Four Broadway Shows: How We Did It

I recently returned home from my third ever trip to New York City, and it was out-of-this-world amazing.

My roommate Emily and I got cheap flights and a (relatively) cheap hotel and spent four and a half days trekking all over the city and having a wonderful time. We ate a ton of good food and desserts, went boating in Central Park, visited Brooklyn, walked the High Line, enjoyed live music at the South Street Seaport (with excellent views of the Brooklyn Bridge!), sat in on a singalong in Bryant Park, saw Grand Central Terminal and the 9/11 Memorial and the New York Public Library, wandered the Upper West Side, shopped at a flea market, and basically just never stopped walking.

We also managed to see four Broadway shows.

Four.

For a musical fan like me, this was just... unbelievable. Beyond imagination. Because while New York City is amazing and I absolutely LOVE being a tourist there, the whole point of this trip was to see shows. And those shows? Were AMAZING. The other stuff was just an added bonus.

So here's the short version (believe it or not) of how it happened.

Emily and I purchased tickets for Newsies and Les Miserables prior to our arrival in NYC. These two shows were basically the reason for the entire trip. We absolutely HAD to see our pal Ramin Karimloo perform the role of Jean Val Jean in Les Mis, and had been looking forward to that for months and months. Then when we heard that Newsies would be closing at the end of August (I'm still not ready to talk about it), that put even MORE of a fire in us to get up there as soon as possible. So those tickets were more expensive on the front end, but there was no way we were going to risk a trip to NYC without Les Mis/Newsies tickets in hand. No. Way.

We arrived in the city on Thursday, and after several hours of sight seeing, we went to meet some friends outside of Kinky Boots, the 2013 Tony winner for best original musical. While we waited, I pressed my ear to the stage door and was in heaven listening to the crowd cheer on Tony-winner Billy Porter sing the final number, and I thought I was going to die. At that moment I wanted nothing more than to be inside that theater. Well, my wish was very nearly granted when the door suddenly swung open and I was so caught by surprise that I had to back up quickly to avoid a face full of door and lost my shoe in the process. People began pouring out of the theater and I had to fight my way forward to rescue my poor flip flop. And then I somehow ended up holding the door open for half of the theater but THAT'S BESIDE THE POINT.

Wait, what is the point? The point is that moment was when I knew I was going to do whatever it took to see a third Broadway show while we were there. I even sent up (what felt like) a silly and lame prayer... Lord PLEASE let me see another show! I just wanted it. So badly. And I knew it was probably ridiculous. Probably...

Friday night rolls around, and I want to pinch myself, because we are actually about to see Newsies. Nearly two years and THOUSANDS of times listening to the soundtrack later, I have returned. I was absolutely giddy sitting in my seat and thumbing through the program. Then the overture started and the curtain began to rise. I was so OVERJOYED and I just... I don't know, I really don't have the words to describe how excited/thrilled/ecstatic I was in that moment. I was practically glowing.

That right there. That was the best moment of the trip.

The show itself was even better than I'd remembered. So funny, such an amazing cast, the BEST dancing on Broadway (or anywhere, really), and I was on the verge of happy tears the entire time.

Put it this way: imagine that there's a movie you've loved for nearly your entire life. Then they go and make a musical of that movie. And the musical is even better than the movie. That's Newsies for me.

After the show, we fought our way to the stage door so that I could get autographs and photos with the cast. I have a very understanding roommate who stuck with me and took pictures of me and stood her ground in a sea of INSANE "fansies," despite the fact that the entire situation is basically her worst nightmare. What a pal!

So then we turn to leave, and guess who we see across the street coming out of Aladdin? Adam Jacobs (Aladdin himself! Emily gets the credit for spotting him.) and Tony-winner James Monroe Iglehart! Wow, what a moment!

The only way to describe how I felt after all that was "on a high." I don't know that life will ever approach the feeling of sheer ELATION of that Friday night in New York City.

When we got back to the hotel, we talked strategy for the next day. We had done a ton of research into the other shows currently playing on Broadway, trying to figure out our best bet for picking up a third show. Some shows do a lottery for cheaper tickets, some offer rush tickets the day of the show, some offer standing room only tickets... You really just have to figure out what is your priority and what you want to try for!

Armed with invaluable information from Playbill.com and Broadway Spotted, we decided to try for tickets to this year's Tony winner for best original musical, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder.

The GGLAM box office opens at 10am, so we got in line at 8:30 with about 20 people in front of us.

please oh please oh please oh please

The wait was really not that bad-- we had coffee and sat on our Starbucks wrappers (super classy) to protect our shorts from the New York street, enjoyed powdered donuts offered to us by fellow line waiters, and only had to move twice for cars once we realized we were sitting in front of a driveway...

At the last minute we had to make a decision: do we try for matinee tickets or evening tickets? They were in two separate lines, and what if the line we got in SOLD OUT? Well, we took a chance, rolled the dice, and got in line for the matinee. And two $37 dollar tickets later, we were two VERY happy girls holding matinee tickets to a TONY AWARD-WINNING show! So happy that we just had to reward ourselves with gourmet cookies from Broadway bakery/hot spot Schmakary's.

