a fellow blogger!!!

Apparently, he was given the award by someone, and has decided that I'm a worthy recipient as well....I'm truly honored!!!

This is the award:

"This award is bestowed upon a fellow blogger whose blog's content or design is, in the giver's opinion, brilliant."


Of course, it comes with a 'hitch' :-)
Basically, the recipient has to post 10 random things about himself for all of his readers to see - so my winning the award will benefit all of you!
Assuming you care.


Anywhoo....here are my 10 random things:

I’ve never kissed a girl. (not counting a friendly peck on the cheek or a ‘stage kiss’)
I’m terrified of drowning or being buried alive.
I could eat ice cream every day
I think about smoking every single day. I still miss it, and I haven’t had a cigarette in almost 4 years.
I watch the Food Network EVERY Saturday and Sunday morning – even if it’s an episode that I’ve seen before.
So many people say that Jim and I are the perfect couple that I’m starting to believe them.
I’m seriously thinking about shaving my head this summer.
I’ve never had a one night stand.
I hate confrontations and will do almost anything in order to avoid them.
I think the people who read my blog are wicked awesome.

There...now you can all say that you read an award winning blog.

Kisses!!!

Hooray for Friday!!

I'm just tickled pink that it's Friday!

Even though it's a grey and drizzly morning, it's still the end of the work week and me likey.

We had a great show last night (which is a very good thing, considering the fact that we had three 'show free' days before it) and the rest of the weekend should be exciting.

My sister PJ and 4 of her friends are coming tonight, my friends Kerry, Guy, Leah and John (and L&J's 2 kids) are coming on Saturday, and then on Sunday afternoon my other sister, Donna and 19 of her closest friends :-) are coming to the show. Actually it's going to be her entire family, plus a large group of friends from their church. It should be very fun.

In addition to the shows, Jim and I are going to a special mass for one of his relatives early Saturday morning, and then on Sunday morning, I have a softball meeting before the show.

No sleeping in for me!!! Poop.

I'm not entirely thrilled about having to get up on a Saturday morning, especially to go to church, but it's a special thing for Jim's family and I'm sure it will be a fun event. His family events usually are.

We got a good review in the local paper on Wednesday.....here are some highlights:

"Godspell'' also has many fantastic moments. Most are created by the rock, folk and gospel music and choreography. Music director Michael Joseph, his band, choreographer Sally Ashton Forrest, and the many talented singers and dancers combine to make our spirits soar."

"Jill Akins and Caitlin Ford lead the cast in the folk-inspired "By My Side,'' and Matt Mello does the same for "All Good Gifts.'' Their soothing voices, and William Buonocore’s exquisite guitar playing, wash over us like a pleasant dream."

"Melissa Sepulveda adds more good feelings when she earnestly sings "Day by Day,'' the show’s most well-known number. Paula Markowicz lends her considerable vocal talents while belting out the uplifting "O, Bless the Lord, My Soul.''

"Markowicz, Melissa Kutchmanich and the cast perform a powerful, drum-fueled (Scott Brenner), Mideast-inspired version of "Light of the World'' to bring the first act to a rousing conclusion."

"In the second act, Karen Cavallo heats things up with her fun rendition of "Turn Back, O Man.'' Later, Michael Iemma gets the finale gears turning by singing the revivalist strains of "We Beseech Thee,'' while the dancers strut their stuff."

"Jim Sullivan adds credibility and substance to the story as the angst-ridden Judas. Alex Valentine, as John the Baptist, gets the show moving with "Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord.''

I was very happy that Jim (my husband, that is) got a nice mention - as did the rest of the talented group of friends I have. :-) Yahoo!

There was another reviewer there last night, so if his review gets posted today - I'll HAVE to update the blog.

Speaking of Jim getting a job, he was successful in his 'wheelings and dealings' with a former employer and he now has a part time job that will become a full time job when October rolls around. (so they say)

As it stands, he'll be working Tuesday-Thursday from April 14th through October and then at that time he'll be switching to a full time position with the company.

