Tag Archives: holidays

It’s Almost Gift Giving Time! (or Excited To Finally Give A Present)

Posted on November 15, 2018 | 1 comment

My immediate family does the standard gift giving with buying gifts for people for their birthdays and Hanukkah. Since we don’t see each other that often, it’s become easiest for us to exchange gifts during Thanksgiving when we are all together. I’m so glad that it is only a week away because the gift I got for my family is something I planned a year ago!

I only get presents for my parents, my brother, and my sister-in-law. For birthdays, obviously they all get their own gifts. But for Hanukkah, I usually combine them (so my parents get a gift and my brother and sister-in-law get a gift). It makes things a little easier for me when it comes to planning, but also it allows me to get something a bit nicer since I am combining the money I would have split for different gifts. But I know that it doesn’t always take money to find the best and most creative gifts, and I usually work hard to find the best thing I can get someone.

I take a lot of pride in finding the best gifts I can. I try to take notes throughout the year and remember them when it is time for me to buy a gift for someone. And there are some gifts that I know are remembered as some of the best. My dad is always excited to see what I get him. I got him a new gym bag a very long time ago and because the company has a lifetime warranty we joke that the bag keeps reincarnating. I think he’s had 2 or 3 different gym bags from that one gift and he likes to remind me that I got it for him. I guess there has been a theme with luggage with my dad because I’ve also gotten him a new backpack and ski bag over the years. But more recently I got my parents a sign for the house in Tahoe and other fun things like that.

And the day after I gave my family their presents last year, I found the perfect present for them! Of course, it was too late to order it then for them, but I bookmarked the website and saved it for the next time. I can’t believe this idea has been one I have had for a year, but I can’t wait to give them their gifts because I’m ready for it to not be a secret. It won’t be a complete secret because my dad does know what they are getting. I needed him to do some spy work for me to help with some of the planning, but I think hearing his reaction when I told him what the gift would be when he helped me was enough to make me happy that he is surprised.

I hate being so vague and cryptic about this all, but I haven’t given people their gifts yet. But I did finally see the final product 2 days ago and it made me even more excited to finally be able to give a gift that I planned so long ago! I can’t wait to see everyone’s reactions (even my dad’s) and I really hope that they will all love the gifts as much as I do.

I really get so much happiness out of finding the perfect present for people. If I had unlimited funds, I would probably buy my family more presents and buy gifts for more people in my life. I always see random things that I know would be good for one person or another, but I don’t have the money or they are someone who I don’t usually exchange gifts with. I don’t want to buy a gift for someone who doesn’t usually get gifts from me because I don’t want them to feel like they need to get me something in return. But my gift idea bookmark tab on my computer just keeps growing in case one day I will be getting them a present.

It does feel a bit weird to be done with all my gift purchasing before the holiday season really feels like it has started, but it’s also nice to know that I’m all done and can just enjoy holiday decorations around LA without needing to rush from store to store to try to find gifts for people. My gift giving season is almost here and over at the same time. But then I also get to spend the next year planning out the perfect gift again!

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Default ThumbnailFinding Little Things To Make Me Happy (or Shopping And Text Groups) Default ThumbnailSpreading Some Holiday Cheer (or Finding Cheaper Ways To Make People Smile) Default ThumbnailA Gift From A Stranger (or Positivity Online) Default ThumbnailScripted Jewelry (or My Mom’s Hanukkah Present) Default ThumbnailFinding The Perfect Gifts (or A Gift A Year In The Making) Default ThumbnailGift Shopping (or For Me, It’s That Time of the Year)

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Memorial Day Weekend (or Not Really Doing Much)

Posted on May 30, 2018 | Comments Off on Memorial Day Weekend (or Not Really Doing Much)

This past weekend was Memorial Day weekend and I really didn’t do that much. I did have my show at the Bowl (which was awesome!), but beyond that I didn’t make plans. When there is a 3 day weekend where the day off is Monday, I really don’t have extra time off. My normal day off is Monday so when everyone else has that day off as well it just makes stores more crowded for me. It’s a weird feeling when so many people ask what I will be doing with my day off and I just have to explain that I don’t really have a day off even though I do. It’s just not an extra day off.

