And Back by Popular Demand……..ME!

Hello.

Where did the time go? Between plays, working out, rehearsing, studying, and just trying to have fun the blog apparently took a month-long sabbatical. It has been quite the month though and there are plenty of new things to catch you up on.

Most recently I got the opportunity to fire a starter pistol. (I was unaware that in my current production of The Purse Thief I would actually be shooting a gun off stage). So it was quite a surprise to me when they handed it to me at our last rehearsal. I was terrified…….OH MAN…… I had no idea how loud it was when you were actually holding the thing that was doing the firing. My ears were ringing and my lungs did not appreciate the smell….  so if you want to see the last person you ever thought would be handling a pistol come check out my show……. at the Renton Civic Theatre……Tonight…….and tomorrow and next week.

On Thursday we had to say goodbye to some awesome friends as they start their next awesome journey of their life!

 
And although inherited most of Rena’s clothes and board games  it doesn’t take away the fact that I still miss them! (Although electronic monopoly does help, more on that below!)

At Rena’s goodbye party I was reunited (and it feels so good) with some coworkers and I got to see this beautiful baby for the first time.

  Beautiful Happy Kaylynn and her Mama Kristine who encouraged me to blog yet again.

ELECTRONIC MONOPOLY

Was a fun adventure. It makes life a little easier, although pay millions for properties instead of $500 takes some time to get used to. You can choose to be a cell phone, race car, jet plane, cheese burger, roller blade or a skate board.   The properties have sky rocketed, the pawns are technology, food, and money based AND it is very easy to lose track of how much you actually have spent on your “credit card”. I think this version of monopoly really shows how times have changed. But all in all I still had fun.

We have also watched some great movies including:

 This movie had me laughing, crying and even had some twists that caught JARYL off guard!

 Matt Damon and Brad Pitt as Krill???? Hilarious. ” I am going to go eat something with a face!!!” Hank Azaria does a stand up job as well.

 Nice to see some actors get out of their regular roles.

MARIO PARTY 9

 

Jaryl and I were unaware that this was even coming out. So when we found out last-minute we rushed down to game stop and traded in some unwanted games for it.  This is the first Mario Party where they tried to do something new. And I see why they might want to do that but it sort of failed. Not only did they take away the awesome way of rolling the dice by lifting the wii remote up, they completely changed the goal of the game and they way you get around the board. Now everybody is in the same “car” and moves towards the end at the same time. There are mini stars and negative “ztars”.  Mini games are not played after everyone has had a turn, but only if someone lands on the space. Save your fifty bucks and get a classic Mario Party.

WE finally got to see our long-lost friend Robert! The silly boy bought plane tickets for this month instead of last month and so it landed him here in the MIDDLE of the week. Which made for an exhausting week! But we did get to go to the AWESOME Hot dog stand Dog in the Park at the Bellevue Mall. Not 1……not 2…but FIVE different kinds of veggie dogs. SO delicious (for veggies and meat eaters alike). This is a must go! And then we discovered a NEW self-serve frozen yogurt place in Juanita. (my favorite kind of dessert) It’s calledChilly Wave Yogurtand they are PENGUIN themed! (Which is Jaryl’s Favorite).

So there it is. A brief overview of some of the activities we have partaken in…..OH and I ran down the up escalator. That is all.

Fallen off the face of the Earth!

It may seem to most of you that Jaryl and I have either fallen off the face of the Earth OR like most people by March have thrown our new years resolutions out the window. Well BOTH of these are wrong. For the past couple weeks I have been fighting an awful sickness. Some thought it was mono, others Strep, pneumonia, the flu……and after an expensive trip to the doctor (this was an unfortunate first for us because I am not insured.) We found out….. NOTHING. As per usual. Doctors are rarely helpful. But I am finally coming out of it and ready to catch you up on the month.

We have tried these things….. (In addition to the first time going to the doctor un-insured)

AN AMAZING GAME called DICECAPADES!

Brandy and Jaryl took me into Uncle’s Games on one of my sick days so I could pick out a game! This happened to be the first thing I saw when I walked in the door! It had 133 dice (Pictures, numbers, colors,  all shapes and sizes). I cannot even begin to describe how awesome it is. 2-6 players OR teams! It includes drawing, trivia, races, sit-ups, dice stacking and other crazy contests. Pretty much blows Cranium out of the water!

Extra Virgin Olive Oil for YOUR FACE??

That’s right. One of Jaryl’s coworkers was talking about her new beauty secret to her clear and glowing skin…… Extra Virgin Olive Oil on her face…. She said it cleared her acne up like that.  I had to mull it over for a few days. I mean  how could I put oil on my face and expect it to clear my acne?? So finally I got brave enough to do it (after watching several instructional videos on YouTube with teenagers. Really funny stuff.). I have been applying it nightly before I go to bed and when I wake up my skin is smooth and it is definitely clearer!  Best part of all is no chemicals! Jaryl is trying it next.

