Hey guys!    I can’t believe it’s been nearly a month since my last post.  Shame shame shame on me me me!  But all is well and good.  I have been working like crazy the past several weeks, as well as playing hard too. Burning the candle at both ends pretty much. but nooooo complaints. Life is good and fun!

I am in week five of a six week fitness camp that takes place at 6:30am Monday, Wednesday and Friday. It has been exhilarating.  I have had a hard time committing to the earliness of the camp, what with my crazy night life I’ve been running, but it has been totally worth it.  In addition to that, I also have been working out with my trainer, the same days, MWF, at 9:30am at the gym– it’s crazy.  But how quickly my body has transformed! I am absolutely thrilled with the results, and am committed to keep it up.  I checked in with my trainer last week to do my measurements, and I have lost 15 pounds, an inch off of each arm and calf, two inches of my waist, and FIVE inches of my hips. I was floored with the last one.

In addition to that, I am back to working seven solid days a week. Tiresome, but I enjoy the extra dough to go out and have a great time.

Besides all that boring stuff, there is not much to report. Let’s see,  my car got towed yesterday… that was quite the adventure! And I have taken a break from my acting class to pursue comedy.  I am on the hunt for a good place to take classes, and I am completely scared to go after it.  Not sure why, but improv and comedy just freak me out.  Which is why I am going after it. Face the feaaaaar!! rarr. I am also on the hunt for a head shot photographer to capture my mug in the best light possible. So if you have any suggestions, let me know!

Besides that, I have some photos too– Starting with Molly’s birthday (August 4th) and also a night out with my new favorite, Jarret.  Enjoy!

For Molly’s Birthday bash we went to Bar Lubitcsh (sp?) in Hollywood– And had a freakin’ blast! Above is Mol’ and Matt

Cutie Molly and Jarret

Jarret again, and moi.

Cheeky!

Mol’ the spaniard, Dieter, and his pal without a name.

So freakin’ cute it makes me want to gag.

Visions in purple… purple haze.

Foxy Jason, my gal Molly, and the man himself, Crispin!!

And again, with meeee.

On this night, Jarret and I were on the hunt for the perfect place to have HIS birthday, coming up in September… and we fouuuund it! Look at that crafty napkin-flower behind my ear… what a hot trick!

Not sure why I look so devious…

Jarret, me, and Jeff (creator of said napkin-flower) — So classsssy.

Also, see the post prior to this for the pics from the Dodger game I finally added!

Lots o’ love coming your way!

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Hey people!

Another fun week/weekend… Monday of this past week I started a Fit Camp that occurs Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 6:30am… and it took me the whole week to get used to getting up so early, and being so active, but it was sooo worth it. I am also working out with my trainer at the gym Mon, Weds, and Fri, so I am doing two-a-day workouts… it’s rough! But so worth it. And as long as I don’t think about going, and just GO– I work hard and am already seeing great results. The hardest part is just getting there. Because once I’m there and have someone in my ear telling me what to do, I just do it… !!! So that was a great addition my week, and today it started up all over again, and it was already easier to get up and go than it was last week.

Friday night after work I met a bunch of the Vivian’s crew at the Dodger game.. We were there to celebrate my fabulous friend Jenn’s birthday. It was my very first Los Angeles sporting event, and I must say, I am not a big fan of sports in general, but going to a live event is just sooo much fun! I had a Dodger Dog, popcorn, and a big beer…We sat way up in the nosebleed section. In fact our backs were touching the railing, that’s how high up we were.

I worked allll weekend. It was one of those 7-day work weeks. So on Saturday morn I waited tables at Vivians, and then went out to this amzingly yummy restaurant called Cafe Figaro’s on Vermont. I shared a steamed artichoke, Talapia served over a bed of baked risotto (my favorite) and also a roasted beet salad with stinky cheese and candied walnuts. Not exactly diet food, but I just kept in mind how hard I worked all week, and didn’t really feel that bad! (Plus I had it in the back of my mind when working out today, and it made me work out even harder!) Afterwards we went to this bar down the street called The Dresden, which if you are familiar, some of the scenes for Swingers were filmed there. And these two lounge singers Marty and Elayne were doing their old-school lounge singing, which I guess they’ve been doing there for over 25 years. Amazing. It was swanky and hilarious all the same.