It's a small company (the owner and his co-workers are awesome)which he worked for a couple of years ago. His only reason for leaving that job was that he was tired of the commute into Boston and wanted to find something closer to home. Mind you - his commute was (and will be) about a half hour shorter than my daily commute, so I think that he is prepared to suck it up and be happy to have a job. :-) :-)

Seriously though, I'm very happy for him. He was able to work out a deal so that it's more than he'd be making on unemployment, and even though it's not a full time position, he'll still have the ability to find a second part time job closer to home until the full time work kicks in. Of course, in case you didn't notice, his schedule guarantees a 4 day weekend every weekend during the summer and fall, so I'm SURE that he'll be running out trying to find a part time job to take up that time. Sure he will.

OK - I've written long enough.....have a great day and an even better weekend!!!

xoxo

Here are some photos of Jim being unemployed ;-) He totally needs a haircut, but can't get one until the show is over. He'll probably be angry that these are on here, but too bad for him.

I think they're A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E and so is he, long hair or not.

So there.

He met up with our friends Barrie, Julie and Ben (who has made several blog appearances)....as well as Barrie and Karen's dogs Ollie and Lucy.

As always, a big thank you to Barrie for allowing me to swipe photos from her blog.

Heavens to Betsy!!!

I have been B-U-S-Y!!!!

Opening weekend of the show went GREAT. The Friday night show opening night) was very exciting and was a typical opening night audience. The opening night crowd is generally made up of family and friends who are thrilled to be seeing the show. Unless you REALLY screw things up, chances are they're going to love everything that happens on the stage.

That was the case with our opening night crowd...they really loved it. Of course, it doesn't hurt that the show was really quite good anyway. :-)

The other two performances (Saturday and Sunday) went well too, and the audiences seem to really like what they're seeing. Sunday's audience in particular was a very responsive crowd and really had a good time.

Saturday was a super-fun day 'off'; spent at home doing nothing but relaxing, catching up on laundry and spending time with Jim and Scooter....good times.

Monday was a quiet day at work (but busy as ever) and yesterday I actually spent the day working out of the Milton office. That's where my boss and the rest of my team is located. It was nice to be driving to work (40 minutes or so) as opposed to taking 3 different trains over an hour and a half. They seem to be a great group of people, and after some initial connectivity 'issues' I had a very productive day. Granted, I didn't get any training done (the initial reason for me being there) because I don't have the access I need, but it was a nice introduction to my teammates, whom I've never met before.

There's a fun little 'cafeteria' in the building, which happens to be on the same floor as my group, so that was very convenient. I have to say (BITCH ALERT!!) that the staff of the cafeteria were a tad frightening. They seemed to be quite 'rough around the edges' and I think they MAYBE had 32 teeth among the three of them. Just sayin'

Tonight is my last night 'off' because we have shows Thursday through Sunday, so I'm planning on doing some stuff around the house and resting up for the 4 shows that are quickly approaching.

I do however plan on having a quick review of the show so I remember everything that goes on. Nothing like doing a show after having 3 nights off, and forgetting everything that happens!!! Yikes.

Speaking of the show....there haven't been any reviews yet - but I'll let you know once they start rolling in. Assuming they're positive, that is. :-)

Have a Happy Hump Day!!!!

Opening Night!!!!

Well, the day we've all been waiting for has finally arrived!!!!!

Wow...isn't that the oddest graphic???

Anyway....the final dress rehearsal went very well last night.

They say that if you have a bad dress rehearsal then you'll have a great opening night, so what happens if you have a great dress rehearsal? Should we expect disaster to strike tonight? Hardly.

Personally, I had a few minor flub-ups last night, so it wasn't PERFECT for me. I guess that means that tonight I'll be absolutely, without-a-doubt, flawless.

Sure I will. ;-)

I'm looking forward to the opening night energy (so fun!!) and seeing how an audience reacts to everything.