Going into Gentleman's Guide, I was excited to see it in a kind of general way. I had seen them perform "I've Decided to Marry You" on the Tony's, and was... looking forward to it! With like... regular anticipation. Not eager anticipation or anything.

Then the show started, and Bryce Pinkham came out. And any illusions I was under that this was your average ordinary show went out the window. Bryce and his co-star Jefferson Mays (both nominated for Tonys for their roles) were absolutely FANTASTIC. Wonderful singers, incredibly gifted comedians, and very engaging performers all around. Bryce in particular could make us laugh with the simplest eyebrow arch or sly grin aimed at the audience. It is safe to say that he is our newest Broadway crush, and he can do no wrong.

But really, I can't say enough about how much WE LOVED THIS SHOW. It was funny, the music outstanding, and the casting obviously top-notch. If you are planning a trip to New York anytime soon, GO SEE THIS.

We hadn't intended to spend time at the stage door, but the actors started coming out very soon after we exited the theater, so we felt like we couldn't NOT see them. And that turned out to be absolutely the right decision! Despite being boisterous and over-the-top on stage, Jefferson and Bryce were both so soft-spoken, kind, and intentional with every single fan that waited for them at the stage door. They each made eye contact with everyone, asked questions, genuinely thanked each and every person... It was just amazing, and such a special time for both Emily and I. When we walked away we felt like we were floating. That was due in large part to the sheer brilliance of the show as a whole, but also because of how we were treated at the stage door by the actors. I think it is safe to say that we will both have a soft spot for both Jefferson Mays and Bryce Pinkham for years to come because of this wonderful interaction.

After GGLAM, we decided to make a quick stop at Schnipper's (where we saw one of the ORIGINAL stars of Newsies, Evan Kasprzak!) to split some fries. Now earlier that day we had discussed the fact that since we had tickets to a matinee, we would have our evening free... so why not try to see another show? Why not? So once again, we did some prep work, figured out which shows held a ticket lottery and when, and ranked which shows we wanted to see most.

Emily headed to Aladdin to enter the lottery there, and I went two blocks up to try for Matilda. We were both SO NERVOUS and hoping against hope that one of our names would be called. We texted back and forth while we waited, anxious to hear the results.

Emily: I can't handle the suspense. My stomach is in knots. 

Well, neither of us won. HOWEVER. The ticket guy at Matilda said that if anyone wanted to line up and try their chances for Standing Room Only tickets, then just wait over here. Well since I was standing right there, I slid into line, text messaged Emily, and that's how we ended up right at the front! We thought we would wait for maybe 20 or 30 minutes, go eat dinner, then come back in time for the show. But 30 minutes came and went, and we were still standing in the lobby waiting... for a chance to stand for three more hours.

I could tell Emily was fading fast, but I knew we couldn't give up these spots in line now that it felt like we were SO CLOSE to seeing a show that I KNEW would be absolutely amazing. We found out that the reason the wait was so long was that they wouldn't sell any SRO tickets until they'd sold out the entire house. Henceforth every time the door to the theater opened, I was always hopeful that it was someone with the urge to buy last-minute full-price tickets (as in like $150 each) to Matilda. No such luck.

Fast forward another hour. It's 10 minutes to curtain, people are finding their seats, and we're STILL IN LINE. Finally, something happens. The two people in front of us get called forward to the box office. "This is it!" we think. "Standing room here we come!" But instead of buying tickets and entering the theater, the pair returns to the line, saying they were offered obstructed view tickets, and that they just weren't interested. Before we could really process this information, they're waving Emily and I forward, and here we are standing at the box office!

Box Office Guy: I have two obstructed view tickets available.

Me: How "obstructed" are we talking? Like, behind a pole or something?

BOG: No, they're just on the far side so you have partial view of the stage.

Me: Umm... How much?

BOG: $42 each.
Me: We will take two.

I mean, are you kidding me??? $42? That's less than a third of the price for a normal ticket! And do you know where our seats were? The first row of the first balcony. Not the second balcony. The FIRST balcony. WHAT. Yes, our seats were all the way over on the left side, but we so did not mind. Plus there was the fact that WE GOT TO SIT DOWN. IN ACTUAL SEATS. I just couldn't believe our good fortune. Before I knew it the overture was starting and the kids were performing and here we go: I'm on a high again.

If you've heard anything about Matilda, you've heard that it's a brilliant, clever, hilarious, FUN show. It is absolutely all of those things. It certainly has its dark parts (the original book is by Roald Dahl, after all), but we just loved everything about it. Amazing dancing, insanely clever song lyrics, incredible staging, and the cast made FULL use of the theater, running up and down the aisles, singing in the box seats (SUPER close to us by the way), and a few other fun bits that I don't want to give away. I felt like I was grinning the whole time-- that is, when tears weren't filling my eyes from the sweet wistfulness of certain songs.

I had looked forward to seeing Matilda for ages, without really believing I'd get a chance to, and I just couldn't believe it was really happening. If you haven't checked out the soundtrack yet: get on it. It's spectacular.

Sunday afternoon rolls around and it's time for our fourth and final Broadway show, the big one: Les Miserables. I knew we had floor seats for this one, but I wasn't expecting the SEVENTH ROW. Thanks to one of Emily's connections, we'd managed to score some seriously legit seats! Being that close was just... a dream. It was so, so wonderful. And what can you say about Les Mis? Of course it was outstanding. Ramin Karimloo has unequivocally the best voice I've ever heard, so getting a chance to hear him perform live was just unreal.

