Problem solved???

Well, it would seem that my work PC is the culprit.
When I logged on at home, not only was I able to change my profile picture without incident, but everything else looks a whole lot better!

Sweet.

So let's see....I had a GREAT birthday weekend.

On my actual birthday, Jim and I had dinner at my sister's house, which was very nice.
Friday was fairly uneventful at work, but that night I went to see 'The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee' at The Company Theatre. A bunch of my fellow RENT cast mates were in the show, which made it extra fun to watch.
I thought it was a GREAT show...so funny and they sounded amazing.
Yay for talented friends!

On Saturday, Jim and I hung around the house, cleaning and getting ready for our friends who were coming over for dinner later that night.
Well, the joke was certainly on me.
As it turns out, we weren't having people over for dinner....there were a TON of people coming over to surprise me for my birthday!!
I was SOOO surprised. People just kept showing up throughout the night. There were theatre friends, softball friends, church friends, and even my college friends made the trek down from NH!!! It was an amazing night, full of friends, food and fun!!!!
I clearly have the best husband in the world. :-)

Here are some pictures (thanks to Barrie!!) of the night:

I'm finally figuring out what is actually going on....




Joey D. and I playing Wii "Just Dance" - SO fun







MB and Karen



The 'other' birthday boy and I



Cutting the (awesome) ice cream cake



On Sunday, Jim and I went to church and then had his family over to help finish up the leftover food, snacks, and beer. We played Wii and then later that night Jim and I went to dinner at one of our favorite local Italian places 'Johnny Macaroni's'.
I know, the name makes it sound a little tacky, but trust me...it is crazy good.

After dinner, we pretty much came home and collapsed in front of the TV until it was time for bed.

Monday I had off, but Jim had to work so I cleaned up around the house, did some laundry and ran a few errands before heading off to RENT rehearsals.
Rehearsal was super productive and we FINALLY have a full cast.
The search for Mimi has ended...

I'm going to sign off now, but keep your eyes peeled for more updates.

PEACE!!

I'll be back...

Hi everyone....I've been trying to post - really I am, but for some reason - Blogger is making it extremely difficult.
While it's working, I'm taking advantage of it.

I have a funny feeling it's because I'm on my work PC, so I'll try and look at it tonight when I'm home since I have a MILLION things to say.

I hope you're all doing well....and I'll be reading, just not posting for today.

xoxo

Thank you all!!!!

Thank you all for your birthday wishes yesterday!!

I had a great day, and yes Jim, I got my iPhone car charger.
Excellent. :-)

I have no idea what Jim and I have planned for tonight, but because of a show running at the theatre, I have no rehearsal - which is a very rare occurrence.
A free Friday night?!?!? Unheard of.
Tomorrow we're having Karen and Barrie (and Ben?) over for dinner, which will be fun.
As I was typing that, I realized that I don't know if Ben is coming or not. Interesting.
Either way it'll be great.
Barrie reads my blog, so I'm sure I'll be hearing from her soon. :-)

Sunday is Valentine's Day!! Again, because of the show, I don't have rehearsal.
Jim and I will be able to spend the day together doing something fun and 'Valentinesy'. We have dinner reservations that night, but other than that, nothing is planned...hmmmmm...I'm going to have to come up with something fun to do.

I have Monday off for President's Day - so next week will be another short week.
Love it.

Speaking of the show....an article about RENT was in the Boston Globe yesterday.
If you're interested...click here. :-)

This picture was one of the pictures along with the article.
Yes, that's Jim and I on the far right.
Nice pose.



OK my peeps - I'm signing off.

Have a GREAT weekend, and thank you again for all the b-day wishes.
xoxo

Celebrate ME!!!

I tried to post yesterday, honest I did...but blogger wasn't having it.
Sorry!!

So, today is my birthday. YAY!!!

It's Scooter's birthday too. He's 3 and I'm 38...so, there you have it.
At 11:18am I'm having a moment of silence in honor of the occasion.
Feel free to do so as well. :-)

I've got a ton of work to do, but it would be just AWFUL if I didn't post two days in a row.