In the past, I’ve usually had a party over the weekend since other people were enjoying having a 3 day weekend. This year, my friends who normally host a party had other things they had to do so they couldn’t host. I was a bit disappointment about that because I love their parties and getting to see all my friends, but of course I understood that they just didn’t have the time (and it is a big time commitment for them to always host the parties). I thought about trying to organize something at my house, but I just wasn’t feeling too motivated to do it. I also have such a small house that it can be tough to have too many people over.

I’ll also admit that in the past I didn’t really think too much about the idea of “celebrating” Memorial Day. I just thought of both Memorial Day and Veterans Day as days to thank those who have fought for our freedom and to recognize their service. But more people have been posting lately about the difference with the two days and what they mean. Memorial Day is about remembering those in the military who died while fighting for this country. The idea of celebrating about people who have died is a weird feeling. I know that people say we should be enjoying the freedom we have to do what we want and that is what those people died for, but it’s still a weird idea.

So between not having a party to go to and my feelings about what it means to celebrate this day, I really didn’t feel like doing much. This was a bit of an odd choice since I was just saying how sick of being home and doing nothing I was. When you are stuck at home sick and not able to do anything it can feel so boring. But when you choose to stay home and not do much that can feel amazing. And I was in the mindset that I just didn’t want to do much and that was fine with me.

Monday was also just a day to do all the things I normally would do on a Monday. I had a workout, I had errands to do, and I had to get stuff done to get ready for the week. I didn’t want to take that time doing things that I wasn’t really feeling like doing when I knew that it would affect how my week went. I did end up having a casual coffee date on Monday, but I also made sure that I didn’t neglect all the other things I needed to do.

Even with all my friends who were excited to have an extra day off work, it seemed like a lot of people were in the same mindset as I was. So many people were saying how they were just spending the day at home catching up on whatever they needed or wanted to catch up on. So I wasn’t alone in my feeling that this past weekend wasn’t really one to make a ton of plans or do try to do as much as you could. In a weird way, it helped me feel less alone being alone at home knowing that so many other people I know were doing the same thing.

Even with my weird feelings about celebrating this past weekend, I do agree that it is kind of the unofficial kickoff to summer. I haven’t made that many plans for this summer and I’m starting to try to think about what I’d like to do and start planning more. I know how quickly the summer will go by and before I know it it will be my birthday and the summer will feel like it’s almost over. So I do want to take some time soon to work on making some plans and coming up with ideas for what would be fun.

Sorry if this post is a weird one or a bit depressing. As I’ve written about on here recently, things have been a bit weird for me. I’m working on getting things back to my normal but it hasn’t been as easy as I had hoped. And I think my mixed feelings on the weekend really didn’t help me much get into a better mood or mental viewpoint. But I’m hoping to be back there soon.

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Enjoying Valentine’s Day (or Celebrating The Love I Do Have In My Life)

Posted on February 14, 2018 | Comments Off on Enjoying Valentine’s Day (or Celebrating The Love I Do Have In My Life)

I know that plenty of people hate Valentine’s Day. Either they feel like it’s a made up holiday or they feel like there is no point to it or they hate that they don’t have someone to celebrate with. And in the past I haven’t always been the biggest fan of Valentine’s Day. I’ve always been single on it and have never had a significant other to celebrate with.

And I’m still single and don’t have someone special to celebrate today with. I do feel like I’m making the best effort I have ever in the dating world with all my online dating adventures. I don’t think I’ve ever had as many dates as I’ve had in the past year. And there are a lot of idiots that I’m encountering, but fortunately there have been nice guys that I’ve met too. So the nice ones are balancing out the idiots and I’m still optimistic and hopeful that I will meet someone special. And even though I’ve been having fun with these dates, it would be nice to have met someone who can take me off of the online dating and I could build a relationship with.

But even though I don’t have romantic love, I do have so much love in my life. And to me, Valentine’s Day doesn’t just have to be about celebrating romantic love. If that’s the case, I think it’s just too limiting and it does exclude others who want to celebrate the people they love.

I know that I am loved by my family. I am so lucky to have the family that I do have. My parents support me so much (including financially when I need it) and I am so grateful for that. I don’t know what I would be doing without their support. And my extended family is supportive as well and they are there if I need them. I know if something happened I could call different family members and they would be there for me and would help me out in whatever ways they could.