I'll be sure to post and let you know how it went.

Oh - and HAPPY SPRING!!!!

Have a great weekend everyone!!

Feeling the Pinch

Jim is being laid off.

SAY WHAT???

My thoughts exactly.

All this time, we thought that I was the one in real danger of being laid off, but apparently Jim was too.
I can’t go into too many details, but I can tell you that his last day is Friday and he’s getting a minimal severance package. With an emphasis on the m-i-n-i-m-a-l.

Some remotely positive news is that he spoke with one of his former bosses yesterday, and she thinks there’s at least some part time work out there for him.

Which is good….at least it will be something.

I’d be a big, fat liar if I said I wasn’t worried, but I’m sure we’ll pull through OK.

As I’ve said many times before, I truly believe that everything happens for a reason…I just have to keep on telling myself that...and stay focused on all the positive things in our life.
Thankfully, we have lots of support from our families and friends, which is a definite plus.

On a happier note – the show is coming along nicely.

I can’t even wait to see what an audience thinks of it.

(and I won't have to wait long - 2 days!!!!!)

I’ll do my best to keep you informed as to what’s happening…..work has been busy, but as always, I’ll try to find room for my blog-life.

Kisses and hugs…

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

I'm super busy at work, but I didn't think it was very nice to keep seeing scary Jason Voorhees at the top of my blog. :-)

Things are going well...work is CRAZY, the show is coming along nicely and even though I'm feeling tired and old, things are fine and dandy. (Lord it IS like a hard candy Christmas....thank you 'Whorehouse')

Anyway...I've got to run.

Please have a few drinks for me today/tonight.

Instead of enjoying a beer or two I'll be at rehearsal praising Jesus....and pretending he's a big mug of Miller Lite.

Have a GREAT Day!!!

From Jason, with Love....

Happy Friday!!!

Yikes…don’t you just love these years when we get TWO Friday the 13ths right in a row?!?!?
Whatever, it’s fine….I’m not superstitious.
Just kidding. I’m TOTALLY superstitious. I’m not like a crazy person about it, but I certainly have my ‘moments’.
If a black cat crosses my path, I’m not going to freak out – or if I’m forced (for some reason) to walk under a ladder, I’ll be OK – but I’m superstitious about specific things.
For example, if I’m in a show, I tend to do EXACTLY the same pre-show stuff each night; just to ensure that everything stays OK.
If something happens that’s beyond my control and I’m forced to change something, I’m OK with that, but I have to talk myself out of being all freaked out by the change.
Does that make me a little crazy? Oh well, so be it.

Speaking of my house being haunted...I was chatting with my choreographer a week or so ago. Well, she’s not my personal choreographer (how fun would THAT be?!?!?) but she’s choreographing the show I’m in at the moment…anyway – we were talking about my house and how old it is (built in 1825) and she asked if it was haunted.
I said I didn’t think so, because I’ve never been aware of any strange or unexplained goings on since we’ve lived there.
Well wouldn’t you know it? The WEIRDEST thing happened the other day.

Last Saturday, Jim was making lunch, and I noticed that he was making steak. (Yum-O!!) Well, since it was so incredibly nice out, I suggested that I fire up the grill and we could have a little pre-season BBQ. Jim thought that was a delightful idea and told me he would let me know when to turn on the grill. He had some other stuff to get prepared before it was grillin’ time, so I watched some TV (Food Network, of course). While I was watching TV, I thought to myself:
“Hmmm….didn’t I get a propane tank gauge for Christmas?”
If you’re not aware, I’m referring to a little do-hickey that Brookstone makes, that you screw onto your propane tank and it tells you how full your tank is….no more embarrassing “Ooops, no BBQ today, sorry - I’m out of gas!!!”