I expected to love Ramin as Val Jean. I was not expecting to ALSO love Will Swenson as Javert, another powerhouse singer whose sheer authority and command of the stage, not to mention his OUTSTANDING voice ("M'sieur le Maire you'll wear a different chaaaain" -- chills on chills on chills), made him the BEST Javert I've ever seen.

The rest of the cast was also very talented, although we ended up seeing understudies for Enjolras, Fantine, AND Cosette. C'est la vie, I suppose! At least we got to see Ramin and Will. I really just can't overstate how good both of them were. Just wow.

And that's how it happened! I'm sorry I seem to have gotten carried away in my own effusiveness, but it really was that wonderful. I've obviously run out of positive adjectives, but what can I say?

It was perfect.

P.S. After Les Mis we went back to Schnipper's and saw TWO MORE NEWSIES! Life made.

Not Shy in Chi-Town

I turned 30 in January. My husband threw me a fabulous surprise party and then took fabulous to a whole new level when he whisked me off to Chicago for my present.


When we headed for the airport I had no clue regarding our final destination. For packing purposes he gave me a forecast and some minimal direction as to the type of things I would need to prepare for.  He waited until our bags were checked at the airport and our boarding passes secretly printed before finally sharing the surprises. They came in a wave of envelopes.

1. Chicago!
2. Tickets to Mama Mia!
3. Tickets to WAIT, WAIT, DON'T TELL ME!


The man is an excellent gift giver.


I don't need to convince anyone that I'm mildly obsessed with NPR. I've been listening to public radio in the mornings since I was a sophomore in high school. Garrison Keillor joined us on many family roadtrips during my childhood. I've trained for 5Ks, 10Ks and even the half marathon by tuning into Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me and This American Life.


Chicago has been on my travel list for years... but that's primarily because Wait, Wait is taped there before a live studio audience. My bucket list contains "Attend a live taping of Wait, Wait." For real.


Give me whatever label you like, but I'm not going to deny my love for Peter Sagal.


And the night of the taping, I suppose I sought to prove my dedication to the man. 


To fully understand this event, you have to imagine meeting one of your favorite entertainment personalities. We went out for a yet another great meal before taking a cab to the Chase Bank Downtown Auditorium. Seating is pretty much first come, first serve... so of course we arrived early to get a good spot in line. When the ticketing staff arrived they quickly informed everyone there was in fact, no line to be formed. Our line didn't exist. (What is this, the Matrix?) They would not recognize the line, and instead when the will-call table opened up it was just going to be a giant mad dash from every end of the basement room. I wondered if anyone had ever been trampled before, but then realized this was a public radio audience. So.. probably not? But D and I made a plan anyways. I would wait almost behind the tables while he picked up our tickets and then once I saw them in his hand I would make a mad dash to get us a spot at the "real line." We rushed the table, snagged a spot, picked up a program and proceeded to analyze everything about the night's show. At this point I was as giddy as all get out. I was even shaking a little bit. Not gonna lie.


We end up in the 3rd row and within feet of the small stage. The entire theatre holds about 400 people, so there really isn't a bad seat in the house. I simply wanted to be the closest to Peter Sagal, Carl Kasell, Peter Grosz, Roxanne Roberts, and Brian Bablyon as humanly possible. I wanted to be able to reach out and touch the earphones and microphones. (Not really, but kind of... yes.)


The show was thoroughly entertaining. We laughed all the way through. D even remarked how much he enjoyed the night. As soon as the taping drew to a close we were informed that we could line up and meet EVERYONE.  ("Everyone we know is doing what?? GIVING AWAY CANDY?"  "What do we have to do?) 


I don't usually stand in lines to meet celebrities. I don't purchase VIP tickets to concerts. I just feel awkward and I know I'm going to be an idiot. But this was different. I felt like these people were my friends. I had been listening to their voices for years, and besides... it's just public radio.


So I BOLTED for Peter Sagal's line. D had the camera out and I had my pen and program at the ready. I kept trying to think of something terribly witty and engaging to say. But by the time I reached Peter, I just word vomited. I don't know what happened. I said something to the effect of "OH MY GOODNESS. IT IS SUCH AN HONOR TO MEET YOU!! Blah, blah, blah. Gush, gush, gush." It was like that scene in A Christmas Story. And in spite of my meltdown he smiled professionally and asked my name and was about to send me on my merry way when I finally blurted out:


"If I was a 13 year-old girl, YOU would be my Justin Bieber!!"


This was followed by a brief period of uncomfortable silence as he signed my program. He finally replied with a smile, "Well, that's very interesting. I've never been told that before."


I laughed nervously and said thank you about a million times and let my husband take our photo before running away.


My internal dialogue for the next 3 hours: "GINGER. What did you do?!"


D reassured me that Peter wouldn't remember this story in the next hour, much less the next day. It was going to be ok.


So I wandered over and met Carl Kasell and then had a very nice discussion with Roxanne Roberts, before finishing off the night by telling Peter Grosz that I loved his work in the Sonic commercials. "Oh yeah," I said, "Big fan."