But to me the biggest love in my life is the love I have with my friends. I’ve always felt lucky to have the friends that I have, but I think that lately those friendships have just gotten so much stronger and that makes things even better. Part of this could be that I have been open to being a bit more dependent on my friends than I have in the past. I love being independent and not feeling like I need anyone, but I’ve learned to appreciate having people there and what benefits that brings to my life. While I never want to feel totally dependent on another person, having a little bit of dependency means that you are open and vulnerable with them. And that only brings a stronger relationship between friends.

Most of my friends are married or in relationships so they will be out tonight with their significant others. But that is bothering me much less than it has in the past. I don’t feel left out or that something is necessarily missing. In some way, my dating adventures has helped me realize everything that I do have without a relationship and I appreciate it even more. And when I do get into a relationship that person will be adding to my life and not filling a missing piece of it. That’s probably a much healthier way to have a relationship start and I have my friendships and their love to thank for that.

Obviously even though I have so much love with my friends and family, I do still want romantic love. It is something that I have been seeking even if it’s not something that necessarily feels like it is missing from my life. But having as much love as I do in my life gives me hope that when I find the right guy I will be able to get the love that I deserve from that relationship. I’ve got the best examples of loving relationships in my life and I know that one day I will have the same. Maybe I’m just crazy to be as optimistic and hopeful about things as I am, but I feel like there has been a shift in my life lately that has allowed me to be more open to romantic love but not feeling like I’m desperate for it. It’s a nice place to be in while I’m still looking for the right guy.

So whether the big love in your life is a romantic one, a friend, a family member, or even just yourself; I hope that however you are celebrating love today that you are having a wonderful time doing it!

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Holiday Cheesecake (or Birthday Twins and Twinkle Lights)

Posted on January 9, 2018 | Comments Off on Holiday Cheesecake (or Birthday Twins and Twinkle Lights)

The last few years it has been a tradition for my birthday twin, Joanna, and I to get cheesecake around the holidays. We haven’t always been successful with our timing, but we have been pretty good about at least doing it eventually between our birthday adventures. But this time, I wanted to make sure we were on top of it and I texted Joanna before around Christmas to find out when we could get cheesecake. Somehow, we both ended up being free right before NYE so we made a date for our cheesecake outing.

I was totally looking forward our hangout and then of course it ended up happening right as I was starting to feel my worst. But I wasn’t going to miss this tradition so I took some painkillers and hoped for the best. Fortunately, Joanna is such an amazing friend and understood that I wasn’t feeling so great. So she probably took charge more often in the conversation and I’m so grateful for her for that! We knew that it was going to be crowded and that there would be a wait for a table, but normally when they tell us it will be an hour it’s really just a fraction of that. But this time, we ended up waiting almost 90 minutes for a table. But we were determined to get our cheesecake and figured this just gave us more time to catch up.

We both have been having adventures in online dating so we were sharing stories about that. And she had just been to visit her family so she was updating me on how everyone in her family are doing. It was a pretty chill hangout and catch up but I’m always so grateful that we get to spend this time together. She and I both have weird and sometimes crazy schedules so we don’t get to see each other that often. More often than not, the only times we see each other are for our birthday and for the cheesecake. So we need to maximize each hangout.

Once we finally got a table, we ordered pretty quickly. We’ve both been to Cheesecake Factory enough to know what we want (although the flatbread that Joanna likes was just taken off the menu) and we got to looking at the menu at the cheesecake which was the most important part of the meal to us. I ordered a salad for my dinner and we decided on red velvet and tres leches cheesecake to have. We’ve learned that we can ask the server to split each piece of cheesecake in half, so we each get half of each slice.

Somehow I always have room for dessert even though I was still feeling pretty awful. But I knew I ate too much so we decided to walk around a bit after dinner. All of the Christmas lights were still up at the Grove and it really was beautiful. It was the first time this season that I had seen the lights and I’m glad I didn’t miss my chance to check them out!

We also went to check out the tree, but it’s so big that it’s almost impossible to get a photo of the entire tree!

But we decided that the tree was the perfect background for us to take a photo together!

It wasn’t as crowded by the tree and decorations as it was near dinner, so it was nice to be able to walk around and not feel totally squished. The crowds are the main reason why I rarely go to the Grove, but whenever I go there I’m reminded about how nice it is there and how fun the holiday decorations are. But I think that it will probably be a once a year type of adventure. Plus, most of the stores and restaurants there are places I can go to somewhere else so I’m not always that motivated to drive over there. But it makes a perfect place to meet for our annual cheesecake dinner!

