Palm Desert, CA

Wow, is it nice out here! My mom and Ernie vacation in this area, and I know how much they enjoy it (maybe almost as much as Scottsdale). They had a short list of not-to-miss places, and I didn't see ONE, thanks to having back to back shows, and no car. Oh well. It's still beautiful! (My picture is from out the bus window on the way into town- miles of windmills, out in the middle of the desert).

I was so happy to go to the pool this morning at the hotel. It's November! It just puts you in a good mood to be in the sunshine. Yesterday most of the cast bought food at the grocery store across from the hotel, and grilled out at the theatre. They have a patio with a big 'ol grill that they let us use. I didn't think I would want anything, but when they started cooking I of course changed my mind. Darrel was nice enough to give me a few bites of his steak, chicken, and brat (really!?).

I have run into a few interesting characters here. First off, the amount of plastic surgery I have seen in this lobby outweighs any other town thus far. One woman actually looked like the Muppet girl who plays the drums. But here's a weird one- I have seen two girls who apparently have shaved off their eyebrows, and drawn them on with what looks like liquid black eyeliner. But not in the total shape of an eyebrow. It's like a design. I am told this is a West Coast thing. I also saw a man with two wedding rings on today, stacked on top of each other. Does that mean he has two wives????

Off to Portland!

Richfield, Utah

Is. So. Boring.

Colorado

Well, here I am in Greeley, Colorado. Where you ask?? Exactly. All I know about this little college town is that the whole thing, from one end to the other, smells like manure.

The good news is that we spent the last three nights in Colorado Springs. I really like it there. Between family trips, U.S. Figure Skating at the Olympic Committee based there, and touring, I have been about 5 or 6 times now. Last time I was there, Darrel and I stayed at the Broadmoor for Valentine's Day, but this time we lived it up at the swanky Clarion.

Jon and Rachel lived in the Springs during a few of my past visits, so I knew some good places to go thanks to them. The coolest place is this bar called 24C. You walk down a dark alley, and there is a blue light above an unmarked door. You walk in, and it's an awesome martini and cigar bar! Darrel and I took about 20 people there, and everyone LOVED it! I stunk so bad the next day it was unreal. (For you 90210 fans out there, 24C reminds me of when Steve Sanders is trying to find the underground club, and he keeps saying, "I have an egg". Remember that?!)

Luckily, I got to Greeley today at 2:30 and I leave tonight for Utah at 11:30, so I don't have to smell the stank for too long!

Alto, New Mexico

Let me start this blog off by announcing that it is my 100th post!

Anyway, I just spend five nights in Alto/Ruidoso, New Mexico. We had all of our technical rehearsals there. I'll explain why I call it Alto/Ruidoso (which are two different towns). The THEATRE was in Alto, bus as you will see below, nothing else was. So we had to stay about 20 minutes away in Ruidoso.

The theatre was actually awesome. They had blown glass inside that Dale Chihuly did. He's the same guy who did the glass flower ceiling at the Bellagio in Vegas. It was super small, and the people there were so nice.We had an opening night party on Thursday night, which was quite a blast if I do say so myself. Cast, crew, creative team, people from the theatre, production- everyone was there. We have some characters in this new cast (check out my prom photo with Billy below)! I was told that the production company cannot remember a time that any of their tours drank the bar tab to the $2,000 max in such a short time. If you met this group, you would not be surprised at all! So we of course continued the party in my hotel room, because I had a suite. Until 5am. I justify it by telling myself I was getting to know my new co-workers.Despite this late night, Darrel and I woke up and went with our friends Ethan and Ras to Roswell, NM. We were only an hour away, and we of course had to see where the aliens landed! It was such a tourist trap it was unreal. The whole little town is shops and restaurants that are alien themed. Even the McDonald's is shaped like a space ship. Our big plan was to go to the UFO museum, but when we walked it it smelled like a bathroom, and looked like a cubicle office with some displays on the walls. Totally not worth the $5.00 to get in, so we decided to just go to the gift shop. I am now the proud owner of a Roswell alien beer koozie!

A Few Thoughts

Not to be all serious, but maybe just for a minute....

We are in Ruidoso/Alto, New Mexico, population 10,000. The town lives off tourists during ski season, where the population on any given day can quadruple. It is just beautiful here. BUT- it has made me think about a few things.

