So How Do You Feel?....Fat!

I have kind of become obsessed with step. I just love it sooo much. While I have been a bad stepper as of late, I plan to start going hardcore again starting this week. I have four step classes I go to, and my goal is to go to at least three of them a week. Can I do it? I think so. My summer schedule is looking very blank and boring. Hopefully step will help me fill my evenings so I don't just go home and watch TV every night.
My favorite step class is on Monday and Wednesday (because it's my favorite instructor). Her class goes by so fast and the people are really fun and have a lot of energy. Every class the instructor walks around while we do several sets of jumping jacks/lunges, and asks how we are doing or how we feel. I'm always breathing too hard to give a coherent answer, but most people just say ok. On Monday, the instructor made her rounds and asked the lady next to me how she felt. With what sounded like her last breath the lady said, "Fat!" The instructor and I just started laughing. I was laughing so hard I almost fell off my step. I love my classes!

A goal for this summer is to get into yoga. We did it for enrichment a couple weeks ago and I didn't really care for it, but I feel like I need a different type of workout to go with my weekly routine. I did try one class last week and it was ok. We will see if I can get into it. I have a problem on concentrating. The yoga thing is just a little out there for me.

Bear Mountain: Take Two!

The first Fall that I was here Selki and I went hiking at Bear Mountain. We loved it so much and kept trying to go back, but never quite made it happen....until this weekend. Selki had the brilliant idea to go yesterday (Saturday)! I was so stoked and was looking forward to it all week. We were a little afraid that the weather would be bad, but decided to go anyway.

I love Bear Mountain! It's just so beautiful! The last time we went we did the easy trail. We thought it a little too easy so we decided to take the hard trail. The lady at the office said it was steeper and rocky-er. We thought we could handle it and headed up. Of course we handled it (we're hardcore), but she was not kidding about the rocks.
There were moments were I felt like I was almost rock climbing. Selki accidentally dropped her water bottle after we were about half way up a huge rock. We both just stared in horror as it fell. Luckily it didn't go all the way down, but it did get some dings in it.
While I was totally exhausted once we got to the top, it was so worth the climb!Once we got back down from Bear we decided to do another trail. We had to get to the bus by 5 so we could only do a hour in. We didn't get very far considering it's a 6.8 mile hike, but we plan to make another trip this summer and master yet another mountain!I love hiking with Selki!

Broadway: Am I in HEAVEN?

I had such an amazing Monday night. One of my coworkers offered to take me to the Visa Signature Tony Awards Season Celebration. Yeah, I had never heard of it either, but it was amazing. Basically, they have actors from all of the musicals nominated for a Tony perform one of the songs.The first hour was a little meet and greet where you could mingle with some of the actors that would be performing that night. I was in heaven! I felt bad because I was totally freaking out.


Yeah, I totally geeked out at Alice Ripley and Aron Tveit (Next to Normal). I told them about how much I love the show and thought they were amazing. (I was out of control, but so excited to meet them). They were really sweet. After a fun little run in with Constantine Maroulis, Brittany and I headed to the red carpet area. We watched as some of the actors were interviewed. It was so fun listening to what they had to say. I almost lost it when Stephanie J Block came out. She's my favorite! PS. Lauren Graham brushed by us (she's a total diva)!The show was so much fun. The host was funny and it was so cool seeing the actors sing the songs not in costume. I loved it! My favorite numbers of the night were "Get Out and Stay Out" (Stephanie J Block - 9 to 5) and "Superboy and the Invisible Girl" (Jennifer Damiano, Alice Ripley, and Aron Tveit - Next to Normal). Brittany's favorite was "Superboy and the Invisible Girl." I told her she had to see the show!This was defiantly a night to remember.

Broadway: Waiting for Godot....a very long wait!

Ashley and I went to see Waiting for Godot Saturday night. I'm a big fan of Nathan Lane and John Goodman, so I was very excited to see the show. All five actors did a fantastic job! I didn't really care for the play itself however. It was a little slow for my taste and wasn't as funny as I heard it was. It did have some really good lines.
P.S. Tony season is upon us! There are some great shows nominated this year, so I'm super excited about watching this year. I felt like last year was very obvious, but this year not so much. I'm thinking about posting my Tony predictions, but I'm just not as confident as last year.
I'm one show away from seeing all shows nominated this year (including all actors nominated) and two shows away from seeing all shows currently running on Broadway. After the last Tonys I made a goal to see all shows on Broadway. I failed. I didn't see A Tale of Two Cities. I had tickets for it, but the stupid show closed before I got the chance to see it. Hopefully I get around to seeing the last two shows over the next few weeks.

Broadway: I don't need a life that's normal...that's way to far away, but something next to normal would be ok.

So, one of my current obsessions is the new musical, Next o Normal. Many people told me how amazing it was, but I was very spectacle that I would like it. My heart was true to Billy Elliot and Rock of Ages. I found it hard to believe that there could be another amazing new musical on Broadway. Oh, how I was wrong. There is plenty of Broadway love in my heart to go around.To tell you the truth I'm a little surprised I love this show as much as I do. I'm the kind of girl that likes the big musicals with all the bells and whistles. You know...the ones with crazy costumes, stunning sets, and ridiculously awesome dance numbers. Well, Next to Normal only really has one of these (The set and how they use it is very cool), but the music was just so amazing I couldn't help but fall in love. The cast was fabulous as well.

The topic of this musical is more serious than most I have seen, but I think they totally told the story well. Basically, it's the story of a mother who goes crazy after a traumatic event in her life. Her devoted husband does everything and anything he can to try and help her and get life back to normal, but of course that's not easy. Obviously there's a lot more to the story, but I don't want to give anything away.

