White Christmas Opens!

… and other non-fitness related stuff!

Holy moly kids!  The show has opened!!  It’s hard to believe after all the hours and hours of rehearsals it’s finally up and running.  And so far, so good!  Last week we had super full shows and one sell-out.  I can’t wait to see what this weekend will bring.  And because things are a tad bit on the crazy side…enjoy these dressing room selfies and photo dump while I recover enough to blog about something interesting :)

Mom and I after a show!

Oh hey there! I’m Judy!

‘Sisters’ ready to go onstage :)

Can you tell I only have time backstage for pictures in this outfit??

My lovely sister Betty!

Lots and lots of wigs.

I promise I’ll try and hunt down some more in a new outfit!  This morning we were on the news so hopefully we’ll have a new little TV promo coming out soon!  Woot!!

Here’s the current promo if you promise not to freak out about hearing my voice and seeing me in moving action – I know it’s really weird when I see or hear bloggers that I’ve only ever seen photos of.  Okay, promise to stay calm?  Cool – here it is:

Wedding

And in other news (okay yes the wedding… just 46 days to go!)… some more fun.

My bridal shower is this weekend! Some cute little favors! :)

Completing some mock-ups of the table decorations. Can you say snow??

My mismatch of votives. I’m hoping people think the differences are purposeful and ‘rustic’, when in actuality it is due to my cheap nature. Wahaha.

I couldn’t find 1 inch votive candles anywhere (try I dare you, well don’t because if you succeed I will be sad)…so I put some glitter and snow in the bottom and used a tea light. Again, hoping people think it’s because I’m ‘creative’ and not because I’m cheap and was going to use those votive glasses if it killed me (my venue requires candles in glass).

And in the MOST delightful news, Adam managed to surprise me by coming home for Thanksgiving! I was so so surprised. Tears, hugging, and happiness ensued.

Ch ch ch changes!

And finally… the most exciting news: I have officially submitted notice at my current job and will be relocating to Nashville after the wedding!!  It’s bittersweet, but I’m beyond elated to be reunited with Adam.  Hooray for that. Let the job hunt begin.  In January I will change jobs, homes, names, and cities.  Talk about change.  Should be exciting!  You’ll get to hear about adjusting to married life and FINALLY working out with Adam again.  Can’t wait.  It’s so much easier with a partner.  AND hills – holy moly are there hills.  That should be an interesting running challenge.

Hope you’re all having an awesome week!!

Kelly

The Surprising Similarities Between Dancing and Running

Remember that one time that this blog was a running blog, that actually talked about running?  Yeah it’s a foggy memory in my head too.  Thanks to my knees breaking and getting engaged…I do more wedding planning (daily) than running (never, thanks knees).  Life happens.  And for the record, I’m determined to be a runner’s knee success story that you all can read/cheer about, as I throw a celebration parade and toss candy throughout all the land. Slightly excited about that mayhaps…

The past few weeks I’ve spent a ton of time dancing in preparation for the musical White Christmas (which opens FRIDAY!).  Through my dance rehearsals I’ve been reminded of running somewhat frequently, and thought I’d have a little fun comparing and contrasting the two.  Because let’s be serious, the dance floor is as close as I’m going to get to running for another few months.  Er, yeah, makes perfect sense. Go with me.

Similarities between Dancing and Marathoning

• Your feet are just disgusting.  Whether it’s blisters, sores, or other nasties… they just aren’t that pretty. AND you can’t get a pedicure because you’re afraid of losing your callouses. I’m tempted to post pictures, but I will spare you all.  You’re welcome.
• It is freaking hard.  After my 4 hour dance rehearsal I actually uttered, ‘That was literally harder than a marathon.’  Keep in mind one (usually) trains for a marathon and this dance rehearsal was the first session for me in many years.  Let’s just say I wasn’t properly trained for it.
• It can be both thrilling and frustrating.  GAH must stop running, WEEEH must never stop running!  GAH can’t get this stupid lift, WEEEH let’s dance like this forever!
• The right attire can improve comfort and reduce chaffing.
• Shoes make all the difference.
• You’re tempted to text pictures of your feet to friends and family because you feel like a warrior.
• If you’re asthmatic like me, you have to remember to take your inhaler before you begin!
• Stretching can make all the difference in performance and reduces injury.
• You secretly hope people will start chanting your name in support.
• You plan your other workouts around your runs/dancing rehearsals… because of course, you want fresh legs!
• It can make you sore.  Really, really sore.
• Holy moly does it make you hungry!  Why yes I need to scarf that whole lunch box!!  I’m a growing girl!