On my way in, I had to take two shuttles from El Paso. One guy picked me up at the airport, and dropped me off about an hour and a half later in a small little town where I was to get on shuttle number two. The town pretty much had one main street, with every chain hotel and restaurant you could think of. They also have a lot of pistachios there and there seems to be a war as to who can have the biggest sign to sell them. But anyway, I'm sitting in the lobby of the Best Western waiting for the second shuttle, listening to what is going on around me. The girl behind the front desk was talking about being sober now, and getting her kids back. KIDS?? She looked about 18. Then a guy came in and asked for the manager. He wanted to see if he still had his application for a job, because he could really use one. The manager didn't have a job for him, so the guy nicely said thank you and asked that he please not forget about him.

On the second shuttle ride as we were driving into the town, we passed an insane amount of trailers, just propped up out there in the desert. And horrible run-down homes.

Last night after work, I was starving, and as it turns out, everything closes here at 9:00. Even Taco Bell (???). But there is a Denny's that is 24 hours, so I drove down there around 10:00. There were four people working, and in listening in on their conversations, they all had to work all night, and the one guy had taken the job because he needed it so badly, but his wife worked during the day so now they don't see each other anymore. I left my super nice take out girl a nice tip.

Today I went to this Asian nail place I found (which is a story in itself. And I quote, "well if it wasn't for slavery, we wouldn't have Michael Jordan, so maybe it wasn't so bad"). I could just tell that the people there were struggling. I got a not-so-great pedi and tipped the girl more than I should have.

All of this has just made me realize how lucky I truly am. I might complain about money sometimes because of the way things are in the world right now, but the reality of it is that I am doing just fine. I have a good job, own a home that is not being taken away from me, and can spend all the time I want with family (at least when I am home). Is two extra dollars for tip really going to set me back? Nope, and they need it more than I do.

So just take a minute when you complain to think about the people who REALLY have something to complain about. Wow- I am going to make a great mom after that comment!

Packing It Up

Well, here I sit at the airport in Mexico (oh wait- I mean, El Paso, TX). I left Cleveland this morning for tour, and have a LONG travel day. I had to fly from Cleveland to Houston to El Paso, and now am waiting around for two hours to hop on a three hour shuttle to go to Alto, NM. It is literally in the middle of no where. The closest "city" in Roswell, which I think is over and hour away. (Darrel and I are going to see the aliens on Sunday)!

Anyway, this weekend was just nuts. I wanted to be able to see everyone before I left, so I went out on Friday downtown, Saturday in Chagrin, and had things with family on Saturday and Sunday afternoon. I also had to move out of our sweet loft apartment downtown. That's a lot for one weekend!

It was so hard this year because I don't have a "home". The last two years, I packed up a few suitcases, left all of my extra clothes and shoes and coats at home, and left. This year, everything I own is in storage, so I packed up my extra clothes and shoes and coats in huge tupperware containers (like those big ones that are $12 and have clasp handles on them), and they are piled up in my mom's basement. I was so crabby on Sunday after packing and driving all over the city to drop stuff off and get ready to go. But I'll get over it when I realize that I can save more money during tour by NOT paying rent or mortgage, I'm sure. This should also teach me that I have way too much stuff.
At least my blog name for the next seven months will actually reflect what I write about now- back to tour!

Legally Blonde- The Musical

Last night my mom and I went to go see Legally Blonde at Playhouse Square- it was SO GOOD! She has season tickets, and Ernie did not want to go, which means that I lucked out. It made me laugh the whole time, and held my attention throughout the entire show. Which I can not say about all shows. The girl on tour actually looks like Reese Witherspoon (from the 10th row at least)! And, they have two live dogs in the show that are super cute.

You should really check and see if it is coming to your town- http://tour.legallyblondethemusical.com/. It would be the perfect girls night for anyone!

A Few Extra Bucks

I love eBay. I always have. I have been a member since 2001, and have sold over 250 items. For a while, I was selling for other people and taking a commission of 20%. I even advertised myself in the newspaper. I found this one family who was moving to Colorado and getting rid of a TON of stuff, about three years ago. They had train sets from Germany worth a fair amount of money, and some other items here and there. They also had a book from the 1700's that they had put in about three garage sales that never sold, and was sitting in their basement. I sold it on eBay for over $2,500. I also buy gifts at half the price on eBay. It's just awesome. Oh- I also pulled a stunt a few years ago with some Disney MP3 players. I heard they were the craze and were sold out everywhere. Well, I found them at a Target about 40 minutes away, drove there, and bought them all on my credit card. Sold them on eBay, and doubled my money.

I have also lost out on eBay so don't be fooled. But not often.

Mind you, I will admit that I know what I am doing on the site, after doing it for so long. (I even took a class a few years ago). But anyone can really do it.

