Is It In You?

Today is our last day in Miami. We've been here for two weeks and I'm definitely ready to move on. Nashville is next and I'm excited to go and check it out since I've heard really good things about it. It's unfortunate we are only there for three performance days so I won't have a lot of free time, so I guess I'll just have to go back sometime. So this kind of diet "cleanse" that I'm on is actually working out really well. Basically I don't eat meat, dairy (except some plain non-fat greek yogurt in the morning), and eat only whole grains, and only on occasion. My diet consists mainly of vegetables, fruits, nuts, beans, and fish. I feel healthier, I don't overeat, I haven't gotten any heartburn, and I've trimmed down and started putting off that winter weight I gained. The main goal is to re-train my palate and refresh my diet so I'm not used to eating all the bad-for-me stuff from break. Does this make me vegetarian? No, I don't think so. I'm not opposed to eating meat, in fact, I really like meat, but I'm just being more conscientious about my food choices and what I'm choosing to put into my body. Meat every once in a while is fine, especially if I'm at a good restaurant or it's organic meat. I am trying to put only good food in my body. There is so much crap out there in the world that it's hard not to, but if I know I'm making an effort, then I can feel good about myself. Last night we went out to Denny's after the last show, and I felt inclined to go because it was the sub trombone player's last night so I wanted to be social. I ordered one of their light meals which was egg whites with sauteed vegetables and new potatoes, and felt pretty gross afterwards. It's just made with so much oil and stuff that my body isn't used to, and made me regret eating there. It's hard on the road to try and eat healthy, but if my friend Kate can be vegan on the road, then I can be more picky in what I eat as well. I definitely miss pasta and baked goods, but mostly just pasta and baked goods I make myself. I don't feel as bad eating that kind of stuff when I make it because I know exactly what's going into it. I guess what this "cleanse" is teaching me is that I can choose not to put preservatives and other crap into my body. There are things I can buy and eat that are healthy and natural, and if I make it myself I know that it is better for me than if I buy it. I guess the point of this post is that I've been inspired by my friend Kate to choose to eat well and healthy and fill my body with good food all the time. And really, what's better than good food? On the menu this week: Mushroom and lentil stew, tilapia coconut curry, baked cinnamon donuts and mexican hot chocolate (my splurge item), and a vegan chocolate coconut cake for Kate and DJ's birthday. Happy birthday to my favorite vegan!

Should Old Acquaintance...

Happy New Year! Well we made it to 2013. Sorry about it Mayans :p Also sorry that I TOTALLY dropped the ball on this blog. I think that happened for two reasons: 1. I got fed up of putting pictures up here since you can only post five at a time, and with limited wifi data on the train I could only post pictures when I was using free wifi somewhere, which wasn't all the time. 2. I became totally uninspired with what I was writing I initially started this blog to keep my thoughts and write what inspired me in order to help me be a better person. So I'm going to return to that mentality this year with the blog...I just happen to be in the circus as I do so haha. Today we opened in Miami, first stop on the 2013 year of Dragons. The show went pretty smooth, and the band rocked, to be quite frank. It's amazing how it just comes right back to you, like riding a bike. Muscle memory is a crazy thing haha, but afte the break the show feels fresh so that's a good sign. Hopefully it won't get too boring for a while. It's weird being back. So many people have left and we are getting in so many new people, and a lot of the people who left were my really good friends here out on the road. So I'm feeling a little bit lost at the moment. It's almost like starting over, but not really since obviously I know a lot more people. It's just a different feel, a different dynamic. At least I got my goals to look forward to. I've started running again and I'd like to run another 5K. I also have to lose some of this holiday weight I put on haha, got 10lbs to lose. Look out 2013 here I come!

Pennies From Heaven

Hello bloggers of the world! I am back from a very long and overdue hiatus. It's been so long since I've updated that I'm not even sure where to begin. Let me see if I can summarize what I've done recently and make it somewhat cohesive.

-Traveled to Uniondale, NY where I had my birthday with Ian at a bowling alley, stayed with Tone for several days and saw Jesus Christ Superstar for her birthday, saw Uncle Al and Aunt Barb, and went on a shopping spree at the nearby mall

-Traveled to Youngstown, OH where there was NOTHING except a pretty decent American Art Museum, and we played for the smallest crowds to date

-Traveled to Louisville, KY, which was a great improvement over Youngstown. Nice downtown, lots of places to eat, the Lousiville Slugger Museum (which I did not go to), the Glassworks museum (which I did go to), a winery, and the Lousiville Zoo! Oh yeah the zoo! The zoo was great! We got to go behind the scenes and pet the elephants and camels and rhinos and see them feed the tigers and sea lions and orangutans and a menagerie of other animals.

Now we are in Norfolk, VA, which has a nice downtown, a great mall that's within walking distance of the arena, and the Chrysler Museum of Art, which I am planning on attending.

I think the best thing I can do is try to upload as many pictures as I can in an attempt to keep the order of events that happened over the last several weeks:

Irish Car Bomb cupcakes for St/ Patty's Day!

