Dollywood

Years ago I auditioned for Dollywood.  I sang “Cain’t Say No” from “Oklahoma” and nailed it, big time.  I was the first person called back for the dance auditions.  I discovered at the dance audition that being the first person called back also meant that I was the first person to dance.  We had to form a “jam” circle.  When will an actor ever perform a jam circle in a show???  Now, had they played Jay Z or any Big Band, I would have been fine.  They played techno.  To this day I do not understand techno.  I decided that to really stand out, I would tumble into the jam circle.  Note, I was older than 21.  This worked out ok, but then I started to dance.  I remember thinking to myself, “What on God’s green earth are you doing with your legs?  Get out!”  I couldn’t get out of the jam circle.  I kept trying to make it better.  I did not get the job and this is on video somewhere in their archives.

I reference this because the memory still drives me to drink.  If I am not choosing to calm the fear with a pinot, a friend taught me a fun trick to make water taste better.  I don’t enjoy drinking water but I know that it is good for you for about a million different reasons.  I kind of believe people who say they love to drink water are lying.  I do enjoy mineral water and really love it this way.  If you add a splash of Kern’s Nectar to sparkling water, it makes it infinitely so much better!  I drink this all day long out of a stemless wine glass to make it extra girly and fun.  I have seriously upped my water intake this way and look forward to it.  Small steps….I should have remembered this in the bloody jam circle.

Glitz and Glamour

Staying home with T meant going from 2 incomes to 1.  We refer to that talk as our “come to Jesus” meeting.  In heartfelt conversation, Patrick told me I was going to have to drop my Sephora habit.  There is no lip gloss that excites me as much as my child, so this was no problem.  I took stopping impulse purchases as a sort of personal challenge.  Recently, I did need a new eye liner and I have been reading about the fabulousness of liquid liners.  I fail with liquid liners.  It is as awkward a moment for me as the time I told the owner of my company that I had an addiction to zappos and then spent the next few hours worrying that she took that statement at face value instead of the humor I had intended.  I digress….I found this amazing liquid liner that I can do really easily for $5.50.  It’s “Glam Liner Aqua Luxe” by NYX, and it’s brown with gold flecks.  The tip is really thin, so it seems error-proof to me, and it lasts all day without smudging.  I like to use brown pencil liner from underneath my lashes and then use this above my lashes for a stand out eye.  The sparkle in it is girly enough without too much in an “am I too old for this” kind of way.  I am so excited with this fabulous bargain.  It is a fraction of any other eye liner I have ever had and it is the BEST!  I got it at Ulta, but they also have a website, www.nyxcosmetics.com.

nyx glam liner

Live Entertainment on a Dime

I promised myself that if I stayed home with T that I would absolutely get dressed every day.  Laugh if you wish, but this had to be stated.  It was a personal, non New Year’s resolution.  The phrase “all dressed up with nowhere to go” usually does apply to my day.  To break out of this catch phrase, I attend UCLA gymnastics home meets.  I consider myself a Bruin now.  I do the 8 clap and the wave if it is started.  I one time had a woman ask me what year I was on the team due to my out of control cheering.  I almost lied—almost.

We have season tickets in the reserved section.  I chose my aisle seats near the vault.  This sounds fancy, but it is actually one of the best deals around.  Each season ticket is only $50 and you get to see 5 home meets!  That is cheaper than a movie ticket these days and each meet is a real life action packed thriller.  UCLA started the pre-season ranked #1 and is consistently one of the top 3 teams each season.  They last won the NCAA championships in 2010 and have 2008’s silver Olympic medalist Samantha Peszek on the team, along with several former national team members.  Good news for fellow gymnastics creepers, 2012 Fierce Five member Jordyn Wieber will be on the team as an assistant coach.  She lost her NCAA eligibility when she went pro, but it will still be a huge boost to have her on the team in any capacity.  Take that Florida!  The meets are thrilling and a fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

If you live near the following universities, check out their tickets too.  All are ranked in the top 25 nationally, but none quite as good as UCLA.

Teams: Nebraska, Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, Utah, LSU, Michigan, Florida, Stanford, Denver, and Arkansas.

For ranking info, http://www.troester.com/gym

Update, I got retweeted by one of the gymnasts today after the meet.  First. Time. Ever.  As far as I’m concerned, it’s as exciting as Beyonce.