In moving AGAIN this weekend, I had things that I never wear, but that I couldn't stand to give away due to how much they originally cost. The three items above are what I sold this afternoon.

1. $66.00. My ridiculously overpriced Ugg Cargo boots that I bought off eBay two years ago because I could not get them in the stores. Paid about $170, totally ruined them on tour last year when I got stuck in a salty slush storm in Quebec, and will not wear them anymore because they don't look nice, and that's just how I am. Kind of makes me a little sick to my stomach.

2. $30.99. Calvin Klein rain coat that I bought at Nordstrom two years ago in San Francisco. I wore it one day when I went to Alcatraz and Muir woods, because it was raining and I could not be outside for 8 hours without something warm and waterproof. It is a little too big so I won't really wear it. I got it on sale for about $60.

3. $27.99. Max Studio dress. It makes me look fat when I wear it, so that's that. I bought it at TJ Maxx a few years ago for $20.

Total for the day: $125! Not bad for stuff I will never, ever wear again!

WhirlyBall

On Saturday afternoon, I met up with my cousins and some of their friends to play WhirlyBall. Have you ever played this game?! (I tried to put a video on here of what it looks like but I can't figure it out, so click on the link above). I hadn't since I was probably at a middle school birthday party. It is SO FUN! It's a mix between lacrosse, basketball, and hockey, mixed with bumper cars. Great fun for a bunch of 30 year olds, let me tell you.


I think I was the only one who had not been drinking for the Ohio State game (and it was my cousin Paul's birthday), so I thought I might have an advantage. Little did I know that this is a common thing for these guys to do, they're good, and I was kind of like the kid who gets picked last for Red Rover in gym class. Everyone got so into it, running into each other, fighting over the ball, giving high fives with their "sticks". Loved it!


It's hard because you have to maneuver your bumper car next to the ball and then pick it up with your little scooper. If it gets caught in a corner, it's like a death match with the other team to get it. And the ball is so light that unless you are close to the backboard, you're most likely to miss, so you have to try and pass it around and block other players. My arm was actually sore on Sunday, I think from being so tense (thanks to the boys yelling at me to do this, and do that)!


I would definitely play again, and it was so fun to be with my cousin on the BIG 2-9!

Not A New Home Owner

Welp, I didn't get the house. I guess there was another offer, and they said that they decided to work with them. It's just so not fair that you can't find out what the other person is offering! I am pretty bummed out about it, but this just means that I can continue to look for cool houses when I get home in June.

The good news is that now I don't have to pay for something I am not living in while I am on the road. I probably would have tried to rent it (to an extremely responsible single adult, after seeing what the college kids have done to my other house), but even that would have been pain.

I just loved it so much! Oh well.

Proud To Be An American

I have not mentioned one political thing on this blog, because no one wants to read about politics on a site simply created for fun. But tonight, I am happy to say that I am proud, happy and excited to say that Barack Obama is my new President. :)

Free Stuff on Election Day!

I just wrote a blog about an hour ago, but I wanted to let everyone know that if you vote (which you better), get your "I VOTED" sticker, and head out for some free stuff. Starbucks is giving away a free large coffee, Ben and Jerry's is giving out free ice cream, and Krispy Kreme is giving away free donuts.

We might all be fat by the end of the day, but at least it was for a good cause.

Wishin' and Hopin'

This might sound totally out of the blue to some of you, but I have decided to put an offer in for a house tomorrow here in Cleveland.

I didn't even mean to find it. Darrel and I went to an open house two weeks ago and I just fell in love with it. I have been renting a place downtown for a few months, getting ready to leave on November 17th for tour. I just figured I would buy a house when I got home in July, but wanted to start looking to see what was out there within my price range. (My house in University Heights is now a rental property).

I am low-balling them big time. But like Casey, my real estate agent said, if there's any time to do it, it's now!

The house is small- it's 2 bedrooms and one bath. But after thinking about it for two weeks (promising my dad I would not make a quick decision), I KNOW that I could move in here, and be happy. Darrel loves it too. The charm and character is like nothing I have ever seen. There were a few things I said I wanted when I eventually bought a new house. I wanted a fireplace (this has a marble one), hard wood floors (the whole house has them), a place outside for people to come over and enjoy (the whole backyard is a patio), an older house (1920), and a smaller house (this is 1,700 square feet).

I am not getting my hopes up because I really am putting in a low offer, but you just never know.

The link for the house is: http://3027corydon.howardhanna.com