So even though I can’t run, I’m still hanging in there (read: keeping very busy and distracted).  PLUS I’m managing to find a way to ‘blog’ about running.  Win and Win.  Just FOUR days until the show opens… holy tummy ache.  Last night was the first night with microphones and lights, tonight we’ll add some more costumes, and tomorrow I get my wig.  Things are getting real!  Hope you all had a great weekend!

Kelly

I’m Dreaming of a…

Crazy awesome week!! :)

Well folks, it has been a pretty nuts around here.  First – last Monday I auditioned for White Christmas, a huge favorite musical of mine.  It turns out it was a joint audition for 2 shows (White Christmas and Sunset Blvd.)… and I ended up getting a call back for both!  Talk about lots of quick learning, excitement, stress, and lots of showing people what I could bring to the table!  My callback for Sunset Blvd. went okay at first (there were 3 other ladies there going for the same part), but then I choked (no!!), and I knew when I left that I wouldn’t get the part.  I remained hopeful, but got a very thoughtful condolence email Saturday night, stating that they decided to go in a different direction.  Le sigh.

A no go on Sunset Blvd.

I held out hope for my dream part: Betty (Rosemary Clooney in the movie) in White Christmas.  I got the exciting news on Monday (a whole week later!) that I was invited to a callback Tuesday evening!  I was thrilled, but also very nervous.  I notoriously choke during call-backs, yeah it’s a problem.  The pressure, knowing who I’m up against…gah!  It always kills me.  My nerves aren’t the strongest when it comes to auditions, yeah again, a problem.  I showed up on Tuesday and to my surprise the director had me read for Judy, not Betty.  To fill you in – Judy is the younger, dancing sister, originally played by Vera Ellen in the movie.  I could hardly contain my shock.  Yes, I dance… I even could say I’m a dancer (I did take many, many years of dance, but many years ago).  But a showstopper lead dancer of the caliber of Judy??… that might be more of a stretch.  I did have a dance audition and thought I did pretty well, so they have seen what I can do in that department.

Va va VOOM! This is Judy!

Yesterday morning I got the shocking news: the director offered me the part of Judy!  I got in the show!  Can you believe it??  Well I’m still in shock a day later.  It really hasn’t set in.  I am SO excited.  So so so excited!  I’m thrilled to be in White Christmas, but I must admit that I’m nervous about all the lead tap dancing scenes.  I took many years of tap classes, so it’s in there… I just need to dust the rust off.  Immediately.  Like 6 months ago immediately. Rehearsals don’t start until October so I’ve got a bit of time to get myself into Judy shape!

You may recognize this! The song “Sisters” is from White Christmas. Can’t wait!

Additionally I’m a little nervous because Judy is notoriously an athletic, thin, dancer.  Though I love fitness and being in good shape – I don’t know if I exactly have a dancer’s build (If you’ve seen my P90X results, I think you might agree! ;)).  My Mom said I need to not compare myself against the movie: if they picked me, they want me!  And they know what I look like!  It’s just very strange suddenly feeling pressure to be thin and in shape (I know I’m putting it on myself!).   With the weddings and this show I now feel like I don’t have as much wiggle room with fitness and nutrition.  Honestly, I like to live a more balanced life of enjoying treats every now and again.  And well… I still will.  :)  But now, I will probably feel a bit more guilt.  Whomp whomp.  Especially now that I still can’t run – I don’t really have an awesome way to rationalize my box of white cheddar cheez-its treat consumption, or burn off the stress (Oh I ate an enormous cupcake – I’ll just run 8 miles).  My way to handle stress: eating a box of cheez-its.  Not exactly the path to a thin dancer body.  Yikes.  Say a little prayer for me (and my box of cheez-its). :)

Wearing fun dresses and doing cool moves like this?! Holy awesome!