On Sunday I worked at Vivian’s once again, and then afterwards babysat for the rest of the evening, while the couple I was sitting for went to see Grace Jones at the Hollywood Bowl.

All in all, it was a faboosh weekend! And it’s been a great start to the week with my workouts. As I posted on twitter, it’s such a great change to the normally Mundane Mondays Mornings.

Don’t have time to post pics now, but will add a few from the Dodger game later.

Have a great week everyone! Get out there and push yourself!

XOXOXO

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Hi everyone! I had a super great birthday weekend, and wanted to share some (OK, A LOT!) of the great moments and pics with you…

Thursday the 16th was my beautiful friend Abby’s Show that she produced and directed. It was magnificent and personal, and I am so proud of her for putting so much of herself into it.  There are big things coming for this lady. She made the show so intimate by placing a rose on every theatre seat. A great bunch of us came out to support, Jenn, Whit#2, Kenneth, Robin and Mike. See pics below…

On Friday, I took my dear friend Robin to “Cirque Berzerk”–a gothic style cirque de soleil-ish circus full of dancers, aerialists, sex, fire, music and more sexxxx.  My friend and awesome employer, Beth bought the tickets for my birthday, and it was spectacular. Unfortunately they didnn’t allow pictures inside the tent, although I snuck a quick pic at the end for the bow.  Here are some of the pics of the fun!

The Downtown Skyline… love it. It was strange because the circus was located on super dusty grounds, so every time I took a picture, the flash would reflect on the dust, so all the pics are a bit “dusty”, if you will.

My date, Robin! And our popcorn baby… They had the most delish kettle korn!!

The fabulous band at intermission and the after party. They were deeeeelightful.

Snuck a quick pic at the end… he he he…

One of the performers outside…We loved him…

CREEEEPY!

Booty booty booty.

On Sunday for my birthday, I treated myself to a little maniucure/pericure, and then went over to Miss Molly’s house for dinner with her family.  They were so sweet to do a little angel food cake with candles and sing Happy Birthday, and even hang the birthday sign! They are so special to me, and I feel blessed to have them around…

Afterward Molly, Rodney and I drove to Santa Monica to see my friend Jim Hanft play at O’Brians pub.  It was totally fun, and a perfect end to my b-day night.  We even ran into my friend Susanna, which was awesome.

LOL.

Cutie pie Jim. Crazy glowy eyes!

On Monday night I invited my peeps out to dinner at BoHo.. my new favorite restaurant and we had dinner and drinks.  It was so nice to celebrate with the people I adore, and I am so great-full to have such wonderful, light-filled beings surrounding me. Check out some of the fun below…

This pic just cracks me up becauseof the over-exposure. Double the fun! And I look slightly crazy in it too.

Yum! Chocolate Bread Pudding Cake with homemade vanilla bean ice cream!

The British really know how to have a good time!

I captured a lovel moment with Robing and Mike, AKA my new workout buds!

I sure have some pretty friends!!

We are starting to planning this lady’s B-day too!  So much to celebrate!

Robin was trying to mime how much she loved me, so she used Abby’s *ahem* assets to show me…

After the dinner party a few peeps followed along to our favorite night spot, Birds.

Molly and our newest cutie friend Jarrett.

Birds gave me a balloon since it was my birthday, and I decided to pin in into my hair. Muahhahaha.

If looks could kill…

All in all I had an amazing birthday weekend that was filled with good friends and good fun. Again, I can’t say enough how blessed I am to have the wonderful people that I have into my life.

In lieu of gifts for my party I asked everyone to donate to a couple of my favorite charities. And I did the same. It is always good to give back, and on my birthday I couldn’t thing of a better way to celebrate than by showing my support to the people that deserve it most.  If you feel compelled, you should also take a second to check out the charities below, and maybe give a little something as well.

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research is committed to finding a cure for this disease that impairs millions.  Much of their funds go towards stem-cell research which benefits finding a cure to so many other diseases as well.

Also, a dear person in my life started his own non-profit organization to help give computers to people like him; quadriplegics.  Tom has been suffering from ALS (Lou Gherig’s Disease) for the past 8 years. He has progressed very far in the disease, and he is now limited to communicating only through the use of his eyes.  He has a computer that is connected to a pair of infrared glasses that track his eye movements. Through his computer he is able to speak, draw, and even create his own charity to help people like him do the same called Computers for Quads. This is a charity dear to my heart. Tom’s story is so inspiring. Please check out his site and if you can, give a little towards the cause.