I remembered receiving one, and made a mental note to look for it at some point before the summer arrived.
So, a little while later, Jim gives me the ok to go out and start the grill. I go outside and start the grill with no issues. Well, I needed to replace the battery on the automatic igniter, but once that was replaced, it started without a problem. Once it was warmed up, I went in search of the grill brush so I could give it a good cleaning before I started cooking. Since the brush wasn’t in its usual spot, I assumed I’d put it in the cellar with all the other ‘summer stuff’ so I went looking for it.
I walked over to the cellar door, opened it, and sitting on the floor directly in front of me was the Brookstone box containing the Propane Tank Gauge.
I thought: “Well, that’s odd!” – But since the grill was going, I simply picked it up and placed it back on the shelf where (I then remembered) I’d placed it a few months ago.

I didn’t think much about it at the time, but later on while we were eating lunch, I mentioned it to Jim. He had NO clue as to what I was talking about. He remembered giving it to me, but he had nothing to do with putting it away. After seeing it on the floor, I remembered putting it on the shelf with the other ‘summer stuff’ that lives on the shelf at the top of the stairs. Now, this isn’t a little shelf that stuff is always falling off of, it’s a very deep shelf with plenty of room on it. In fact, I don’t think anything has ever fallen off it. Also, neither Jim nor I had been in the cellar at all that day, or the day before.
Isn’t it a little odd, (if it did ‘fall off’ the shelf) that it happened to be the EXACT thing I was thinking about that very morning, and it landed in the center of the landing, face up, with the label facing me as if to say “Here I am John!!”
The more I thought about it, the more it freaked me out a little bit, but I think it’s also kind of cool. If we have ghosts (or whatever they are) in our house….I’d rather have them helping us find misplaced things as opposed to screaming at us in the middle of the night to get the hell out or making the walls bleed.
That would suck.

This has been a really long entry, but since I’ve been such a piss-poor blogger as of late, I’m sure you won’t be upset.

Have a great Friday and stay safe…

PS - Here's a press photo of Jim, Denise and I with the big J.C. - when I see pictures like this it reminds me of how bald I really am. I'm completely fine with it, but sometimes I forget. :-)

He's a STAHHHHHH!

Scooter got some airtime last night!!!
Needless to say, we were very excited to see him on TV.

He was too, but that was mostly because he could hear the barking dogs. :-)

He shows up at 1:15 doing a quick little jump on his hind legs, and then at 1:20 he's 'interviewed'.

Click HERE to see it.

Here I Am!!!!

I know, it’s been an entire WEEK since I’ve blogged. Crazy, isn’t it?!?!!?
I’ve just been busy, busy, busy both at work and at home.

I’m currently in the midst of testing THREE different projects at work which is why I’m so crazed. It’s all been manageable so far, thanks to my INCREDIBLE organizational skills (that sound you hear is me tooting my own horn) so it’s been quite busy, but not too stressful.

Other than work stuff, things are going quite well.
The show opens in 9 days and that freaks me out a little bit. We literally have about 10 minutes of the show left to stage, so we’re just about there. We’re planning on running act one on the stage Friday night, which is always exciting….and a tad scary. The fella playing Jesus is doing a bang-up job and I'm sure he will be great once all is said and done. I’m very excited to see how it all comes together next week.
We had a photo shoot on Sunday afternoon and I got to see my costume for the first time.
Do you think I can get huge, bulging arms by the time the 20th rolls around?
I’m wearing a funky button-down shirt, with not a sleeve in sight. I’m not worried about my arms looking fat….I’d just prefer them to look a little bigger than they are.
Is that vain of me? Maybe I’ll do some ‘body art’ research and I can PAINT some muscles on!!!
That would look really natural, I’m sure.

Don’t forget – if you’re in the Boston area – tonight is the night to watch the 10pm FOX news for the story on Dogbook, with a potential appearance by my lil’ pup Scooter!!!
We’re being told that it’s going to air somewhere around 10:40pm, so if you can stay up that late keep your eye out for him!!!

Happy Wednesday!

xoxo

Things Are Looking Up!