I hope you all are having a great week, and if you're up to your eyes in snow, as so many are this week - I hope it's not bringing you down.

Happy, Happy Day!!!

xoxo

Back to work!

Happy Tuesday everyone!!!

Good lord - Blogger is kind of pissing me off. I can't seem to get the 'New Post' screen to look the same from day to day. No matter what I try, it's never the same two days in a row and it's REALLY irritating.
For example, today the option to post pictures doesn't seem to exist - nor does spell check - but if I switch to the 'old' format - something else will be all screwed up.
Irritating.

Anyway, I'm going to try and update my blog in the mornings again.
Apparently, some of my readers depend on it as reading material to go along with their morning coffee, and who am I to force them to change their morning rituals??

This past weekend was quite fun. Friday night's rehearsal was very productive. We sang a bit and then staged one of the more complicated 'production numbers' with LOTS of stuff happening all at once. By the time we were done, it was all coming together quite nicely and it was very exciting...and yes, it sounds pretty damn awesome.

On Saturday morning, Jim and I got up early so that he could bring me to my surprise, early birthday present. As it turns out, he signed us both up for the "Die, Vampire, Die" workshop that was being held at SpeakEasy Stage in Boston.
I can't really describe it, but this is the email 'blurb' that was written about the event in order to let people know it was happening:

I am writing to let you know of a very special workshop that SpeakEasy Stage will be hosting on Saturday, Feb. 6, run by Broadway actress Susan Blackwell, one of the original cast members of [title of show].

The workshop is inspired by the popular song “Die, Vampire, Die’ from [title of show] and focuses on ways to free-up one’s creativity and self-expression by getting rid of vampires, which are defined as “any persons, thoughts or feelings that stand between you and your creative self-expression.”

In addition to writers and performers, ideal participants will be creative challenge-seekers looking for a fun, safe environment to try something new and individuals seeking satisfaction through self-expression and confidence in communication.

Themes of the workshop include Establishing a Safe Creative Space, Contributing to a Collaborative Process, Identifying and Taking Creative Risks, Tapping into Creative Freedom and Developing Clear Self-Expression.


It's difficult to explain via blog - but it was such a great experience. In spite of the fact that I was a big bag of nerves going in, I am so glad I did it and THANK YOU again to Jim for not only setting it up for me to attend, but attending it with me. It was great having him be a part of it as well.

On Saturday night we had dinner with a couple of church friends. They invited Jim, Charles and I over to dinner and they had a few other friends over as well. The food was great, their house is beautiful, and their friends were SO much fun. Hopefully we'll all get together again soon.

On Sunday, Jim and I made our choir debut at church. It also happened to be our farewell performance. :-)
It's just WAY too much time for us to deal with. It takes up enough of our day to be at church on Sundays as it is, but to add on an addition hour each week, is just way too much for one day. Everyone was very understanding, and we were happy to have at least tried it out.
The rest of the day was spent grocery shopping, catching up on our DVR'd shows and then I was flipping back and forth between the Super Bowl and God only knows what else.
I was very excited to see the Saints win, and while I'm not a huge football fan, it was a very fun game to watch.

Because of my new schedule at work, I now have every other Monday off.
AWESOMENESS.
To be perfectly honest, my schedule isn't changing at all, I'm just now getting the official benefit of the days off. I've apparently been putting in the extra hours all along but I'm only now 'reaping the benefits' so it's very fun. I spent the day yesterday cleaning and doing laundry so it wasn't the most exciting day - but it was great to have all that stuff done and out of the way, so we can spend some time relaxing this week.
I'm hearing talk of a snow storm coming this week, so I think I'm going to do a little research and see what THAT'S all about....

I hope you all had fantastic weekends and you're all doing well. :-)

Heavens to Betsy!!

I almost forgot to write a post today!

Here's the skinny...I'm keeping it brief because I plan on taking off a tad early today.

Had a SUPER fun time last night with Karen, Barrie and Ben. The child is just too too cute for words.

Anyway...I have rehearsal tonight (Viva La Vie Boheme!!).