Big dork.
Awesome trip.
Chicago Art Institute.
Frozen Lake Michigan.
Ice Skating in Millenium Park.
Deep Dish Pizza.
Willis Tower.
John Hancock Building.
Wrigley Field.

Amazing husband.

Fabulous memories.

You haven't seen WHAT?

At small group this week we were asked the following question:

What's a movie that you've never seen that you "should have seen"?

Meaning- when you mention having not seen a classic or even cult classic film, what causes other people to yell in dismay... "YOU'VE NEVER SEEN....?"

I'm still thinking about my answer. Prior to marriage my list was a lot longer. That's what living with a guy will do for you. Thank you dear for my viewings of Doc Hollywood, The Usual Suspects, Rainman, What About Bob, The Passion of the Christ, Ferris Bueller's Day Off (I had never seen it from start to finish), Once... and I'm sure there are many others that I'm just not remembering at the moment.

I know personal aesthetic and choices come into play with the movies we watch, but I decided to pull up some lists on-line and see if there were any other movies I should add to my "dismay" list. I hunted Collection of the best movies from the 80s, Top Cult Classics, and Movies you should have seen lists and came up with the following...

Duck Soup (According to the Gilmore Girls)

The Thin Man (This in is only here because of my sister. I WILL see this one for sure!)

Basically any Sci-Fi movie from the 70's, 80's and 90's... 2001: A Space Odyssey, Aliens, Terminator, etc.

Lawrence of Arabia

I'm pretty sure I haven't seen all 3 of the original Star Wars. (Maybe not the one with the wookies? I know that statement alone took some one's breath away.)

Blade Runner

Easy Rider

Pretty much any horror movie from any time period. (I don't really plan on pursuing these with much energy. "What Lies Beneath" kept me up for weeks.)

Jaws (any of them)

Pulp Fiction (Not gonna happen. Least favorite things in film: gratuitous blood and repeated use of the "F" word.)

Psycho

A Streetcar Named Desire

Labyrinth (Not in a hurry. Sorry, David Bowie.)

Beetlejuice

Ghostbusters

So - what's on your top 10 list that would make you lament if you heard someone else hadn't seen it?

What haven't you seen that gets everyone else all in a tizzy? (In our small group we heard: The Godfather, The Sound of Music, It's a Wonderful Life, Aliens, and plenty of others.)

And finally, what haven't you seen on my top ten list? (I would really like an opportunity to be more dramatic)

My list:

1. Waiting for Guffman
2. Chariots of Fire
3. The Family Stone
4. Pride & Prejudice
5. Love Actually
6. Amelie 
7. Chocolat
8. The Last of the Mohicans
9. Meet Me in St. Louis
10. Galaxy Quest

Alright - comment away. Judgement awaits. ;)

The Reveal

It was never my desire to become a living Cathy comic. So I never mentioned this before. And this is hard for me to bring up so... publicly. I seriously have SO much apprehension about sharing this.

But you know what? I'm just gonna go there.

Hi, my name is Valerie. And I lost 50 pounds.



(grin)

So... what now?

I suppose that, in the words of Wadsworth, "I'm going to tell you how it was all done. Follow me."

Well. The movie montage of the past year would be a lot of shots of me getting out of bed early, leaving the house makeupless and tennis shoed up and heading downstairs to drive the three minutes to my local gym. It's true, little bloggingtons. Nearly every morning I have started my day off by conquering the elliptical machine, the treadmill, the stationary bike, and/or some free weights. Throw in a mix of jump roping, planking, lunges, and other miscellaneous morning exercises and there you go. You would also be treated to clips of Zumba class, runs/walks through the park accompanied by Wait Wait Don't Tell Me and/or the likes of Kelly, Beyonce, Avril, and Michael Giaccino. Perhaps most importantly you would see shots of me on the computer logging nearly EVERYTHING I'VE EATEN for the past 12 months YES EVEN WHILE I WAS IN NEW YORK CITY.

Sometimes you will hear people say something to the effect of their weight just "falling off." "I stopped drinking soda and the weight just started to fall off!" "I started walking in tiny circles around my arm chair and the weight just fell off!" "I high fived a beluga whale and WONDER OF WONDERS THE WEIGHT JUST MAGICALLY FELL OFF AND NOW I RIDE A UNICORN TO THE OFFICE."

Well, I don't know these people or why they feel the need to lie. Because there isn't, there won't ever be, and there never was anything even remotely CLOSE to the phrase "the weight just fell off me" involved in this. So, lies and dream fantasy phrases like that one, BE GONE! You are not welcome here. Because I got up early, and sweated, and got sore, and turned down ice cream, and drank DIET COKE WITH DIET CHERRY FROM SONIC, LIKE, WHAT IS THAT EVEN!!!!!!!