In other news, I get to see Adam this weekend.  It’s been 3 weeks and I’ll admit: it has been really hard.  I miss him being in my life on a day to day basis.  I just miss being around him!  What I’d do for a little hug!  Le sigh.  Another side effect of no Adam: I sort of feel like I’m swirling!  My structure and discipline have been slipping, I’m just struggling to get into my new routine without him!  I’m hoping the start of a new Beachbody program (the jury is still out on which one) will give me a new spark and something exciting to look forward to!  Is it Friday evening yet??  I’m so excited to hop in trusty Little Star (my car) and get on down to Nashville.  Adam will only have Sunday off – but any time will be better than no time!  Can’t wait!

Yeah…I miss this kid. A lot.

And just so I can end on a thrillingly positive note: HOLY MOLY I GOT A PART!!! :)  What an amazing opportunity – I know I will treasure it!!  What an exciting next few months.  3 months until my bro’s wedding.  4.5 months until White Christmas.  And exactly 6 months until ‘I do!’ :)

Happy THURSDAY!  We’re almost through the week!

-Kelly

Have you ever felt pressure to be thin for an event?  Have you ever eaten a whole box of cheez-its to deal with the stress you feel to be thin for said event?

Run-cation, Nashville, and an Audition!

It has been an exciting and busy last couple of weeks around here!  I took my first trip to Nashville to visit Adam, celebrated the 4^th, and managed to squeeze in an audition.  I feel like I’m running, running, running! (Okay – bad use of the word running…I’m still not physically running, le sigh).  Remarkably I’m feeling a bit better about the whole not running thing.  Or maybe I’ve just started to accept it as the best thing for right now.  I’m still hopeful a fall race is in my future – though I am also accepting the reality that a sub 1:50 half-marathon is not very likely.  And that’s okay.  At this point, I’d be happy just being able to run at all!  I’m going to pull the trigger on a race sometime in August when I need to start my training.  For the next few weeks I’m going to enjoy a real break from running and focus on fitness in other ways.  I’m thinking of it as my vacation from running.  I also have enough other hobbies to keep me verybusy!

These guys are feeling sad and neglected.

Nashville

Last weekend I made my first voyage to Adam’s new home in Nashville!  It was a wonderful visit and awesome to check out his new place.  I wasn’t able to help him apartment search so it was my first time seeing his apartment.  He did a great job picking it out – great location and very cute.  It’s definitely small, but the location makes it worth it.  We had fantastic weather and spent time helping some friends from college apartment hunt.  You read that correctly – two of our close friends are also moving to Nashville!  How cool is that?!  The weekend was far too short, and it made me a little jealous of the three of them down there without me!  Patience Kelly.  On my drive back to Indy I was pretty sad.  Okay, really sad…but it makes me so happy knowing Adam has an awesome gig down there!

Out with friends – the new Nashville crew unites!

Adam also officially started his residency!  Scary stuff.  He’s really a doctor now (crazy!) and has 4 years of training to continue learning.  Adam is one of the most calm people I know- just cool as a cucumber, seriously…nothing ruffles his feathers.  The day before his first day of work was a different story – he was nervous, stressed, quiet, distracted.   I was actually fascinated by it!  It was so interesting to see a totally different side to him.  He has now survived his first week and is settling into things.  The days are long (12-14 hours) and he only gets 1 day off a week for this rotation (no 4^th of July celebration for him), but I know he’s really happy with his program and is learning a lot!  He’s not really getting workouts in, but at this point I’m just hoping he eats food and sleeps!  Priorities people!  It will be interesting to see how we settle into a new routine of long distance with his extreme schedule.

Absolutely I took a picture of Adam walking into his first day at the hospital like a creepy stalker.

Celebratory sushi! Here’s to the first year of residency! Hopefully not like Grey’s Anatomy.

Look – I’m a doctor now… I get an iPad.

Nashville itself is an awesome city.  I can’t wait to spend more time there.  We ate a lot of great food, heard a lot of awesome music, and soaked in the fabulous warm weather.  It’s an exciting next step!

I love brunch, lunch, dinner, and late night – how convenient!

Our first breakfast out and about in Nashville!