Tomorrow during the day, I'm doing something with Jim. All I know is that it's taking place during the day - but he won't tell me what it is. It's an early birthday present of sorts.
Tomorrow night we're having dinner with some church folk at their house. It should be quite fun. Jim and I are going, as are a few others from church.

Sunday will be church then rehearsal, followed by some possible Super Bowl festivities?
ssuming we get invited somehwere. :-)

I have Monday off....but I'll try to write on Monday and explain all that.
Like, why I'm home and not working.

Have a GREAT weekend....and if you want to laugh laugh laugh....take a look at this entry from Mr. Mangina Monologues blog....HYSTERICAL.

My link thing is giving me grief (ANNOYING) so you'll have to cut and past it, but it's TOTALLY worth it.

xoxo

http://manginamonologues.wordpress.com/2010/02/05/oh-no-lan-mills-photography/

Get with it, Turbo Tax!!!

Jim and I did our taxes last night, and while I'm THRILLED that they're finished (and we're both getting refunds) I'm SO annoyed about the hoops we have to jump through as a married gay couple in order to file our taxes.

You see, unlike a 'regular' married couple, who could go onto TurboTax, fill in all their federal information, fill in their state information, and pay for the processing and filing in one fell swoop - we can't do that.

We have to pay THREE times in order to file.

I have to enter all my federal and state information as 'single', delete my state information, then PAY for the processing and filing of the federal information only.

Jim then has to enter all his federal and state information as 'single', delete the state information, then PAY for the processing and filing of the federal information only.

Finally, once both of our federal taxes have been filed, we have to log back in, under a totally different userid, fill out all our federal and state information again, this time as 'married', delete the federal information, then PAY for the processing and filing of both the federal AND state info (even though we don't even use the federal information this time around) and submit only the state information.

In a nutshell (as I previously mentioned) we pay THREE times for the processing and filing whereas as straight married couple would only have to pay once.

Yes, I'm well aware of the fact that no one is forcing us to use Turbo Tax, but let's face it. Filing your tazes is a huge pain in the ass and since all our past information is in there, it makes things a lot easier. Honestly, it's not even about the money...it's not even that much. It's the principle of the thing.

As a married, gay couple it costs me a lot more money to use their services than it costs a straight married couple, and that's irritating.
They need to get with it, and figure out a way to make it work the same way for everyone!!

Jim and I are visiting our friends K and B tonight. It's been a while since we've seen them, so it'll be fun to chat and fill them in on all the latest news.

OK everyone, have a great day....tomorrow is FRIDAY!!!!

MAPP Certification....CHECK!!!

I can’t believe that we’ve completed our MAPP training!
Back in early November, I remember getting the call about attending the classes, getting the schedule, and thinking that February 2nd was SO far away.
Well, lo and behold, here it is!
We’re finished and we officially ‘passed’.

During the class last night we talked a lot about the previous week’s panel night as well as talking about what the ‘next steps’ were for all of us. We took a break and had pizza (YUM!) then we talked a lot about how adopting a child from the state will change our lives. Obviously, adding a child into your life affects the average person, but when you are adopting a child from DCF, it can affect you in ways that are a bit unique.

Things that we could possibly have to deal with are: visits from the adoption social worker, visits with our case worker, home visits by the probation officer (so the court knows that we’re ‘good’ parents), some sort of communication with the birth parents (pictures or letters) if we end up having some degree of an open adoption, and then on top of that you consider all the ‘normal stuff’ that every infant would have to deal with (doctor appointments, etc…) and it adds up to a whole lot.
It was very eye opening, but again….it wasn’t anything that we haven’t already thought of.

After class, we set up a time for our case worker (K) to come to our house for the home study.
She’ll be coming to meet with me one-on-one on Monday the 22nd and then she’ll be back on the 23rd to talk to Jim.
I’m a bit nervous about it, but I’m sure it’ll be fine. Between now and then we have a few minor ‘safety’ things to take care of, but nothing too daunting.

It’s going to be odd not having MAPP classes to attend, but I’m sure we’ll find SOME way to fill the time. :-)

Have a happy Wednesday!!

Quickie...