It was a beautiful day in Sea Cliff, Long Island

So sunny

Billy's Bakery in Chelsea in NYC! Delicious cupcakes :)

The clowns pied me for my birthday!

This bar in Youngstown had this huge rocking horse!

Some Ringling art in the museum in Youngstown

Pretty lake view from the flower gardens in Youngstown

Jen got pied! Dave and Jen (my neighbors) left after Youngstown :(

Dave making empanadas on the train run!

Easter eggs!

They have these painted horses all over Louisville

KFC Yum! Center in Louisville (yes, that's the name)

Kentucky Center for Performing Arts

Louisville Slugger Museum!

Action Shot!

Well I'm off to go grab some dinner, but I'll have to come back to the mall and post more later!

Falling Slowly

So once again, I am incredibly behind on updates because I've been busy doing so much stuff in the city. I think I'm going to stick to the list idea and then put up a bunch of pictures to try and get caught up. So this is what has happened over the last two weeks:

-Saw Anything Goes, Once, and Jersey Boys. All three were good shows, but Once was AMAZING! Literally one of the best shows I've seen in a long time. I loved every minute of it, and I can't wait to get the soundtrack!

-Went to Smoke jazz club and saw a live jazz quartet that was absolutely amazing. Also had delicious food and an interesting cocktail comprised of gin, strawberry jam, balsamic vinegar, black pepper, and lime juice

-Went home and saw friends for a couple days, as well as a rehearsal of Legally Blonde at the high school. Jackie was by far the best person on that stage and I'm really proud of her.

-Ate at THE BEST jewish deli ever, called the 2nd Avenue Deli. Also got dessert at the Peanut Butter and Co. location, and saw Kenney play at Marie's Crisis Cafe.

-Made an early St. Patrick's Day dinner with Jen and Dave, consisting of corned beef and cabbage and cole slaw, scalloped potatoes, and irish soda bread.

Grand Central Station

Chess board in Queens

View from Anna's apartment

Anything Goes!

The train in Newark was literally parked next to a prison. Good.

German chocolate cupcakes I made

Yummy martini!

IZOD center in East Rutherford

This stuff is DELICIOUS!

Lamb and pulled pork sliders at Smoke with fries. So tasty.

Me and Karla!

Matzah ball soup with added kreplach. Yum.

I seeeee you!

HALF a pastrami sandwich. I repeat, HALF

St. Patty's Day meal!

Got So Far To Go

I am soo behind on posts. It's really bad. So much has happened. Ok let's see if I can sum this up...

After Richmond we went to Philadelphia, which was great. The building was by the subway and it was a short trip into the downtown area. While in Philly I:

-Went to the Philadelphia Museum of Art which is HUGE and has a great collection

-Saw the Eastern State Penitentiary which is basically an old castle in the middle of the city

-Bought some new clothes, including pants that are 32/34, my target pant size! (YAY for completing a new year's resolution already!)

-Ate some amazing food at a place called Monk's Cafe and Continental Midtown

-Discovered the Reading Terminal Market which is a huge indoor market with fresh produce and shops and booths with all kinds of food and things to buy. Basically it's where I would be every day if I lived in Philly.

-Saw the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall

What I did NOT do in Philly:

-Eat a philly cheesesteak

After Philly, LaRena and I took an early (very early) bus into Manhattan. I stopped by Astoria to drop my stuff off at Anna's apartment, then I went back into Manhattan. So far in NYC I have:

-Gone to FAO Schwartz and saw the big piano

-Gone shopping, including Fossil, Forever 21, Lord and Taylor, and Macy's

-Saw Anything Goes and Once the musical. Anything Goes was very good (love me some Sutton Foster), but Once was AMAZING. Everyone should go see this show. Also two Geneseo alum are in it so I stayed and chatted with them briefly afterwards.

-Ate delicious food

-Meet up with good friends

-Got lost trying to get back to Newark, which is one of the dirtiest cities I've been to

-Saw Karla perform in her off-broadway debut, which included playing two roles at once.

-Make german chocolate cupcakes

What I have not yet done in NYC is a list too long to put here, and thankfully I still have two and a half more weeks to try and accomplish as much as I can. Tomorrow we open in East Rutherford, and then Sunday after the last show I'm going home for a couple days, which I am very excited for :) This post will have to do for now, but I have more to write and pictures to come soon.

Edit: Pictures are here!

You get subway tokens to ride the subway in Philly

The view of City Hall when you get off the subway

Passage to street level

View of City Hall from the outside. Stunning.

Art sculpture outside the school

Reading Terminal Market, one of my favorite places in Philly

Meat!

Seafood!

CHEESE!

So much fresh produce!!!

Back of Independence Hall

The Liberty Bell!

Front of Independence Hall

Room where all the big-wigs met to discuss the Declaration of Independence and sign it

Blueberry muffins with feta and thyme, my own invention :)

Philadelphia Museum of Art

Fountain on the walk to the museum

View of Philly from the museum steps

Rocky statue!

Eastern State Penitentiary

Billy enjoying a twizzler from our HUGE martini shaker!

My delicious sandwich from The Continential in Philly. An AWESOME restaurant!