An Audition

One of my favorite Christmas classics, White Christmas, will be on stage in Indianapolis!  I adore the music and story and couldn’t wait to audition for it.  I thought the auditions would come sometime in September, right before rehearsals.  Surprise!  They were Monday of this week – yes, it’s July!  They did joint auditions for another show (which I may or may not have also auditioned for?), which is in September, hence the earlier audition.  I found out about it last week and scrambled to get myself ready in time.  The only problem: I have extreme audition anxiety.  It’s terrible!  I love performing and have been doing it since I was a kid (singing, dancing, acting)… but auditions are a nightmare for me.  I could hardly think on Monday… talk about nervous wreck.  In light of this extreme anxiety, I still did pretty well at the audition!  My definition of pretty well?  Really I just want to perform my pieces well (1 minute monologue, 16 bars of music, dance combination).  Auditions are so much more than just ‘nailing it’ and you get the part.  The director also usually is going for a specific look, age, etc. etc.  There are so many factors going into the final casting – all I hope to do is perform my personal best.  And I did!  I was thrilled.  I may not be what they are looking for – but I showed them what I can do!  I anticipate it will take up to a week to hear any word, and everyone that auditioned will get a call whether we are in the show or not.  That is such a relief to find out either way.  My fingers are crossed!

Number 25 – my FAVORITE number. Can you tell that I’m beyond nervously sickly anxious?

Wedding Dresses!

With both my Maid of Honor and Matron of Honor in town for the 4^th – we made good use of our time and went bridesmaid dress shopping!  Wohoo!  I was hoping for a dress that complements mine, but  also fun and something they love.  Essentially they could pick any dress they wanted as long as it didn’t look dumb.  :)  I’m easy to please.  Amazingly enough we all settled on the same dress!  We all love it (or they are really good liars) – really there couldn’t be a better fit!  It looks amazing on both of them, is comfortable, the same material as my dress (shh… a clue), and has pockets!  Could it get any better than that??  The only issue?  We don’t know what color… yeah slight hiccup.  Unfortunately the store didn’t have samples of the fabric in sizes larger than tiny so we couldn’t decide.  I’m leaning towards blue, gray, and ivory as my “colors” – but there were a couple of shades that fit that category.  Adam is thinking navy would look best against a winter backdrop, as it will add some contrast.  But… a beautiful light periwinkle might be gorgeous too!  Any opinions on the colors?  I keep hoping I will wake up in a moment of epiphany and know the perfect color!

Hmmm… blue? (Not this dress…but this fabric)

Or gray?? (Not this dress, but this fabric)

Or one of these colors??

Happy Hump Day!

-Kelly

Any opinions on bridesmaid dress colors?  Have you ever auditioned for a musical?

Happy 4th!

Hello all!  For all of you from the US, I hope you had a great 4th of July weekend!  And for all of you not from the US – I hope you also had a great regular weekend!  I had a great long 4-day weekend at my parent’s house a few hours away.  It was great to unplug from technology and soak up the time together.  My whole family got together and we enjoyed a little bit of this…

Group bike ride! We had a lot of fun, though it’s been awhile since I rode a bike. Kind of made me wish I had a road bike…

We also enjoyed a bit of…

Red, white, and blue colored desserts. A 4th of July classic. Yum!

Along with eating lots of not-so-healthy treats we managed to…

Get in a bit of skiing! My sister and I ready to go!

Wohoo! We still have it!

Of course we watched some fireworks – a great show this year!

Fireworks over the lake – beautiful!

Between the family time, running around, pounds of cookies, fireworks, and sun it was a great weekend.  I even managed to get in my Jillian Michael’s DVD with my future sister in-law (brides-to-be getting ready)!  That’s the best part about a 30 minute workout DVD, I can always find time for it!  The only thing that could’ve made it better was if Adam could’ve been there.  He’s still busy working as a slave at the hospital.  He survived his first week and I’ll get to see him next Friday…it feels like it has been forever!

Tonight I am auditioning for White Christmas – one of my absolute favorite shows.  I can’t wait!  My audition prep has left me little time for my dear little blog, but all the stress should be over tonight around 10 or 11… cross your fingers for me!  I can use all the positive thoughts I can get :)

I ADORE this musical movie – such a favorite. This is a dream role for sure! I have been very nervous waiting to audition!

More updates on my Jillian Michaels workouts and potential next steps in regards to no Insanity… stay tuned!

-Kelly

How was your holiday weekend?  How do you celebrate the 4th?