The cabaret was a BLAST last night. I think it went VERY well.


I ended up getting 99.99% of my lyrics right and I also got to sing an additional song, since Jim was still under the weather. Thankfully it was a song that I already knew.
Sometimes it totally pays to be a musical theatre dork.


Speaking of Jim - he is feeling MUCH better. He went to the doctor yesterday, and even though the doctor didn't give him any drugs (damn it!) he was able to confirm that it wasn't anything serious. Phew!
Jim woke up this morning feeling noticeably better, so we're hoping it's all uphill from here.

And now some FUN news!!!


According to the folks at Scooter's doggie day care, we have to watch the 10pm FOX news next Tuesday night (3/10). Apparently they're doing a story on 'dogbook' - which is the canine equivalent of facebook - and they went to Scooter's day care in order to interview (what?) some of the dogs there. I don't know any details, but the owners seem to think that Scooter will be getting a lot of air time. Who knows if it'll actually happen. If he has my luck, he'll end up on the cutting room floor....but hopefully he'll get some air time.


I've always said he should be on TV!!!

We shall see!?!?!

OK - I have to get back to work...it is SO busy, it's making me lose my mind a bit - but at least I'm still employed!!!

Happy Tuesday everyone...xoxo

Stressed With A Capital ‘S’!!!

OK peeps, I’m kind of a wreck right now; I’m not going to lie.

First of all, the show opens exactly 19 days from tonight and that makes me nervous. I know that we’ll get everything done and it will be fantastic, but we have a lot to do before that happens.
Second of all, I’m part of a ‘cabaret’ that’s happening tomorrow night at the theatre, and I have a serious case of ‘pre-show jitters’. Again, I know it’s going to be fine, but I have a bunch of lyrics I need to cram into my skull before tomorrow night, and that always makes me nervous.
Third of all, Jim is VERY sick and that stresses me out. He’s been feeling crappy since last Thursday and he hasn’t really felt any better since then. He’s coughing, he’s congested, he’s sore, and he sounds like Harvey Fierstein on a really bad day. He called his doctor this morning and they’ve cancelled all office visits for today because of the STUPID snow. (which is another thing that’s stressing me out) He talked to someone at the doctor’s answering service and they told him that the earliest they could see him would be tomorrow morning at 11:30. I told him to call back and leave a message for his doctor and tell him that he needed to speak with him. Hopefully the doctor will call him and at least offer some advice as to what he can do. He’s been taking some over the counter stuff and nothing seems to be helping. YUCK.
Fourth of all (does that even make sense?) we’re up to our eyes in snow once again and although it stopped snowing for the moment, it’s supposed to start up again this evening. Because Jim is sick, I’m going to have to deal with shoveling our annoying, irritating, giant, gravel driveway all by myself…don’t wanna be, All By Myself.
Thank you, Eric Carmen – I love that song.

Alright….enough complaining.

Aside from all that stuff, we had a great weekend. Jim’s parents are back from Florida and we saw them briefly on Saturday night. They had a great time and seemed to love hanging out with my dad and step-mother. Phew!! We made a brief appearance at my brother-in-law’s house to celebrate his wife’s birthday, but we were only there for a while before Jim started feeling like crap again, so I took him home. I had plans later that night anyway, so it all worked out ok. I headed back to my hometown and met up with some high school friends to celebrate our friend Joanne’s birthday.
As expected, we had a great time and thanks to Joanne, I have a picture to post!!! YAY!!!

The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing around the house and/or rehearsing so it was quite productive and fun, all things considered.
This morning was gross because of the snow, but I’m here now and getting lots of work done.
Well, at the moment, I’m typing this while I eat my lunch – but up until this point, I’ve been really productive!!!

Have a great day everyone and I’ll keep you posted as to all the exciting things happening in my life. ;-)


And yes, I was really out with all of them, even though I look photoshopped into the picture.
Apparently I didn't get the memo to dress in black. :-)