Pintrest

I finally got on Pintrest……but I have no idea what I am doing. So I have not logged on since.

Facebook Timeline.

I got home a couple days ago and Jaryl excitedly told me that he switched his facebook to the new Timeline. I was so mad! We were a team! How could he go to the dark side without consulting me first?? I just get so annoyed everytime facebook changes it’s format. I can’t even count how many times I have had to re teach myself where everything is. (Remember when there was no stalker feed?). So the point is if Jaryl jumps I jump. So I have timeline now too…..but I don’t have to like it.

Chick Chick Boom!

Battle royale! Two teams of chicks (play with a friend or a computer!) use venus fly traps, bombs, weights, pianos, lightning and other things to destroy eachother! The last chick standing wins. Use defense tactics, power ups or if you prefer just yell at the television! Chick Chick Boom is available on the Wii shop channel. It’s a grand old-time.

Some other things we have tried are Pink lemonade Emergen-C, Pour over Coffee, Chipotle, and Jaryl hand-washed our car!

We are still working hard at writing some new plays and trying to start our own theatre group!

Owen Wilson rocks!

We’ve all wished at one time or another that we lived in another time.  I wish I could live in the distant future.  Sailing around the universe in the space ship “seeking out new life and new civilizations, boldly going where…”

anyway.   

The time…the…afternoon sometime.  Madison and I wanted to see either the Vow or Studio Ghibli’s new move, the Secret of Arrietty, based on the story of The Borrowers.   We have had 4 free passes since christmas, so we were ready and willing to sit in a dark room for a couple of hours while munching down on salty buttery corn that has been “popped”.  But when we looked at the theaters we had free passes to, the movies we wanted were not playing.  So…we went home.  We stopped off at Fred Meyer and got some french bread for spaghetti.  As we left we looked in the Redbox.  ”Do you see anything?” “What about Midnight in Paris, we’ve been wanting to see that”.  “Okay whats it about?”  ”Owen Wilson in Paris at Midnight”.  When we got home we put in the movie and…a couple hours later…MY MIND WAS BLOWN!!!  It was great.  Kind of Sci Fi which is right up our alley. 

The story revolves around Gil, a Hollywood screenwriter portrayed by Owen Wilson.  He is engaged to be married to Inez, played by Rachel McAdams.  We know by the way that she treats him they shouldn’t be together.  One night she goes dancing with her friends and Gil decides to go for a walk. He gets a little drunk and they sits down on some steps outside.  The clock strikes midnight and along comes a car from the 1920′s.  A bunch of people open the door and ask Gil to come with.  So…he does.  They drive and he is transported to the 1920′s, what he says is the golden age.  There he meets Cole Porter, Zelda Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway and many others.  Every night he goes back to the 1920′s.  He soon realizes that the people in the 1920′s believe that the 1890′s are the golden age.  What happens to Gil?  What happens in the 1920′s?  What happens to his marriage?

Watch the movie.  Its wonderful, probably one of my favorite screenplays lately.  

We give this move a 10/10. 

Seriously, if you haven’t watched it…rent it now.

Day 34. Opening Night.

Tonight Jaryl and I were in our first ever performance together. At many of the places we have been it was always “taboo” for us to work together. We never understood why, we had a great time together in this show and it was easy to run lines together. Tonight we took the stage with Seattle Playwrights Collective’s “Timepieces” a 9 show ten-minute festival. Jaryl and I were each in two. (One together!)

This was my first stage debut in 2 years. This made me super nervous and shaky! But I had a great time with all of the awesome people in our show and it Jaryl definitely helped to calm me down. (When he wasn’t accidentally punching me in the face during our play. Ow.)  If you get a chance to come on down you should! Who wouldn’t want to see me be an old lady? Jaryl is awesome too….I guess. It performs at the UW Ethnic Cultural Center this weekend and next weekend.

 

Day 32. Which Wich? or Witch?

Today as Jaryl and I ventured around the University district looking for something to eat we popped into Which Wich? We both love sandwiches, so it seemed like a good choice.

First off, you walk in and it’s YELLOW. Love it. Secondly they have over FIFTY sandwiches. You heard me. Thirdly they have a station where you choose a paper bag based off of the sandwich category you want (Chicken, vegetarian, Classic, Etc.) and you fill out the things you want on the bag . Then you write your name on the bag and give it to the cashier. (I wanted to write a really cool name like mad dawg…but I chickened out, crossed it out and wrote Madison. Lame.) When they call out your name you go get your sandwich in the back you made!

I chose the Avocado Tomato sandwich with hummus and mozzarella.  Jaryl Chose A toasted Chicken sandwich with BBQ and Carmalized onion.