There is no "falling off." I cannot stress that enough. Even though it's a popular phrase and people even assigned that phrase to ME once or twice (pa-shaw), it's absolutely not true. There is NO "falling off." There is only stretching, and running, and looking silly in Zumba class, and declining the brownies, and setting out your workout clothes the night before, and getting on the elliptical AGAIN, and keeping a nectarine in the fridge at work, and washing out the blender blades and making a breakfast smoothie THE NIGHT BEFORE. There is only gathering up the courage to call the gym for an appointment with a personal trainer and getting up early on Saturday morning to meet "Joel" and talk to him about "goals," and looking like an idiot while he teaches you "burpees" (aka OF THE DEVIL). There is only watching people drink soda and eat burgers and fries while you eat chicken yet again, and looking silly at the gym trying out machines you haven't used before, and pushing yourself in the park to run to the next bridge then the next then the next one more one more one more. There is only telling yourself that a piece of pineapple is a treat, and sweating your FACE off because it's SUMMER HELLOOOO WHY ARE YOU AT THE PARK, and looking up nutritional information for a restaurant before you go and picking out what you're going to eat ahead of time, and coming so far but still feeling like you have SO far to go. And all of the above again and again and again and AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN. (And again.)



Despite the fact that, yes, I moved the scale downwards by 50 pounds in about a year, the numbers did not, by any means, go consistently down. The graph showing my progress is not a straight line going from the top left corner down to the bottom right. And that's what can be really frustrating about the process: the inconsistency of results. I could intake the same (small) number of calories and put the same time in at the gym this week that I did last week, and while last week I magically lost 3 pounds, this week I could lose just zero. Or add one back. Or have multiple weeks of discipline with NO RESULTS AT ALL SO PLEASE SOMEONE THROW THIS SCALE OUT THE FRAKKIN WINDOW BECAUSE WHAT EXACTLY IS YOUR PROBLEM, SCALE?!? It happens. Sometimes I just had to laugh, like the time the scale hadn't budged for two entire weeks, only to fall a pound the day after I ate McDonald's for lunch. EXPLAIN YOURSELF, SCIENCE! Okay but seriously, just to drive the point home: just because you kill yourself in the gym and eat only, I don't know, barley and tepid glacier water, doesn't mean you're going to make a significant weight difference. I don't know why that happens, but it happens.

I know that before I started this particular "journey," anytime I heard about someone who lost weight, I'd want to know how they did it, always hoping the answer was something other than "exercise and a lower calorie intake." GUESS WHAT: that's always it. Always always always. So the short answer for "How did you do it?" is that simple: I exercised. And I didn't eat a lot of crap.

Of course there's a little more to it, and I think that the other thing you'll always hear people talk about is the importance of doing what's right for YOU. Because boot camp and vegan diets aren't for everyone, and they're certainly not for me. So really you just have to figure out what's going to work for you. And what worked for me was an exercise cocktail of aerobic workouts and Zumba and long runs in the park and a few mornings a week of the circuit that Trainer Joel put together for me. And it was a random food mix of eggs, microwave dinners, smoothies, fiber bars, pineapples, salads, and the occasional burger or cup of 85% diet coke, 15% real coke, because oh come ON. But above all, credit goes to calorie counting, because without that... it's just SO hard to know! I could think a salad I ordered off the menu is the healthiest possible lunch I could get, only to check the calories later and PEOPLE THIS IS RIDICULOUS, 900 CALORIES!? IN A SALAD?! THAT'S JUST WRONG. But yes, there will be times when you find yourself pouring over the nutritional information of a WENDY'S so you can go and not be blind-sided by a 700 CALORIE CHICKEN SANDWICH. (Yes, that is a thing that exists.)

So that was it for me: counting calories. Not everything works for everyone, obviously, and this just happened to work for me. When I discovered LoseIt.com, I got down to business. Having a daily measurably goal was huge for me, because it took the guesswork out of it, and I had numbers to shoot for every day. Every day! The calorie count is what I would come away with as being the most important piece of this puzzle, outside of the desire to finally just DO it, and also a really fabulous workout outfit, because well. You never know.

There is one other supremely important thing that absolutely must be mentioned here: I would not have lost a single ounce of anything if that had been outside of God's will. And I am not saying that I prayed to sweet baby Jesus if I could pretty please just lose some weight and then poof it happened. Because Lord have mercy, but that is not a thing. Instead, my living, caring, ACTIVE God gifted me with strength, determination, and enough of a sense of humor to make it out of Zumba class undiscouraged. He gave me all of the tools I need to complete the monumental task before me. The tenacity, the support, the drive, the fire, and the WHAT IS UP attitude that is sometimes necessary to defeat long and arduous tasks like this one. No one could have prepared me like He did, could have purposefully planned out my story the way He did. I am thankful for His grace, for His mercy, and for creating all of the many wonderful musicians who would one day come together to make up my workout playlist. I mean--He knows what He's doing, y'all.



And now, I MUST say: thank you to my mom, my BIGGEST cheerleader, who was treated to nearly every step and milestone along the way, cheering me on no matter how small my accomplishments. Thanks to my dad and sister for always encouraging me and motivating me to continue on with this in a very non-pushy and sweet way. Thanks to cousin Shanni, who promised me a trip to Nordstrom's for a treat if I kept at it (and delivered HUGELY). Thanks to Andrea, who gave up an afternoon to take these "After" pictures for me. Thanks to Javier, Not Mindy Riggins, and all of the other Zumba instructors who pushed me one hour at a time. Thanks to TVs in the machines at the gym. Thanks to clementine oranges, dark chocolate kisses, egg whites that come in cartons, 100 calorie ice cream sandwiches, and of course, the MVP of the group, skim milk. Bravo, guys. Finally, big props and MASSIVE thanks go to my online "friends" from LoseIt, who did jumping jacks and happy dances with me and for me EVERY step of the way. Their comments and smiley faces always brightened my day, and they made small victories feel like a VERY big deal. And I've never even met them.