Hey y'all.....no time to write a long post this morning.....BUT I wanted to share this picture I received yesterday afternoon.
I think it's pretty fun.  :-)

Photo by Mark L. Saperstein

Rehearsal was great last night....things are coming along quite nicely.

Tonight is our FINAL MAPP class. 
So crazy.  I remember when February 2nd seemed so far away.....

Have a great day!!

xoxo

February? REALLY?!?!?

Where oh where has January gone????

Friday night was a blast!!! Who would ever have thought that chaperoning a Sweet 16 birthday party would be so much fun?
First of all, I ended up knowing one of the two guys that were hired to ‘DJ’ the party….crazy, small world.

Second of all, the kids were SO well behaved and had a great time. They danced the entire time (even the boys!!) they were all super polite, and everyone had a great time. Third, and last of all, the food was SO good. The ‘birthday girl’ picked the menu and as a result, we had was Caesar salad, chicken fingers, waffle fries, pasta, meatballs, and sliders (mini-burgers). To quote one of the kids in line ahead of Jim “I was afraid it was going to be all fancy food, but this is awesome!”

This was how the room looked:

I have to agree. It was such a ‘fun’ menu….and it was all really good.

To finish it all off, they had birthday cake and a make your own sundae bar.

I was absolutely shameless when it came to making my own sundae......and it was amazing.

This was the cake:

This was my sundae :-)

After the party, Jim and I went out for a few drinks at the local ‘watering holes’ of Manchester, New Hampshire.

Yikes.

There were three different gay bars in Manchester and none of them were anything to write home about. We visited all three, but the third one wouldn’t even let us in.

:-)

No, not because we were tanked...we arrived at 12:30 and since they close at 1:00, no one is allowed in from 12:30 on. After being refused entry (which apparently was a blessing in disguise) we returned to our ‘favorite’ of the other two we visited and finished the night there.

In the morning, we met up with our friends for breakfast, which was REALLY good.

We arrived back in MA in the last morning, picked up Scooter from his sleepover and headed home.

After unpacking and getting ‘settled’, I headed into Boston to go see [title of show] again at SpeakEasy. It was SOOOO much fun. As I mentioned before, Hunter (book) and Jeff (music/lyrics) as well as Susan (one of the original stars) were attending the show that afternoon and hosting a ‘talk back’ after the performance. I was seated with all of them during the show, which was very exciting for this musical theatre nerd. In essence - I was watching them, watching people playing them, in a musical that they wrote about themselves writing a musical.

Craziness.

The show was great. The three of them seemed to really enjoy it and the talk back was very fun. I got to hang out with them and the Boston cast for a bit afterwards, which was super-cool-insidery stuff…..loved it.

After the show, I met up with Jim and our friend Charles for a couple of drinks at a closer-to-home gay bar called ‘Bobby’s Place’……lovely.

On Sunday, we had a fairly relaxing day……church, rehearsal, and then an AMAZING dinner made my Jim – followed by our regular Sunday night TV (no Grammy’s for us, thank you) and an early bed time.

SUCH a busy weekend, but totally worth it. :-)

Now I’m back to work and looking forward to rehearsal tonight…..the show is going well. So far it looks and sounds AMAZING.
Cant wait….

Here are some pictures from the post-show photo shoot 

Boston 'Hunter' (Joe Lanza, seated) with Broadway 'Hunter', Hunter Bell (book) 

Boston 'Jeff' (Jordan Ahnquist, left) with Broadway 'Jeff', Jeff Bowen (music/lyrics)

Boston 'Susan' (Valerie Sullivan, on lap) with Broadway 'Susan', Susan Blackwell

Boston 'Heidi' (Amy Barker, seated) with Broadway's 'Hunter' (Hunter Bell, left) and 'Jeff' (Jeff Bowen, right) with Boston 'Jeff' (Jordan Ahnquist) in the background, keeping an eye on things. [Broadway 'Heidi' couldn't make the trip to Boston....sad face.]

The Boston Cast with the Broadway fancy-pants creators/stars that came to see the show.  

Boston's Musical Director/Larry (Will McGarrahan) is in the 2nd row, center...Boston [title of show] Director (Paul Daigneault) is in the 2nd row, far right)