Jaryl Says “It was delicious. I would have liked more BBQ but I still give it a 10/10″

I was pleased with the speediness, the huge selection of vegetarian sandwiches and the unusual ordering system. I will definitely return to Which Wich? After all, there are still over 48 sandwiches for Jaryl and I to tackle.

Ordering station….look at all the bag catergories.

Bag art wall

 

Day 17. Ouch! That’s pointy!

Kiwano, horned melon, jelly melon, African horned cucumber or my personal favorite the blow fish fruit. It is a scary looking fruit. You may have seen the bright orange spike ball at your local grocery store tucked in between the star fruits and coconut. The first time Jaryl and I saw one it invoked a long running joke. Because of the very sharp nature of the Kiwano I decided right then and there that if I were ever in a fruit battle (yes you heard me right) the Kiwano would be my fruit weapon of choice. And so it began. Our quest to find the best and worst fruit weapons. Is it a practical quest? No. Will we ever have a fruit battle? After being severely poked by just picking up the kiwano I sure hope not. But today I would not only like to share with you our fruit list, we will be tasting the Kiwano!

Of course before I even attempted to eat this strange and exotic fruit I would need to do some research. How do you eat it? Where does it come from? What does it taste like? Are any parts of it poisonous? I found many websites and even some instructional videos on you tube (who makes these? maybe I should make an instructional video.) The horned melon is a native of the Kalahari desert and is a member of the Cucurbitaceae family (along with most melons, cucumbers and squash). Although now they are mostly cultivated in New Zealand and considered a noxious weed. So let’s recap. They make good maces, are considered the dandelion of New Zealand, and resemble a blow fish. So far so good.

Now for the eating. Many web sites say to expect a cucumber, kiwi, banana taste. Weird. But there are no rules on how to eat it. Just cut it open and eat the gelatinous green seedy inside. Oh dear, Jaryl is not going to like this. Here we go.

The horned melon tastes like….a strange cucumber. Jaryl says “It’s made of slugs”. His exact reaction after one bite was “no. no. no. No! no! no. What do we do with it? Throw it away?” So would we recommend the Kiwano. Kiwa-heck NO! Save your 4 bucks and get something you actually would enjoy. Unless of course you need a weapon, then purchase away.

And now as promised. The top ten fruit weapons followed by the worst 5.

Top Ten Fruit Weapons.
10. tomato. Just because it is a long standing tradition. Who doesn’t love a good tomato in the face?

9. Banana. Those guys are slippery.

8.Orange. It has a medium density and also is good for juicing someone’s eye.

7. Grapefruit. The same sting as the orange, but it is twice as big.

6 Apple. Easy to throw, dense and a weapon of choice for trees from the land of Oz.

5. Coconut. Gilligan’s Island. Enough said.

4. Honey Dew Melon/ Cantaloupe. Now that would hurt.

3. Watermelon. Hard to lift, but the pay-off is worth the work.

2. Pineapple. It’s unusual shape makes it a great mult-use weapon. You can throw it, whack people on the head with it,  scratch them with the razor-sharp leaves and it’s delicious.

1. Kiwano! Although this unusual fruit may never rank number one in any other list, it is today’s winner. Let me tell you it’s sharpness really does compare to that of an actual mace and I would never go up against someone with a kiwano.

The 5 worst fruit weapons

5.Any type of berry. (Unless they were poisonous or still had the thorns.)

4. A kiwi. My kiwano would kick your kiwi’s butt.

3.Kumquat. Have you seen these tiny guys??

2.A grape. So delicious if you throw that at us, we will just catch it in our mouth.

1. The number one worst fruit weapon is……a Rambutan! (If you don’t know what that is check it out! I held one at QFC it was just a weird furry ball.)

We give this tasting a bland 1/10

A New Year with new goals.

It’s hard to believe that 2011 is already gone. The year was full of new things for us. I had my wisdom teeth removed, left my preschool job to teach at 3 other theatres and actively pursued theatre auditions throughout the year. Jaryl got great reviews in the newspaper for How I Learned to Drive at Stone Soup theatre in Wallingford, took his first steps to become a personal trainer and got into his first equity show. Together we traveled to Chicago, California and took up painting and drawing.  But with a new year on the horizon comes new goals.

Which brings me to the point. Whether or not you believe the world will end this year, shouldn’t we all live a little more like today could be our last day? Lately I have been terribly distraught about the effect technology has had on our ability to actually live. Jaryl and I have spent too many nights coming home exhausted from work and just plopping down in front of the television. I have seen far too many children playing their portable gaming systems in restaurants, stores and even while “visiting” family. And lets not even get started on the televisions IN cars. So Jaryl and I will be spending the year not necessarily avoiding technology, but spending everyday trying something new. We are open to ideas, feedback and most certainly your own accomplishments. So get ready. Get set. Here comes a year of outings, projects, classes and other strange, new and silly things.

Oh. And in case you did not know. Today was Day one. Our first blog ever.