When I disappear it means I am involved in a play :-)

So I posted like a FIEND during winter break, and as soon as we came back to school I immediately jumped into 5-6 day a week rehearsals for our show that opens in 1 week (EXCITED!!) And between that and actual homework - of which I am avoiding right now and counting on the fact that my Dramatic Lit Crit teacher doesn't read my blog, my time to update has been limited. And honestly my cooking has gone to hell too since I have had no time so pictures of nifty cooking projects have been nonexistent. Fortunately this is why I spent all of winter break cooking! And everyone at school drools over my pasta with sausage, chicken enchilada casserole, chicken soup, and all the rest of it :-) Truly one of the best thing I did with all that time...it has saved me a ton of money, time and trips to fast food joints on campus.

So I don't have a ton to update right now except that I have been stage managing an amazing show that opens on Feb 9th. It is my first time stage managing and it has been one of the most amazing experiences of my life. It's like all my time in the corporate world, along with all my passion for the theatre, has combined to create the perfect place for me to use my super awesome skills! I still love acting of course, and that is still where I am getting my degree, but I am so thrilled to have found this other new outlet for my talents. And after all, that's why I went back to school -to explore ALL the possibilities out there and find the best path for me!

Joseph Campbell famously said "Follow Your Bliss" and that is what I am doing. Is it a perfect life? No. I am broke most of the time (that whole starving artist thing minus the starving part), I am a city girl at heart living in a tiny town in the mountains of North Carolina and having severe urban envy, I still struggle with loneliness (especially since all dating prospects at college are around 10 years younger than me and ummmm...well, just no) and I still am not 100% sure what I want to do when I grow up :-) But the fact is that I have amazing friends (Dirty Dancing and sangria night rocks my world!), I am involved in an amazing theatre program, I am fully supported by my family in my crazy dreams, and I am ultimately making my life full of the things I love. Honestly now, what could be better than that??

P.S. If you happen to be in NC you should come check out out a great play showing Feb 9th - 12th at Western Carolina University. Reasons To Be Pretty is about the anatomy of a break up, the consequences both comedic and tragic, and explores what it means to be "pretty" in our society. Come and see and say hi!

http://www.wcu.edu/4853.asp

Food Stuff!

So i don't intend to turn this into a daily food log blog because I find that somewhat boring and repetitive. However, I am still on vacation near Portland, OR with my family so I am taking full advantage of trying out some of the awesome places around here before I head back to small town NC :-) On that note, I wanted to share a couple of pics and kind of my approach to eating in a relatively healthful way in spite of having some indulgences.

First...PHO!! Holy cow, I had heard about pho before but the first time I had tried it was during this trip. I went to Pho Van on Hawthorne Street in Portland and was BLOWN AWAY by how amazingly amazing this food was. And I even tried the variety that had tripe and tendons in it and was in beefy soupy noodly heaven (sorry vegetarians, this post is not for you but I promise I have more veggie entries coming soon as soon as I leave my carnivorous parents houses!)

Pho Van on Hawthorne St. in Portland, OR has the BEST pho

Then today I stayed a little closer to home and went to Pho Green Papaya in Vancouver which got just amazing reviews online. Had another packed bowl of pho and while it wasn't QUITE as amazing as the Portland one, it was still a big bowl of heaven. I have to admit, this is the biggest thing I miss about not living in a city anymore is not being able to just go grab pho or sushi or Thai or tapas or any other number of great ethnic foods that they just don't have in the small town South. Healthwise pho is relatively healthy - clear beef broth, rice noodles, lots of bean sprouts, the only thing that is fatty is some of the beef and even that wasn't prevalent compared to the lean cuts. I can never get down more than half a bowl anyway and I feel good, light, but full afterwards. I didn't make the mistake I did at Pho Van and order salad rolls in addition to the pho at which point I felt like Violet Beauregard in Willy Wonka except full of beef broth instead of blueberry juice! And I practiced moderation, ate half of my bowl slowly with consciousness and drinking tea in between, and when I left I was pleasantly satisfied without being stuffed.

Mmmmmmmm...pho goodness

The next place I went was to Cinetopia which is one of those fabulous movie theatres with the big plush leather seats and waiters that will serve you food and wine or beer right to your seat. All HD digital screens and usually a good selection of more artsy flicks.

Wine and cheesecake service to your movie seat...doesn't get much better!

Well, I didn't exactly pick an artsy flick today - I saw Salt with Angelina Jolie (mini review: Reminded me of the Jason Bourne movies except with Angelina Jolie instead of Matt Damon. I liked it!) But I did indulge in a little afternoon happy hour and had a slice of lemon cheesecake with fresh blueberry compote and a glass of pinot noir delivered to my seat. Yeah, it was almost $20 for that little bit of food and drink, but it was a treat and something else that won't be happening once I get back to North Carolina.

So how does this fit into a healthy lifestyle? Well this goes along with the concept of living a little more French and enjoying a little treat in moderation without indulging in the very American guilt! Would I eat a slice of cheesecake every day? Nope. Could I have eaten half and still been satisfied? Probably. But the point is that I had a good quality treat of something that I truly enjoyed and I don't feel bad about it in the slightest.

Blueberries are in season and I am having them everywhere right now

So that was my treat afternoon out. To round out the day I also had breakfast (2 egg omelette with a little cheese, 1 slice of toast, blueberries and a small glass of oj) and dinner (homemade chicken lasagna, salad, 1/2 slice of bread, fruit for dessert and wine). I want to talk about this more tomorrow, but I feel like I am getting more in the habit of practicing moderation and enjoying my food without needing to feel full and stuffed all the time. That is more important to me than going back to that high school diet of zero fat, zero oil, zero carbs and total boring.