Baking Bread

I completed a 30's list goal -- learning to make bread from scratch. I received my first lesson today from my mom. We took the afternoon and made Honey Whole Wheat Bread. It wasn't as difficult as I had anticipated, and the kneading was quite a stress reliever. After the baking process, my father had the job of taste testing the first piece. Six more pieces later, he gave his seal of approval. I then assigned the remaing two mini-loaves to close family critics. Judy was one critic. (Lifelong neighbor and family friend) She was surprised when she opened the door to see us standing there, bread bag in hand. We had a short but nice visit with here and later found out the bread met her tastebud's approval -- to the point of suggesting selling it.

Critics #2 were Jim and Patti K. (Amazing uncle and aunt and next-door neighbors) They were the next to be met by me with bread bag in hand. They, as well, enjoyed the bread and indulged in a few pieces during my visit. I always love visiting them. I had a nice day filled with affirmations and communication.

My end of the day realizations are: First, I fulfilled a goal and discovered another aspect of the kitchen I thoroughly enjoy. Second, this simple task created a way for me to spend time and give to five people I love dearly. There are so many times I feel a need to "fight for a cause", to "make a difference in this world", but I realize I did those things by simply making bread. One simple act opened the door to showing love, giving, and communicating. No, I was not protesting with a large crowd. I was not composing arguments for a certain cause or group. I wasn't even trying to "win lost souls." Yet I know God used me today, and His work was done. I wrote a blog entry sometime ago encouraged that faith and hope were becoming active in my life again, and I eagerly anticipated the coming of love. Well, I think love has arrived, and of all ways to appear, in the form of baking bread.

My Last Week in NYC

My last week was wonderful in NYC. I spent it with my lifelong friend Nathan, and we had great time. We cooked dinner, watched movies, had deep talks, and laughed the whole week. It was a joy to be with him. Unfortunately, we took no pics!!! I can't believe we forgot. That shows what a great time we had together. I did get to make another visit which thrilled me. I saw some friends I had worked with in Indiana -- Rico and Jen. They are married now and live in Astoria. Both are performers and are trying for Broadway. I think they will get there. They are one of my favorite couples to hang out with -- lots of fun-- and are just two amazing people. It was a great day for me, and I hope to see them sooner next time. New York was such a great experience. It was just what I needed at that point in my life. I still want to move there, but I realize the timing is not right. I am not yet emotionally ready and am trusting the wounds will not be so fresh in a year. Then I think I will be ready to make the move. Thank you to all my wonderful friends that let me stay with them, lead me around, and answered my endless calls about subways, streets, and auditions. You will never know what a blessing you have been to me. I pray I will get the opportunity to return the kindness someday.

Springtime in New York

My mom and I had a great couple of days together here in NYC. The Hampton Inn here is pretty deluxe and was in a perfect location. The second day she was here a blizzard hit. It started snowing in the morning and didn't stop until the next day. We froze but had a blast. We weren't going to let the snow stop us. Check out the snow and that was earlier that day! Believe me, it got much thicker. We were so cold so we stopped in St. Paul's Church which is the church that aided so much after 9/11. It was very neat to see the stories and memorabilia they had. The church was beautiful and even had George Washington's bench when he attended church there. After so much cold, mom and I decided to hit a mall in Columbus Square. It is the rich mall so after one or two stores,we knew we couldn't even enjoy looking. We ended up going to Whole Foods -- a natural foods grocery store. We were in heaven. Only my mom goes to New York to visit the grocery stores. That wasn't the last one we visited either. When we hit the cheese section I thought I was in heaven. We ended up buying cheeses, roasted tomatoes, pita chips, and olives for dinner. Yes!, that was our dinner, and we loved it. We took it back to the room and had a nice spread. I felt like I was back in Europe. We also saw Stomp one night. What a fun show. I had seen it before, but it was even better the second time. We had a great few days, and my mom is my favorite person to travel (along with my Aunt Barb) with so it was ideal.

last.

On the move

My dear friend Nathan was a saint and helped me move the big suitcase AGAIN last night. Yes, it is bright pink, and it is heavy. He has been my personal bellboy through the subway with that bag. I have no clue how I did it the first day with all my stuff! I thought I would feature a pic of him toting it through the subway after a long day's work.