After checking out the decorations, it was time for us to head back to our cars. I really was trying to keep a smile on my face and ignore the pain I was in, but I knew I needed to get home to get some more painkillers in me (I ended up missing a party I was supposed to go to after dinner because I was feeling so horrible). But even though I wasn’t feeling that great, I’m so glad that I went out for cheesecake. It’s an important tradition for us and also it was a nice distraction from how I was feeling!

While I know that Joanna and I have good intentions to try to hang out again before our birthday, I know that there’s a good chance that the next time we will see each other will be for our birthday dinner. But at least we both know that we try to hang out more often and when we do get together we maximize the time that we have!

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A Very Low-Key Christmas (or Not Spending My Day Off Doing My Usual Stuff)

Posted on December 27, 2017 | Comments Off on A Very Low-Key Christmas (or Not Spending My Day Off Doing My Usual Stuff)

I really didn’t do much at all this year on Christmas. It was a bit unfortunate that it fell on my day off of work because it didn’t feel like much of a break. In fact, it was a bit annoying at times because I would think of an errand that I would want to run like I do on a normal day off but couldn’t do it because everything was closed. Since I couldn’t do my normal day off stuff, I tried to not really focus on doing much at all.

Originally I was thinking about hanging out with some friends for the day with watching movies and getting Chinese food. I do that a lot and it is always a fun way to spend Christmas. But as it got closer to Christmas, my friends weren’t able to meet up. Some ended up having something to do with relatives that weren’t that far out of town. Others didn’t feel like doing anything that day and didn’t want to get dressed to leave their house (I don’t blame them). And other friends ended up getting the nasty cold bug that has been going around and I was happy that they weren’t going to come over to expose me to getting sick.

But spending Christmas alone isn’t that big of a deal to me. It would have been fun hanging out with friends, but I was able to just be lazy for the entire day and do everything that I wanted to without worrying about anything. It’s award screeners season and I’ve got access to all my digital screeners (the DVDs haven’t started arriving yet). So I spent a bit of my day watching some of the screeners so I don’t feel like there is a crazy rush to watch them all before I vote for the SAG Awards.

I also hadn’t had a chance to catch up on shows that I have been recording on my DVR or streaming so I started to watch some of those. And I love to read and wanted to get through some of my library books so I spent a lot of time doing that. And of course, I got my Chinese food. It was just delivery food since I was on my own, but I made sure not to overdo things. And once I was done eating, I didn’t want to keep the leftovers in my house because I didn’t want to keep eating when I knew I didn’t need to. So all my leftovers went in the trash as soon as I was done. It did feel like a bit of a waste of money for what I spent on food, but the wasted money is fine when it is helping me. Plus, I figure I save a ton of money on other things by having free movie screeners or getting books from the library so I didn’t have to feel too guilty.

I didn’t see anyone besides the food delivery guy the entire time. I spent the day in sweats with no makeup on and my hair up in a top knot. I was kind of a basic white girl for the day, but that worked for me. I didn’t feel like making an effort if I was just going to be home alone for the day and it is nice to not worry about things.

I know I need to do some of my regular errands during this week after work to make up for not getting them done on my day off, but I didn’t have a ton that I had to do anyway. And with my next day off being New Years Day, at least I know that most stores like grocery stores are open so I don’t have to put things off for another day.

I’m sure that for some people reading what I did for Christmas is a bit depressing. But Christmas isn’t really a holiday I’ve ever celebrated. It feels like just another day to me. And yes, I would have loved spending time with friends seeing movies and going out for dinner but I can also do that other nights. I like that I have my traditions on Christmas that can be done on my own or with my friends. But whether or not I’m celebrating the day with others I always seem to have a good time.

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Holiday Workouts (or Getting Some Confidence Back)

Posted on December 26, 2017 | Comments Off on Holiday Workouts (or Getting Some Confidence Back)

This past week of workouts ended up being one of the better ones I’ve had lately. I didn’t expect that at all, but I love when my workouts end up surprising me and I have some great accomplishment! Things didn’t really get awesome until the end of the week, but the entire week was still a good one.

