To the Jacksons

I was heartbroken this past week as I heard about the tragic accident that befell some friends of Cristian and mine. Molly and Vic Jackson's daughter Lucy choked on a piece of apple and had to be life flighted to Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake. I don't know all the details, but she went into a coma then passed away on Thursday. She would have been 2 years old on June 11.

I cannot imagine the pain and sadness of losing a child and I salute you, Molly and Vic, for your strength and testimonies. I cried as I read your blog and saw the hope you have in a resurrection; you know this is not the end and you will see Lucy again.

Our prayers are ever with you both.

I have pictures again!

We never found our camera usb cable, but we did find another one that works, so we finally were able to download pictures. I don't have anything really exciting going on right now, but I did want to post pictures from our anniversary in January. We stayed a night at the Venetian Hotel down on the Strip. It was gorgeous, and so fun. We ate at a great French restaurant called Bouchon. Yummy. I have to say, I was in charge this year, and Cristian didn't know anything until the last minute. I did a good job. I have the hardest time keeping secrets from him, but I pulled through, and he loved it. This is our room. Every room at the Venetian is a suite. I t was so beautiful. One of the nicest rooms I have ever stayed in. This is us down in the Canal Shoppes, where you can take gondola rides with people who sing Italian arias to you and pretend they are from Italy. They're not. I know these things, I have friends who are Gondoliers, so don't be fooled if you ever take a ride. Sorry to spoil it for you. Also, we wanted a treat so we went to the food court and got these shakes from Johnny Rockets, you know that 50's style diner, and they were like, $7 each. What a rip off.
I just want to say how grateful I am for Cristian. He is definitely who I need to be with. He is funny, kind, hard-working, creative, handsome, and wise in many ways I am not. He has taught me more in the last three years than I ever thought I would need to learn, (but don't worry, I did, and I keep learning) and I am so glad he chose me. My life is more complete with him as my partner, and I can't imagine my life without him. Did I mention I am crazy in love with him? And, by the way, next year it is his turn to plan. He always comes up with something good.

jet-setting couple?

Well, today I am off to LA for a Teacher's Conference for the vocal organization I am a part of. I will learn all about ways to improve my teaching, which I am very much looking forward to. I really won't know anyone, so most likely I will be playing it stag all weekend, but I am ok with that. I tried to get Cristian to come with me since he would get to see some good friends while I am in classes, and it would be fun to have him along in general. He is my husband, after all; I like to hang out with him on occasion. But he has too much going on at school and just can't get away. Such is the life of a graduate student in the Theater Arts. Always weekend work.

But I realized this morning that most of the time when we are out of town, it is either one or the other of us. We very rarely get to go somewhere together, usually because one of us is tied up at home, or we are not invited. By that I mean, for example, Cristian's 2 week internship he just completed in Denver. We probably go somewhere together twice, maybe three times a year, out of all the other times when one of us is gone. That happens to be a lot, between the two of us. Just this last month, C went to Denver for 2 weeks, was home for a week, then Houston for a week, now he is home, and I leave today for the weekend. That is a lot in one month, even for us. But this summer he will spend 2 months in Oklahoma working at a theater there. Obviously, I can't go with him since I have a job here and other responsibilities. I will go visit him a few times, and other than that, I have a few other trips planned on my own while he is gone. I figure, if he is gone anyway, I might as well make the best of it and enjoy myself.

Does this solo-traveling seem weird? We never think about it I guess because if we could we would go together, but we just do what we have to do. We are both pretty independent people, and by now we are used to it, so it's not a problem, just interesting.
Don't get me wrong. I miss him when we are apart, absolutely. The really important times, like weddings and family reunions, we go together, no question.
It just hit me today how busy we both are. I am totally rambling now, so I guess I am done.

Oh where, oh where...

Has our camera cable gone? You know the cable that hooks up your camera to the computer so you can download pictures? We can't find it. Poor Cristian had to go to a meeting last night about being a set designer for a show, and he had no pictures to show his work. How embarrassing. I felt really bad about it, and I looked and looked last night, but it was no where to be found. That also means I can't post any pictures for a while until we find it or buy a new one. Boo. I was going to do some back tracking and post about our anniversary in January. It was really fun, but I have nothing to show for it.
I hate losing stuff. It drives my crazy. Back in our first apartment, our favorite cookie sheet disappeared, and even amidst moving multiple times, it has never been found. I don't get it. I especially hate the stuff like that. How does one lose a cookie sheet? Ok, I want to know the most random item that has ever been lost to you. Don't be shy. This is a time for sharing.