NO THANKS go to: french fries (Y'ALL. Do you even realize???), overly perky people in Zumba class that make me think more about punching them IN THE FACE than actually exercising, that one itch on my right shin always that made me have to stand on the sides of the treadmill so I could lean down and scratch that one place real fast and jump back on which happened ALL THE TIME, tortilla chips (not an easy thing to stay away from in Texas, aka I TOTALLY DIDN'T but I HATE YOU ANYWAY), and finally, especially the fitness world for making me feel like I can't do ANYTHING right- like saying soda is unhealthy and so I make the change to diet but then they say diet soda is just as bad for you and WHY DOES NOTHING PLEASE YOU!?

It's not easy. And I will never condescend to anyone who decides to do it or thinks maybe they SHOULD do it, because it is HARD AS HELL. I'm sorry, but it is. Worth it? Yes. But hard. I never would have thought that ANYONE would ask for my advice, or how I, of all people, was losing weight, or EXACTLY what I am doing. But people, surprisingly enough, have done exactly that! I never thought that I would be the one that would an example to ANYONE, and yet here I am.

So if you'd like any further details or would like to ask any questions at all, please feel free to do so in the comments, or just email vmorby (at) g mail (dot) com. I would love to share, to advise, to encourage, to bring you to Zumba class, to... anything. Really.

Unfortunately, in the end there IS no movie montage, no "work it, gurrrrl" soundtrack, no fast forward button. There's no triumphant swells of music, no thumping bass. It's often quiet. Lonely. Boring. Slow. Frustrating. Monotonous. Complicated.

But it IS worth it, in the end. It's worth it for the "work it, gurrrrl" feeling. For the "Have you...?" comments. For the compliments suddenly coming from every which way. For the people asking me (ME!) how I did it!



(Pause. Big intake of breath.)

You know, for a really long time, it really is just slow. And quiet. And boring. For a really long time you put the work in with no real results. With no one noticing.

But then one day they do notice. And you get to buy new clothes, and feel just a little bit fabulous.

One day you'll bask in the glow of knowing you did it.

One day you'll lose 50 pounds.

And you'll hit "Publish" on your victory blog post, and share it with the world.

Just Another Day At The Office

I work at a camp.

Naturally, this is a busy time of year for us, seeing as how campers show up in LESS THAN ONE WEEK.

To help us run camp during the summer, about 1,200 summer staff are hired every year. And for two days, all of them (and all of us full-time staff) are packed into a giant auditorium for worship, training, and vision-casting for the summer. It's one of my most favorite times of the year.

The atmosphere in that room is extremely difficult to describe, but it's definitely energizing to say the least. I hope you can make it to my town one of these Mays to come experience it with me. It's amazing.

Here's a little taste of the staff getting revved up between sessions:


A big part of why we are all gathered in this auditorium is to go through our in-house training manual, lovingly known as The Way. As in, our "way" of doing things. (Hip hip, THE WAY!)

To kick off this training time, and to get the new folks excited about what was to come, something truly awesome needed to happen. Watch and see:


And if you think I would pass up the chance to participate in ANYTHING "Newsies"-inspired, well, you are sorely mistaken, friend. Look again, and you might notice a certain blonde in a freakishly bright yellow t-shirt paired with her camp-regulation khaki shorts.

It's a fine life!

...So how was YOUR day at work?

Gotta See the Whole Town

New York was... wonderful. Truly an amazing experience.

We were blessed with safe and easy travel, no major hiccups, and a really fun trip. More and more I am realizing how special and unique it is to seriously ENJOY spending time with my siblings and my parents, and this vacation was no exception. Dad, Mom, Clay and I all laughed a lot, had plenty to talk and joke about, and really just enjoyed being around each other!

I loved that there was SO MUCH to do there, and I really tried to pack every day full to the brim with as much sight-seeing as possible. If I weren't limited by sore feet from so much WALKING or the need for, you know, SLEEP, I really don't think I ever would have stopped!

I loved seeing the top of Rockefeller Center with my mom, and am so glad she and I got that time together. Afterwards we warmed up (yes, it was COLD there most days!) in a French cafe with pastries and hot, sweet drinks. I got to see filming locations for things like "You've Got Mail," "Friends," and "Newsies" (kinda). I also really enjoyed going to see the Statue of Liberty and visiting the museum there (I know, I just said I enjoyed a MUSEUM, but it's true!). And then of course there was BROADWAY! "Billy Elliot" was a wonnnnderful production that we all enjoyed far more than I think any of us thought we would. It really does have a great great story, good music, and of course amazing dancing.