That’s my story…

Cheers to you all!

You are loved.

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Not much time to chat, but wanted to update with the latest… I did a short film over the weekend… a complete surprise, found out on Friday that a friend of Mike’s was doing a short comedic film and their lead actress dropped out the day before the shoot, and they called Mike to see if I was available to fill in, and ta-da! So it was an awesome experience, and I will go into more detail later, but wanted to post a couple pics of the process. Love to you all…

Our Director ^ Liza… pronounced “Lisa” The rest of the pics below are camera stills from the shoot.

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This was a pretty great week and weekend.  Each day was pretty low-key, and awesome. The work-week was pretty heavy, over 50 hours, but it was all good. Took TJ to see the new ICE AGE movie on Friday, which was great, btw.

On Wednesday night, I met up with Molly, her ex; Joe, and her mom; Sue. We went to Big Wangs in North Hollwood for their 25cent wing night!! We loaded up on Wings, and Molly and I headed to Bird’s afterward.

Wings give you sexy shiny hair. And a “hand” gun.

Wolverine?

Ol’ Mol and Sue. Momma and her baby.

But who wears the pants? Hmmm….

Then on Saturday, for the 4th of July, we headed out to Venice Beach for a day in the sun and sand.

Notice how Molly is hooked on Vita Coco water now too… Muaha ha ha ha.

I can’t believe how her hat glows in these pics! There was a drug deal happening right in front of us, btw.  Entertaining to watch, for sure.

After the beach we went to our ol’ pal Tony’s rooftop beach party.

Where I soon became impregnated.

“Surprise, it’s yours!”

“Yep, there’s six of ‘em in there!”

Then we got bored and decided to take pictures and practice giving good face. And notice the sand on the roof-deck!!

I like the solar panels in the background!!

“Fierce!”

Then we proceeded to wave to all the cars and passersby and say things like “Hey look, we’re on a rooftop!”

And then it was time to go.

We had a great day hanging out in Venice. We walked the boardwalk, had ice cream cones, bought some great hand-made jewelry, caught up with our old classmate Tony, and just totally geeked out and had fun.  It was weird to be in LA since the last three 4th of July’s I spent with my dad in Illinois. I really was missing him. I knew he was enjoying the blues festival we always go to together, and I was a bit homesick thinking about it, because we had made it into such a tradition.

Today I worked at Vivian’s, and strangely it was quite refreshing.

Now I’m off to meet up with Molly and Matt for a little frozen yogurt! Followed by 400 sit-ups! **Molly and I started doing 200 sit-ups a day, and since yesterday we were at the beach and didn’t get around to doing them, we have to do twice the load, grrrr.

Hope you all enjoyed a safe and funnnnn weekend!

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

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Last night I went to dinner with a friend I hadn’t seen in years who directed and cast me in a play I was in a few years back. the subject of my birthday came up and he said “How old are you going to be?” I sayeth “Twenty-three” he responds “Psh! Lucky!”

Then today my friend and employer Beth says “How old are you going to be again?” I smile, “Twenty-three. ” She says “That’s all? Wow..”

Not sure why, but it makes me grin. Twenty-three. I forget myself, how young I still am.  So much of me in the past couple of years has been trying to be my spiritual age, which I think we all know is older than my actual physical age. But now, I don’t care. What does it matter anyway? I feel young right now, and I love it. I am looking forward to the upcoming anniversary of my birth, and looking back on this past year with pride and the fondest of memories.

It’s a beautiful life, my friends. We should all be celebrating. You’re as young as you feel. I have this magnet on my fridge that says “How old would you be if you did not know how old you are?” –I have yet to be able to answer. In a way I think “ageless” would be my answer!

The best gift I can give myself this year is praise. Praise for the  young woman I have become, and the woman I am still striving to be.

Wonder what I will wish for… ?

xoxo

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Hey guys and gals.  I took on the task of uploading some recent pics today for you all to “ooh” and “ahh” at.  Enjoy

Robin and I went out for Thai last week, and after opening up our fortune cookies we found these cheesy fortunes…

I mentioned in my last post meeting Jason Mraz… I lied. But I did meet someone who looked very much like him. When I told him this the guy (Tyler) replied “Who the hell is that?”  The first pic below is of the REAL Mraz, and the other two are of his imposter.