My mom arrived today, and we started the day off with a long bus ride from the airport to Harlem. When we got off the bus, the first thing we did was take advantage of Starbuck's "free coffee day". Yes, we got off the bus and went to into downtown Harlem's Starbucks for our coffees -- bags and all. After that, we got mom a metro card and began the adventure of toting her bags through the subway. She did well at the high speeds -- she and Rhea's walking has definitely paid off. After we dropped off her bags at the hotel (the deluxe Times Square Hampton), we headed straight for the Empire State Building. I must say it was freezing at the top -- snow was coming down. Mom shed her sweater willingly and let me borrow it. It was neat to see NYC from that view and do a "touristy" thing. We met up with Nathan afterward and after trying for the "Wicked" lottery (cheap tickets), we headed to Applebees to eat away our disappointment of not winning. Mom had Applebee's cards so we ate for free. I failed to mention our lunch today. This story is mainly for my sister and Rhea. After our Empire State Building trip, we headed to Macy's -- Kroger bag in hand. I had packed a small lunch of tortillas, lettuce, peppers, and onions which we proceeded to unpack at the Macy's Starbucks and eat. Yes, we took our bag lunch there, used their tables, and ate our free, healthy lunch. My dad would have died. We found it amusing. Well, we have to head to bed because we have big plans tomorrow.

I posted a pic of WalStreet from the Empire State Building, where the towers were. I took this pic because if there is ever a Spouse #2, he is coming from that part of town -- debt-free and financially solid. :) haha.

A fun, fun week

So my dear friend Robbin, whom I worked with at Sight and Sound in Lancaster, PA, came here for a week, and I got to spend time with her. She is hilarious, and it did my heart good to see her. We spent everyday together doing something fun. We ended up seeing three Broadway shows and all for 25 bucks each. We saw Avenue Q which is where we had to pic taken with the cupcakes. They gave them out after the show because it was the anniversary of 1,500 shows that night. We also saw a show called The Drowsy Chaperone which was fun because Robbin knew the star of the show so we sat in the front row and got played to the whole time. What a neat experience! We also saw The Twenty-fifth Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee on Broadway. Anthony hung out with us one of the nights because he knows Robbin too. I almost felt like I was back in PA being with them. The other pic is Robbin and I with our free pints of Ben & Jerry's. The guy at the store must have had a crush on one of us because he gave us two free pints of ice cream. Robbin was staying in a hotel in Times Square, and it was freezing outside during that time. We ended up putting the ice cream on the window ledge, and it was still frozen the next morning. Ice cream for breakfast!!! I felt like I was in high school again. It was so good to see Robbin. I have really been blessed with great friends. Auditions are going well, but I keep getting cut at the dance portion. Hopefully, something great will happen soon!

Brooklyn, Spanish Harlem, and Uptown

So, one of the best parts of my visit to NYC is seeing old friends. I can't tell you how much fun I have had reconnecting with them. I have spent endless nights talking, laughing, and remembering and have loved every minute of it. Obviously, because I haven't kept up well at all with blogging. These people have no clue how much I have enjoyed them and how completely therapeutic it is for me to see them because most of them I knew before Tres. They knew me before I was an "us" so it has helped in this whole process of rediscovering myself and who I am as a single woman. Last weekend I visited Adam Baritot in Brooklyn. He was the Scarecrow when I did Wizard of Oz at JWT. I also had the pleasure of meeting his lovely wife Diana whom I 100% enjoyed. They have started a children's production company, and I was invited to see it. The trains were not running properly last weekend so it took me 2 1/2 hours to get to Brooklyn from Manhattan; therefore, I missed most of the show, but what I did see was great. Afterward, I hung out with them at their apartment and thorougly enjoyed their company. They are the first two pictures. A nice surprise was also getting to see my cousin Olevia's best friend and a friend of mine -- Jade. She was kind enough to let me stay with her for a few days in her apartment in Spanish Harlem. Yes, I walked the streets there at night with all my bags!!! She is an excellent hostess and even more impressive is her cat --- it actually uses the toilet. It is just like meet the Fockers! I was in utter shock. He is almost as big as Jade is. The last pic is of Anthony -- one of my dearest performing friends. We worked together at Hershey Park and have stayed friends ever since then. He has let me stay at his house for two weeks, and I have loved being with him. I will be at his apartment this week while he is gone. I am looking forward to staying in a room by myself and getting to actually sleep on a bed instead of a couch. The last pic is of Anthony and I in his bright living room. That is all for this update. I have another fun one to add later. Sorry the pic dates are wrong. I have to fix my camera. That was for my mom.