One of my favorite parts was walking the entire length of Central Park (about two and a half miles!) with my family and stopping only to enjoy some honey roasted cashews (DE.LIC.IOUS.) and the view at the reservoir. Another favorite was arriving back in Midtown after the Yankees/Rangers game up in the Bronx. We were FREEZING and all I could think about was GETTING WARM. We ended up in a little diner that was so warm and cozy and only got better with the arrival of Manhattan clam chowder and a grilled mozzerella cheese sandwich. I just remember removing jackets and scarves one by one as we finally thawed out and practically melted into our booth. (Or maybe that was just me... ;))

I think the standout portion of the trip has to be our last night in the city. Somehow we ended up at Sardi's (SARDI'S!) for dinner, and I spent the entire evening spotting different favorite celebrities on the wall in caricature form. After a ridiculously delicious meal (swordfish!) we headed down the street to the Al Hirschfeld Theater to see HIM:



















In this:



(Seriously, if you like musicals at ALL, you will do yourself a favor and PRESS PLAY.)

So that gives you just a taste of the FUN we all had at the theater that night. Daniel Radcliffe was amazing (he started the show hanging over the orchestra pit on a rope as a window washer). He had a remarkable singing voice, was ridiculously funny, and surprised us all with his athleticism and fantastic dancing! I watched the entire show just grinning and laughing my way through, and when it was over I exited the theater basically walking on air.

New York, New York, a wonderful town.
The Bronx is up, and the Battery's down.
The people ride in a hole in the ground.
New York, New York, it's a wonderful town!!

Tour De Tejas

We arrived at the airport on April 1st only to discover our flight was delayed and that we wouldn't be arriving in Texas until after 2:00am. Awesome. I can honestly say that was the worst part of the entire 9 day trip! D and I were so blessed to be able to have this time together and with family and friends. The Final Four brought us to Texas but then we spent the week exploring and eating in the southwest part of the state.

Sporting our Texas and Ohio State gear at the championship game. Heartbreak for Butler, but a chance for us to check something off of our bucket list. Thanks again, Dad!

Meet up #1: The Houston Zoo with the Bates family!

The boys had a great time touring the zoo together. Isn't Cooper the cutest thing you've ever seen?

Enjoying our turn around the carousel.

Meet up #2: Houston Family. Val and I are lucky to have lots of family in Texas. My folks invited the crew over for dinner. Note the serious game of monster trucks being enjoyed by the cousins.

With Shani!

Meet up #3: Houston Grandparents! Val, D and I were treated to some Cajun Seafood and great conversations about Geraldo Rivera. Did you know his real name is Gerald?

Meet up #4: Whitney! Whitney drove in straight from teaching to join us for the Tyler cousin dinner. We have great taste, obviously, as we were sporting the same shirt. Does everyone have this Target t-shirt?

Meet up #5: Pine Cove peeps at Andy's Frozen Custard. (Noting the food theme, are you?) We crammed seeing as many people as we could while we were in Tyler and STILL missed a ton of great food... err... people.

Meet up #6: Tyler Grandparents! Breakfast casserole, long walks, and financial discussions... what more could you ask for?

Meet up #7: Elise and baby Daniel! Talk about a drive-thru meeting. We loved getting to meet the newest addition to the family while in Waco for a few hours.

Meet up #8: Waco Family. The Smiths and George's go hand in hand! We were so lucky to steal a few hours with my aunt and uncle and have my sleep-deprived cousin, Aaron (daddy to Daniel) stop by.

Meet up #9: Becca! David had never been to Austin before so I knew that this would need to be a large portion of our trip. Becca was a fabulous hostess and took us all around town - hiking, eating, and more eating.

No trip to Austin is complete without a visit to The Salt Lick.

Per usual, we cannot take a serious picture. After entering our meat comas we spent the evening playing dominoes on the outside patio.

Breakfast at Round Rock Donuts. I told you, we are serious about food.

I've mentioned Friday Night Lights before. Umm... we couldn't be in the area of where it was filmed and NOT stop by some FNL locations. (D as Coach Taylor...)

Clear eyes, full hearts...

Texas Bluebonnets

And one last night in Houston with the folks before we flew back to Phoenix. Games, a musical, and more food. My parents speak my love language!

We came, we saw, we ate.

Something Good This Way Comes

I had a good weekend. A lovely weekend.

A sparkling weekend.

One of those really low-key, but really fun couple of days. It would be more appropriate if I was sharing this with you on Sunday or Monday, but you know how it is. Sometimes... with the stuff going on... and the... yeah. Amiright??

Friday after work I hit up Jason's Deli with a big group of friends and families. It's true: I start my weekends doing some craaaaaazy stuff. Case in point: tomato basil soup. WHAT UP, WEEKEND!

After that I stopped by my grandparents' house to chill with them, my aunt and uncle, and some cousins, including newly engaged Hilary and her fiance Jeff! <insert girly squeal here> We spent the evening chatting, laughing, and hearing about wedding plans!

Saturday morning I slept in until almost 10, and then hit the park by my apartment for some walk/run time, accompanied by the sunshine and Wait Wait Don't Tell Me.

Then before I knew it I was showered and in the car on my way to meet a college friend for lunch! Taylor is now a bigshot television anchor at the largest news station in my city, so it's always fun to turn on the TV and see my friend! It was great to catch up with him and hear ridiculously hilarious stories of getting recognized around town as well as some of the funny things that happen behind the scenes at a news station.

That afternoon I picked up Grandma and the two of us headed to the AZALEA TRAILS! I was so excited that we had such perfect weather and am so glad we got the chance to check out all the flowers.