Here are some candid shots of Molly (my goin’ out buddy) and I. The first two are at Karaoke, the rest at Birds.. our favorite little place to hang

**Molly wearing “Mraz’s” glasses and hat… **

Thursday Night Molly and I went to the Nokia Theatre for the “Comedians of Chelsea Lately” show. So fun! Loni Love was our favorite, Heather McDonald ran a close second for me.

Can I just say, I LOVE love love the shoes Chelsea is wearing below. If anyone wants to buy me those, I will gladly accept. I am a size 11. I know, big feet. You know what they say about women with big feet? They have big shoes.

Lucy and I went to the Cha Cha Lounge one evening… she wouldn’t let me take a pic with the flash on my camera, so below is how the photo turned out. I still love it. The red is amazing, and I really just love the grainyness of it. Oh and pretty Lucy is in it!

On Friday morning as I was leaving to go to work, I opened the front door to find flower petals scattered accross my walkway… How they got there, I dont know, but I just knew it was going to be a wonderful day…  And it was.

Friday I took my favorite accessory to all my weekday adventures–TJ, to Griffith Park where we rode trains and horses and ate popsicles!

More to come… Hope everyone has an awesome weeeeek!

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I realized today that it has been eleven days since I last updated my blog– that’s no fun! And yet there are so many interesting things to talk about from the past eleven days… so here’s a peek into what’s been happening with me recently…

I failed to mention in any of my earlier posts that for about the past month Mike and I have been on a break-asaurus rex. We just decided that at the present time it’s best that we focus on our individual lives, and if by doing that it reunites us, then we are all for it. It has been torturous to say the least. Not talking to him is the hardest thing I’ve had to deal with since… I honestly can’t remember what has been harder. But on the positive side I have been using this time to look inward and really step it up on the accountability in my life. I have had more epiphanies about who I am, how I treat Mike, and everyone else, how I deal in certain situations, and on and on. And this is one time that I can step outside of myself and say “I’m really proud of who I am.” Unfortunately that hasn’t happened much in the past, so I am definitely liking the direction my life is headed.

That being said, I’ve been pretty clever about keeping myself distracted from enduring too much sadness about our current situation. I have pretty much been on the go go go go go since my last post which would probably account for me not posting anything since.  I have gone out or made plans for all but two evenings (Sunday, and last night), and let me tell you I have been having a great time. I told myself that I was going to do my best to accept every invitation, because I know that I have the tendency to become quite the hermit if I am faced with something difficult or sad. And again I am proud of myself for making that decision, but also following through.

It has caused somewhat of a lack of sleep though. Last week I tallied working 45 hours, and sleeping only 35. But strangely enough I have not been a zombie… I feel like by going out, having fun, and  looking forward to having more fun, that I am able to keep myself pretty motivated and charged up.

I have also allowed myself more time for catching up with the important people in my life. My mom and I rekindled some of the love and light that had been missing in the more recent months, and we even have a standing Tuesday night phone date, which I love. Robin and I had time to go get pedicures and dinner last week which was just lovely. And my Grammy and I have been chatting a lot more as well, and it just makes me cheeky. (Seriously people, she is becoming hipper than I am)

I’ve been hiking more, eating better, and I have even lost twelve pounds in the past two weeks. I feel happier, lighter, and just more driven. I’m realizing that sometimes it takes something really sad and rough to bring out the best in you. I feel in a way that I am finding ways to prove to myself that I am totally worth everything good that is in my life. And all of it is due to that epiphany I talked about in my last post, I am in total control of my own happiness.

It’s all good in this neighborhood.

I want to be better about uploading the pics I take with my digital camera.. because there are so many moments I want to talk about, that need the accompanying picture in order to be entertaining. That will be my blog goal for this next week. If I take great pics I will come home and upload them so that I can share some of the delightful moments happening… I am not at home or I would do it now, but here’s a preview of some of the moments I will post later tonight: Meeting Jason Mraz, receiving the cheesiest fortune cookies ever, and karaoke!

Anyway, Happy Hump Day to you and you and YOU– I’m going to keep this great momentum going.

Love to you all.

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