A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes

Well, NYC has certainly been interesting. Honestly, I do not love this city. It is much too big, too crowded, too concrete, too confined for my liking. Truth be told, I have found out I am a country girl at heart. Yesterday I found a park outside the city and spent quite awhile there. It was so peaceful and quiet. I actually heard birds and saw squirrels, and yes, my heart was at rest. I spent quite a few hours just being still and trying to hear deep inside of me -- the cry of my heart. In such a busy city, the aim is to get all tasks accomplished with as little interruptions as possible so self-evaluation gets put on the backburner. Rarely have I gotten that time since I arrived in the Big Apple. Here are some of my "park time" thoughts.
I can't remember a time I didn't have at least one dream. From being a missionary, to a toll booth employee, to a singer, to a travel writer, to a politician, I have always dreamed and dreamed big. As I sit here in the quiet, I am beginning to question what is the true dream of my heart. There have been so many throughout the years. The Bible says, "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." Dreams vs. Desires is the question here. Are they the same? I dream of performing on Broadway, yet my desire is to simply sing. I dream of having lots of investments, yet my desire is security. I dream of being married, yet my desire is to be loved. Are our dreams simply a "tangible plan" to see our desires become reality? If so, than what is the true desire of my heart? This is the question I am coming closer to answering every day. The answer is still hazy, but it is not as clouded as it was a month ago. There is a strange fear the answer I find may not be what I expected. I have recently found that my view of performing art is different than I thought. Performing has been my vehicle for new experiences and places. The actual idea of moving to NYC as a vehicle for performimg is not half as appealing as the former; therefore, my love may have been for the benefits of performing as opposed to the sheer love of it. This is why I have made this trip -- in order to experience and find truth, whatever it may be. I do not know exactly what my desires are and whether my dreams are just plans to get closer to them. I guess my answer lies in the verse -- delight yourself in the Lord. The answers would come much easier if I could learn to always do that. Until I get there, I will continue to question my heart, enjoy this experience, and pursue this dream that I think is desire.

I posted some pics from my walk. The beautiful building is called "The Cloisters" museum, filled with wonderful medievil European relics. The benches were just sunny and peaceful. The snowman gave me hope that there are children that still act like children in this hardened city. The ivy wall was just pretty. And the tree (look closely) has a fat squirrel trying to make his way into a hole in the tree. He didn't succeed.

Lines, Lines, Lines

The largest part of the audition process is STANDING IN LINE! Yes, I am learning patience here in NYC. They generally do a "typing" call before they hear people sing which means they take a group of girls in a room, look at them, and then tell certain ones they can stay to sing and the others can go. So far, I have been "typed out" alot which means I have been told I can go. As I was standing in line, during one of these calls, I hear someone say "Amanda" from behind me. Turns out, it is a girl I worked with when I was in Nashville. We did a show together and had lost touch. Since then we have gone to quite a few auditions together and been "typed out" a few times. It is nice to be back in touch with her and to have an audition buddy. The top two pics are of us at an audition (which we were "typed out" of!) We had to wait in the hallway because the sign up room was full of girls. Yes, over 300 girls were signed up that day. And yes, many of them choose to do "warm up" singing while waiting. Talk about going crazy.

The bottom pic is of Kristen Chenoweth signing my playbill. I went with my friend Tim to see "The Apple Tree" on Broadway last night, and she is the star of the show. Talk about amazing! She wasn't taking time to pose for pics though. That made me a little sad, and Tim thought it was a little unprofessional. After all, there were only 15 people waiting in line to see her. We got student tickets for 26 dollars and ended up getting to move to the 100 dollar seats because the theatre wasn't very full. She was great. It was the highlight of my trip to see her perform. Well, that was my Wednesday in NYC.