Monday’s workout was a 2 group workout instead of the 3 group that we usually have on Mondays. There was a focus on endurance, strength, and power but for me I did most of the treadmill work the same way. I did my normal walking speed and my base pace incline was 4% and my push pace and all out pace inclines were at 6%. The endurance block was longer push paces with the pushes increasing throughout the block. The strength block was supposed to be hills, but I just used my 2 inclines. And the power block was 6 rounds of 30 second all out paces and 30 second walking recoveries. That last block was so tempting to try to run, but I chickened out because I knew I’d be going to San Diego right after my workout and I didn’t want to be in pain if running was going to hurt my toe.

On the floor, we started with upper cuts with weights, Y raises on the straps, and heel touch abs. The next block was upright rows with weights, bicep curls with weights, and skaters. I’m getting a lot better with the skaters and that surprises me since so much of it has to do with balance on one leg. I struggle with most single leg stuff, but somehow I’m not having as much trouble with the skaters as I do with the other stuff. And the last block was decreasing rows starting at 400 meters and going down 100 meters each round. And between each row we had frogger squats. None of my rows were amazing times, but they were all pretty decent and within the range I like to be in.

Wednesday was a strength and endurance day. There were 2 blocks on the treadmill and 2 blocks on the floor and we switched between each block. Both of the treadmill blocks were similar with 4 rounds of 90 second push paces followed by 45 second base paces. Both blocks also ended with a 1 minute push pace to a 30 second all out. But in the first block we were supposed to increase the incline each round and on the second block we were supposed to start at a higher incline and decrease it each round. But I kept my same plan with just 4 and 6% inclines. I did try 8% for a bit but it felt a bit too high for me. It’s been a while since I’ve had the higher incline so I think I need to start working toward that.

On the floor the first block had single arm chest presses, bicep curls on the straps, plank low rows, and tricep pushups. The second block had tricep work, shoulders, double crunches, toe touches, and a 300 meter row. I tried to make up for my lack of strength (aka incline) work on the treadmill by going a little bit heavier on my weights on the floor. I hate that I feel like I’m not pushing myself, but I also know that recovering from an injury is always frustrating for me because I always mentally feel ready to be back to normal before I’m physically ready.

But after feeling a bit let down on Wednesday, I totally made up for it on Friday! First of all, I was very excited for this workout because I knew my coach, Bruce, would be wearing the Santa hat I got him 3 years ago. This was the 4th year of a Santa Bruce workout and I feel so happy seeing him wear the hat that I randomly got for him my first year at Orangetheory.

But the festive outfit was only the start to my awesome workout. We had a run/row endurance day which started with a 1 mile run. I knew that there was no way I would be getting a PR on my mile, but I decided to use this opportunity to see if I could get back into running. The goal was to do the mile with 2 minute run/1 minute walk intervals but I didn’t know if I could do that or maintain it for the entire mile. But I wanted to see what could happen so I went for it.

It wasn’t an easy or pretty mile, but I think I did pretty decent. I was able to keep the intervals for the entire time except at the end I just kept running instead of adding in any walking. And I bumped up the speed at the very end because I wanted to see if I could be close to 14 minutes. Of course, after seeing what I got I was kicking myself that I didn’t bump up the speed sooner or went a little faster.

But considering that I hadn’t run in about a month it was a huge accomplishment to do any running at all, let alone do run/walk intervals for the entire mile! This wasn’t a PR, but it was one of my faster mile times so I was pretty excited about that! After the mile run, we had a 400 meter row. I was still catching my breath when I was rowing, so it wasn’t the best time. And because my mile took so long, I only was working on the next treadmill interval (which I did as a walk) before it was time to switch to the floor.

The first block on the floor was goblet squats, hop overs, and seated knee tucks. And the second block was lunges, pullovers, pushups, high rows on the straps, and running men. It was a tough floor block because each move was hard and the blocks were long. But I was trying to do the best that I could after the longer run and I think I was pretty successful on the floor work too.

After a really successful Friday, my Saturday wasn’t as great. It was a combination of factors including having some pain which was likely caused by the running as well as only getting about 2 hours of sleep (when I hurt I don’t sleep as well). It was a 3 group workout which did help because I wasn’t anywhere for too long. Each section had 2 blocks and we switched between each block.

I started on the treadmill and realized that it wasn’t going to be the best option for me. So within a few minutes I stopped the treadmill and headed to the bike to do that for my cardio. When I’m on the bike, I’m not as focused on the intervals but instead just trying to be consistent with my cadence. I know I didn’t get as much of a cardio workout as I would have gotten on the treadmill, but I also knew that if I had been on the treadmill it would have caused me to be in a lot more pain so I’m glad I avoided that.