(Keep reading: beauty ensues.)

Sigh. Don't you just want to come visit me now?? I've got a floor with your name on it....

I spent the rest of the afternoon in my grandparents' backyard, soaking in the summer-y sun and listening to some pretty hilarious/adorable g-parent banter.

Grandpa: Would this fire pit look better with the lid on?
Grandma: Who are you trying to impress?
Grandpa (smiling): I'm trying to impress myself!

Grandma: I can't breathe with all that smoke! You know I have problems with my lungs!
Grandpa: That's not the only problem you have.

Heart.

That night Grandpa fried fish and shrimp out on the porch and all nine of us got to sit and laugh together over dinner together before watching "Father of the Bride" with the bride-to-be! <insert girly squeal here> So much awesome going on. Sigh.

Sunday morning I met the crew at church and then joined everyone at the grandparents' house again for lunch! (I know, I am SO SPOILED.) Oh, and special aside to all cousins reading who were not present on Sunday: Lunch was followed by Grandpa's chocolate malts served in frosted wine glasses. Zing!

From there it was on to movie club, where we watched one of my all-time favorite movies, "The Thin Man!" The other club members have received their instructions to be on the lookout for a real life Nick Charles.

I MEAN REALLY.

The weekend ended as all weekends should: with a party! Joanna's birthday was celebrated with balloons, streamers, cute kids, tacos, and best of all, a photo of our entire group! (NOT an easy task!) All in all it was a great little party with too many fun people.

It's always nice to talk and laugh the final remaining hours of a weekend away.

Now this kind of day has no night. Yeah, this kind of day has no night. And I ain't got much on my mind. I ain't got much on my mind. Cause I know something good this way comes.

I rite like fore an exaple.

In all fairness, this is what I looked like when I wrote the following. (Or at least this was my profile as interpreted on construction paper.)

Allow me to interpret the poetic essay, "My Family."

My dad comes home and says, "Honey is dinner ready yet? It had better be because I'm starving." My sister is a little brat on Saturdays and Sundays because she always hogs the T.V.! Now my mother... on school morning you can hear her across the street saying, "Get up or you're going to be late!" Whenever we go to a store, guess what happens to my brother? He always falls and busts his lip open. My fish are named Tiger and Goldy. My sister's fish is named Katie. Now me? I write, like for example this story I just wrote. That's all, so bye.

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If memory serves me, these descriptions might have all been slightly exaggerated. My sister was probably only a brat about the T.V. one of those two days. :)

Also - I am very thankful for spellcheck.

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And also... I'm thinking of signing my name with a heart from now on.

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And finally... your support has been amazing and wonderful - even the feedback with pointers. I can't say thank you enough!

Wowsas

I had no clue.

Val and I were g-chatting yesterday and I mentioned how "I think people read our blog, even if we don't have any comments." We checked our stats. It's true.

Apparently you have found a place in your heart for this odd array of personal stories, likes, dislikes, and our random journeys. Thank you for walking with us. That being said - I've had quite a few people ask some questions about some previous posts and now I shall endeavor to answer them (and probably make up some other random stuff.)

1. The neighbors DID come over for dinner last week! Two different couples, two and a half hours of eating and conversation that led to quite a few laughs and some warm smiles all around. Since that time I have met kiddos AND been invited to a culdesac block party in two weeks. Is this real life?! Y'all. This is Arizona. No one does this! I am SO excited. "Meeting my neighbors" has been on my yearly goals since moving to this state. I am finally making good on a goal.

2. Valerie DID come to visit and she made a great video about it. But here's the question I've been asked regarding that visit: "How was your time with your sister?" It was great! Val and I have a lot of similar quirks and interests (BBQ, books, movies, tv, Texas, Morbys) but we also are pretty different. I think that we vacation quite differently. That being said, I had a great time just catching up for a few days. We went out, we stayed in, we walked my little neighborhood and basked in the sun, we laughed, we made my husband shake his head... we even tried to locate some home movies. Having Val here was a GREAT birthday gift!

3. "What are you working on?" Since October I've been working on a manuscript for a book, writing children's curriculum for a local church, setting up speaking engagements, and... building a website. It's a whole lot of dreams all at once and they are all wrangling for first place in my time and thoughts. But it looks like (if all continues to go well this week) I will be taking my website LIVE next week. (Deep heaving breaths.) My target audience is young women 6th-12th graders and the site will have both written and video blog components. If you are willing I will need you on your best social media selves when the time comes - twitter, facebook, chalk. You name it and I will humbly ask for it.

4. I used to blog on and on about what I was reading and my mild obsession with my local library. Reading (especially fiction) took a back seat for a while, but I'm back in the saddle again. Latest books - and the order in which I might recommend them:

-The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones

-Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges

-Reflections On the Psalms by C.S. Lewis

-When Crickets Cry by Charles Martin (fiction)

-My Life as an Experiment by A.J. Jacobs

-The New Eve by Robert Lewis

5. Friday Night Lights makes me weep... every time. (We are halfway through season 4.)

6. I really feel like I had a lot more material going into this post than I do right now.

7. Sometimes... getting a blog comment is like getting a sticker on your 2nd grade handwriting paper or having someone bring you a Route 44 Diet Coke without you asking.

8. That's all.