It's true...

I am super lazy. I do not blog nearly as much as I should, thank you, Beth. I need to start calling you my Blog-Conscience. I guess I never feel like I have that much to say, unless something big happens. But here goes.
Cristian just got home yesterday from a 2-week internship in Denver. Now, he goes out of town for various reasons a few times a year, therefore, leaving me home alone. I actually do just fine with this. I have always been good with entertaining myself, and "alone time," so as much as I miss him, I always use those days/weeks to watch movies I know he won't watch with me, and read good books.
The only thing I am not so good at is going to bed by myself. I am more or less ok, but I am really good at freaking myself out when I am in bed at night, and so at least one night when he is gone, I give myself a good scare. Before I go to bed, no problem. But as soon as I am at bedtime, I can go a little crazy. First, I lock myself in my room, when we never even close our bedroom door at night when we are both here. Then, as I read my scriptures, or whatever, you bet I am always listening for sounds, foot steps in the hall, etc. We even have an alarm system which pretty much guarantees that there is no one in the house but me, but I still do it anyway.
The first time he left town after we got married, one night I was so freaked out I took our butcher knife and stuck it underneath our bed. True story.
But, probably the best was just 2 weeks ago, right after he left, his parents were still in town with me and we watched this ghost show called "the Paranormal State" on A&E. I totally believe in ghosts and spirits, and after the second episode, I was sufficiently frightened of bad, angry spirits. Long story short, I not only locked myself in my bedroom, but I slept with my bathroom light on. I was very grateful that I was not alone in the house that night. Seriously, I am a 10 year-old sometimes. I need a night light.

So Busted...

I went to my high school reunion a few months ago, pretty confident that I did not need to have any of those conversation/confessions of teenage crushes with anyone. Well, that was true, but then this happened to me the other day...
I got a comment on one of my blog entries from someone named Nate. He was inquiring about me because he saw another blog in which I had referenced his name and he didn't remember me. I was asked to email him and explain how I knew him and the "embarassing moments" I had talked about. It was signed by none other than Nathan Seable! The hotty in the Concord 2nd Ward we all lusted after in high school. None of you can laugh because I won't name names, but I know you all thought he was hot too. We would always talk about that hot, quiet cowboy. And most of my high school friends know I have a string of moments I like to call my "Nathan Seable Saga." He didn't say whose blog he found me on, and I don't remember.
So I had to write that email that was totally the confession of "I had a crush on you in high school." I then proceeded to tell him, in a nutshell, about the "embarrassing moments." Like how I spilled food on him at a wedding reception, or was learning to drive in the Northgate parking lot while he and his dad were painting the Broncos mural, ( and then my dad, as stake president, HAD to go say hello), then how I ran, no leapt, into a mirror right in front of him during a blackout at BYU Education Week. So painful. Now I laugh really hard about all of these experiences, but I also never thought I would have to re-hash them to the man himself. I am sure he was laughing reading this email, and I was laughing writing it.
Needless to say, he remembered me and wrote back to tell me what he is doing right now. It all turned out just fine, but wow, it is a small world and karma really does come back to bite you in the &^%.

In Case Anyone Cares...

......I just got new headshots done. These were the two I chose out of about a million pictures. Headshots are always a kind of intense subject with actors. First of all, you have to find a good photographer, which I did, Alisia Packard. She does families and kids too for you Utah people; she also travels back and forth to NYC. alisiapackard.com.
The photographer needs to have the ability to make you look alive, not like you are just smiling nice for a picture. Then, what to wear? Something that shows your personality, but best to stick with classic styles for longevity purposes. And no loud prints. Please. These things are expensive and you want to be able to use them for a few years.
When all is said and done, you have to choose the BEST one, maybe two, shots. This usually comes after narrowing down, then again, then asking your husband to help and watching him throw half of the ones you actually like in the garbage. Then when you are down to just a few, you let the girlfriends you go to church with decide. That was kind of how it ended up going for me.
Now that you are up and running with the new shots, you are officially a slave to the look you currently have, so you can always be consistent with that picture. That is the worst part in my opinion. But these are like my calling card, how people remember who I am after an audition when they are going through all the headshot/resume combos of the people they saw that day. It's kind of crazy, I know. The funny thing is, I don't even audition that much right now, but I always need to be prepared for that last minute opportunity. Weird. But such is my life. Enjoy.