On the floor, the first block was plank work, squats, and burpees. And the second block was arm swings with weights, mountain climbers, and lunge hops on the straps. And on the rower the first block had all out rows with recoveries. And the second block was timed rows with squats using medicine balls between each row. I wanted my rowing to be great, but it just wasn’t my day for that. I know that my workouts suffer a lot when I’m tired, but sometimes it’s not my choice to be tired and I just have to do the best I can.

This week of workouts will be a bit weird with my schedule, but I’m still getting them in. I’m excited to know that I’ve really done amazing with my workouts in 2017 and can’t wait to see what the last few workouts of the year have in store for me!

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Just A Quick Christmas Hello! (or Back To Normal Blogging Tomorrow)

Posted on December 25, 2017 | 1 comment

I know that my Monday posts are normally my workout recap, but since today is Christmas I just wanted to do a quick post to say that I hope you are all celebrating Christmas however you like to celebrate! I will be doing Jewish Christmas (more on that later this week) and will be enjoying a relaxing Monday!

It is weird to think that today is a holiday for everyone when for me it just feels like a normal Monday off. The only difference for me is that I don’t have a workout today and nothing is open. I usually do all my errands on my Mondays off, but this time I don’t know if I’ll even really be leaving my house to do anything.

My workout recap will be coming tomorrow, but I just wanted to have a quick message today to say that I hope you are having an awesome day doing whatever you love to do! And if reading my workout recaps is how you wanted to spend Christmas, I’m sorry. But I guess having that tomorrow will make your Christmas 1 day longer.

 

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Union Holiday Party (or Seeing A Lot Of People In A Little Time)

Posted on December 15, 2017 | Comments Off on Union Holiday Party (or Seeing A Lot Of People In A Little Time)

This seems to have been the week of parties. On Monday I had the 300th episode party for the podcast. On Tuesday I was supposed to go to a holiday party but I ended up being too tired to go (I was still recovering from Monday). And Wednesday was the SAG-AFTRA holiday party!

I’ve gone to the holiday party before and knew it would be pretty crowded. But I think I kind of forgot how overwhelming the entire party could be. I was still feeling tired from the week and had spent Wednesday working and working out. As soon as I was showered from my workout, I got into my car to go to the party. I knew I was missing the beginning of the party, but I wasn’t too worried about that. Last time they were running low on food toward the end of the party, but I was feeling a bit off besides being tired and didn’t feel like eating. So lack of food at the party wasn’t a concern for me.

As soon as I arrived and got in line, I started to see friends of mine. That is one of the great things about being more involved in the union. The more events I go to the more I recognize people at other events. It’s still a bit much going to a party like this alone and I had wished a friend could have come with me. But at least I knew I’d be seeing a lot of friends.

Once I was in the party, I started to try to make a lap around the room the best that I could to see who else I knew there. It seemed like everywhere I looked I knew at least one person so that was pretty awesome. Some of my friends there had been up since 3am that day because the SAG Awards nominations were announced that morning. That put my tiredness into perspective for me!

It was nice to have a fun social event to catch up with actor friends. We didn’t really discuss union issues, there was no need to talk about election season, and everyone was in a fun and festive mood. I didn’t take any pictures, but fortunately I had friends who took pictures with me so there is some evidence that I was at the party!

Since I got there late, I wanted to stay until the end of the party. But things just weren’t working for me that night. I was having a great time catching up with my friends and wanted to do more of that, but I knew I needed to get back home. I didn’t want to drive and feel tired so I wanted to leave before the tiredness started to feel worse. And my body was just feeling worse. I have a tendency to get stress sick (where you get sick right after something that was stressing you out) and I think I got that from worrying about the podcast party. I knew that I could potentially stay longer, but I would be paying for that later and I didn’t want to have to worry about that.

I only ended up being at the party for about an hour or so and I wish I could have been there longer. But at least in that hour I saw so many people who I knew. There were a few people who I saw in photos later that I didn’t get to see in person, but I think I saw a majority of my friends there. I felt like I had been pretty social and got to catch up on life with people. I think a lot of people were feeling tired and stressed so at least I wasn’t alone in that feeling. And my friends understood when I wasn’t acting like my normal bubbly self.