I have been listening to the soundtrack over and over again since I saw the show. This show definitely belongs in my top five.

This is one of my favorite parts of the show. This clip doesn't do the song justice. It's one you need to see live and in person. (Just in case the video doesn't load, click here. It's the video called "I am the One.")


(Side note: there is quite a lot of swearing in the show and on the soundtrack. I'm not sure why I feel obligated to add this, but I know some people are very sensitive to it. It's not as much swearing as Jersey Boys, but it had quite a bit.)

Another Year Has Come and Gone...

I totally missed my second anniversary of being in New York (April 30th)! I can't believe it totally slipped my mind. I also missed my 200th post. I'm slipping! What's wrong with me?
I will try and come up with some goods stats for the past year.

Here's all I could think of at this point:

• Two apartments (YAY! That’s down from three my first year. I feel really good about that)

• One JOB! (Stability! I like it!)

• Five roommates (I feel like I’m back at BYU)

• Only four celebrity sightings (in the wild). (This is down from nine my first year. I believe I may have counted celebrities seen in Broadway shows last time. If that's the case then this number should be a lot higher! I did see more celebrities in the wild this year, but I wish I knew how to kick it up a notch).

• 51 Broadway shows (That’s over double what I saw my first year here. This doesn’t count the repeats. I feel like I’ve seen more than that, but the numbers don’t lie. That’s a little over 4 shows a month.)

• Three vacations (Washington twice (once with a short trip to Cali) and Disney World. I need to get out more).

• Three cell phones (I’m not proud of this)

• Six house guest (I really love it when people come to play)

I can't wait for another year. I'll try and come up with something a little more exciting for next year. Promise!

Broadway: Our Last Day (tear in my heart)...

I took another half day to spend with Sarah...and what a day it was.

We went and got a two hour long massage. It was my first "real" massage and I'm now a new person. It was amazing. I got a Swedish massage and a hot stone massage. The hot stone massage...well...it was magical! I think I will need to make this a monthly tradition (I especially need one after this week!)

We then went to our favorite Indian place, Panna II. Oh, sweet memories! We finished up our day with the Rock of Ages lottery. I had heard really great things about this show and that it's one to see over and over and over again. Well, it was the easiest lottery ever! Everyone got in. The problem is that it's for the worst seats ever! If you go to the lottery and aren't one of the first two people to win, walk away! Just do it. You will only be able to see half to the stage in the other seats.P.S. WE LOVED IT! It's now one of my favorite shows ever! If you love 80's rock then this is the show to see. I haven't laughed so hard at a musical. I found the list of songs from the show and immediately downloaded them off of iTunes. I can't wait until they release the soundtrack. I just hope they do. If any one needs someone to go with them...just call and I will be there! (Side Note: it just got nominated for 5 Tonys including best musical!)
Warning: Scantily clad women and lots of swearing. (but as my roommate said, "It happens!")

Sarah left the next day! Oh, SARAH! COME BACK! The city isn't the same without you.

Another Perfect Day with Sarah

Brunch + Broadway Show + Grimaldi's = Perfection

We had brunch at Alice's Tea Cup, yet another favorite place of ours. Crepes! Love the crepes!
We then caught a matinee showing of Billy Elliot. I truly love Billy Elliot (Side Note: it was just nominated for 15 Tonys! Not surprised!). Sarah really liked it too! We had fabulous seats and I was really happy to be seeing another Billy. I think I liked Kiril Kulish more, but David Alvarez did a good job.Grimaldi's was our next stop. We had to wait in line for over an hour, but it was soooo worth it. I love me some Grimaldi's pizza!

It's Raining!...Inside!

Brunch! One of my favorite Saturday activities is brunch! Sarah and I use to always do brunch. She was on the search for the best eggs Benedict and I just liked going out. We are creatures of habit or tradition so of course we had to hit up one of our favorite places, BUBBY'S! We met Ashley and Liz there after getting tickets for show. It was fun having a little brunch with the girls. (PS. look how huge my face looks in this picture! Now I not only have to worry about "fat face" but "big face" while taking pictures. Can't a girl get a break? If you don't know what I mean by "fat face" then please ask me sometime.)
Sarah and I then rented bikes and went for a little ride in Central Park. I'm not really sure why I have never done this before. It was so much fun and such a good way to see the park. Since the weather was ridiculously beautiful the park was packed, but it wasn't overly difficult getting around.
After about 1.5 hours we were worn-out and headed back to my place to get ready for dinner and a show. The perfect Saturday date.

One of our favorite pre-Bradway show places is Serafina's. We love SERAFINA'S! After a perfectly delightful dinner we went to see Mary Stuart. I have heard really good reviews about it and I was totally stoked that Sarah wanted to go see it.

It threw us off a little when all the men came out it modern suits and all the women were in period clothing, but by the end we were loving it. The first act was just "so so." Nothing totally spectacular. The acting was amazing, but that's to be expected with these two leading ladies.
The second half was amazing. Not only did they have some cool effects, but the story got really good and there were some really intense scenes. They opened the second part of the show with a "rain" scene on the grounds of Fortheringhay Castle. Well, Sarah and I were in the front row and could hear the rain, but thought it was just good sound effects. Then the lights came on and to our surprise it was literally raining on stage. It was pouring! I couldn't believe it. The lovely Janet McTeer did a whole scene in this terenchal downpour. It was so cool and my favorite part of the whole show.