Of course after this crazy party week I don’t have any more big holiday parties that I can think of besides NYE parties. It would have been nice to have all the parties spread out so I could have enjoyed each one (and attended all of them), but things don’t normally go like that. I’m just glad that I didn’t feel too tired or sick to get to the union holiday party and that I did have a great time in the limited time that I spent there!

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Holiday Time At Universal (or Enjoying Another Castle Show)

Posted on November 30, 2017 | 1 comment

It wasn’t that long ago that I was at Universal Studios. And when I was there, we heard that they might be doing some holiday stuff in the Harry Potter section of the park. They’ve had Grinchmas there since I worked there, but this was going to be the first time that there was something else. We didn’t know when it would start, but I figured that I would try to check it out when it happened.

Right after that visit, they announced that there would be a special holiday themed light show on the castle and I wanted to see how it compared to the regular light show on the castle that I had seen. I didn’t have any plans to go to the park, but this week my friend Michelle texted me to see what I was doing. I happened to have the day free so we decided to go over to the park to check out the light show and ride a couple of rides.

When we got there, we found out that the light shows started around 5pm so we had a couple of hours to wait. We went on the Harry Potter ride (which was fun as always) and as we were walking over there we were shocked to see how empty the park was. I hadn’t seen it empty like that since when I worked there and it was nice not feeling like everyone was running into you.

After the ride, we went over to the animal actor show. I used to go to this show a lot when I worked here because some of my co-workers knew the animal trainers. But I hadn’t been to the show for a while so it was fun to see what was new.

A lot of the show ended up being toward the front of the stage so we weren’t able to see that much of it. But it was funny to see that they had a lot of the same jokes and setups as they did before but with different animals. Some of the things that used to be with the orangutan is now with a dog. But it was very similar to the old show.

We weren’t sure what we were going to do after that, but we decided to go down to ride the tram. Unfortunately, even though the holiday time started for Harry Potter, Grinchmas wasn’t started for another week so we weren’t going to see the stuff they do for the tram. But we figured that a lot of it would be set up so we could see the decorations. We actually had a really great guide on the tram who had some jokes we hadn’t heard before and he was really entertaining. And once the tram tour ended, it was time to head toward the castle for the show.

We made a quick stop to get some hot butterbeer because it was getting cold and we headed to the viewing area. But so many people had lined up early that we had to go off to the side to watch in a spot that had a tree blocking our view. But we got to see the show a bit and figured that we would move to a better location in time to see the second show. So as soon as the first show ended, we went to a spot with a perfect view of the castle and we waited until the next show time (which was only about 10 minutes later).

I really liked this light show. I think it was better than the regular one. I’m sure there are a ton of Harry Potter references in it that I don’t get since I haven’t seen all the movies, but it was still really fun to watch. The projections are done better than I’ve seen them done anywhere else and it’s just a really great show!

And the finale of the show had some fireworks (although I didn’t get to take photos of those) and the entire castle was just lit up and glowing!

It was pretty crowded watching the show and I have a feeling that some people just came to the park to see the light show and that’s it. But since the show happened multiple times that night, I’m sure everyone who came there to see it was able to do so.

After the show ended, there was still a little bit of time before the park closed. But Michelle and I were both ready to head back. There weren’t any other rides we really wanted to go on and the traffic wasn’t looking too bad. But even though we didn’t do that many rides, I’m glad we went to Universal to see the castle show and all the other holiday decorations.

While it’s not as big as Disneyland, they still do a great job decorating the space that they have and making the park feel festive. And just like every other time I’ve written about Universal, I’ve got the same lack of plans to return. I’m sure I’ll be back before my pass expires, but I have no clue when that will be. But I’m still so glad I got my pass again this year so that I could experience all this holiday fun!

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Happy Thanksgiving! (or Just A Quick Post)

Posted on November 23, 2017 | Comments Off on Happy Thanksgiving! (or Just A Quick Post)

I just wanted to have a quick post on here to say Happy Thanksgiving! I am hanging out with my family today (and hopefully kicking some butt in the family workout at Orangetheory) and I hope that you are all spending the day with people who you love and doing something that you love.

I know that not everyone is close to their family that they were born into, but the family that you create with your friends can be just as important. So whether you are with family that is blood to you or family that is like blood to you, hopefully you are surrounded by awesome people today!

Now I’m off to be with my family, get in all the time with my dog that I can, and probably eat more than I should at dinner!

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