In transit

I’m on US Airways 1486 winging my way from LA to NYC right now. And I’m trying very hard to squash my desire to strangle the guy sitting behind me.  He’s been doing that liquidy sounding sniffle that is a result of not using a tissue properly since we got off the ground 2 hours ago…BLOW YOUR NOSE ALREADY!!!!!

Ok.  That’s said.  Wait…he just blew his nose!

Silence.

Ah, sweet relief!!!

I’m returning to New York after a 6-week-turned-5-month absence.  I’ve been out on the Golden Princess doing a fill in contract since December 21, 2011.

It was a great opportunity to make some money and zero out the credit cards, so I’m grateful…but it wasn’t easy.  Being away from my husband was tough…I missed his birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, our 2 year anniversary and Valentines Day…and there were moments when we were both grumpy and just over not being together and that gave birth to some very silly squabbles.

The upside is that we’ve learned that we can do this…it’s not the ideal, and it’s not something I would recommend or want to go through again, but we can do it.  You do what you have to, right?  Yes.  You do what you need to do so you can do what you want to do.

I have an audition the day after I return, and I like that kind of reentry. I’m using it as an affirmation of my resolve to continue to walk boldly towards my dream of working in the city, which will grant me the enormous blessing of coming home to my husband every night…a husband who has found his own way in the city in my absence, who has a job that challenges him and brings him satisfaction and applauds his abilities and recognizes his value.

From Sea to Shining C(ity), folks!

Here’s to it!

 

R

Divine Intervention…

Here’s what I have to say about that.

Years ago when I was in college, I was driving on the eastbound 60 freeway heading to my job at the mall.  I was running late…so late that I needed to get gas, but didn’t have the time to stop and fuel up.  I thought I had just enough to get me to get me there.

I didn’t.

I was about 5 miles away when I felt the car give out and had to coast over to the side of the highway to get out of traffic.

Unfortunately for me, I had been driving in the fast lane,  and so had to pull to the center of the highway, making it pretty much impossible to cross over the four lanes of traffic to get off the freeway and get help.  I decided to try anyway.  I got out of the car and began walking, hoping for a break in traffic big enough so I could get across the road.

I’d been walking for about a ½ mile when this low rider coupe pulled up ahead of me and stopped.  In it were 2 young Latino guys, and the driver got out.  He asked me if I needed some help and I explained that I’d run out of gas, and was just trying to get to a station and back to my car and to work.  He offered to give me a ride…and I remember this flash…this feeling that this wasn’t smart; but I pushed it down because all I could think of was not being late for work.   I thanked him, and headed for the car.  The driver pulled his seat up so I could get in the back (again, that flash-and again, I ignored it) and just as I put one leg in the door and was about to sit down, another car pulled up on the westbound side of the freeway and the driver opened her car door and started yelling, “Hey!  Hey!  I know your mother!  Come on with me, I’ll get you help!  Come on!”   I stood there for a second…long enough to see this weird, knowing look pass between the two guys, and then I got out of their car, thanked them for stopping and went and got in the car with the woman on the other side of the freeway.

As soon as I got in the car, she let me have it.  “WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING?  You NEVER get in the car with strange men?  I know your mother taught you better than that!  I can’t believe you…I was traveling on the eastbound side of the freeway and when I saw you I knew I needed to get off this freeway and double back to get you!  Never do that again!”

This woman did not know my mother.  She was an absolute stranger to me.  She was in the car with her young daughter and her mom, and she was as good as her word and got me to a gas station and back to my car.

I think about how many things had to go just right for her to be there at that crucial moment.  What time she left her previous location, the timing of the traffic lights, the number of cars on the street and on the freeway, her ability to make those lane changes to get her over to me…the list goes on and on.  I’ve certainly thought about what may have happened if she’d decided not to listen to that still, small voice that told her to come back and get me.

It still takes my breath away.

I think about my 14-year old niece and how I would skin her alive if she ever even thought of doing anything like this, and there I was, actively putting myself in a bad situation.  Oh, the mistakes you can make when you let fear and desperation influence your decision making.

No one can tell me that God doesn’t have my back. He did this.   And from the depth of my being, I thank Him for this woman, whoever she is.  She quite possibly saved my life.

R

kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are endless…Mother Theresa

Tony and I are in the process of filing for his new 10 year green card, and as part of our USCIS package, we are required to include signed affidavits from friends and family who have known us as a couple, and who can attest to the legitimacy of our marriage.

I asked several of our dearest friends to write letters for us, and they very graciously obliged.  It was really a gift to receive those letters—although they were written to fulfill an official requirement, they were full of love and generosity, and gave us the rare opportunity to read how we are seen by some of the most important people in our lives.

Those letters inspired me.  So here’s my idea…let’s all take a moment or two to write someone who has had an impact in our lives.  Now.  Today.  Let’s single that person out, let them know how we see them, how important they are and how valued they are by each of us.  Write it, put a stamp on it, and mail it so they can hold it in their hands and read and reread it as often as they like.

I know this is the kind of thing that can get lost in the day-to-day activities of our lives—best intentions and all that–but I challenge you to follow through with this.  The recipient will be very glad that you did.

 

R

My view in Maui today…

Cheesecake Topper…

I have found my holy grail. Something sweet that takes the edge off missing my husband without having to go up a jean size.  Take that, Ben and Jerry!

Here it is:

HONEY MAID Cheesecake Topper
Prep Time: 10 min
Total Time: 10 min
Makes: 20 servings, one topped graham square each

1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup thawed COOL WHIP LITE Whipped Topping
10 HONEY MAID Honey Grahams, broken in half (20 squares)
1-1/2 cups fresh raspberries

BEAT Neufchatel cheese and sugar in large bowl with wire whisk or electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Stir in whipped topping.
SPREAD 1 Tbsp. of the Neufchatel mixture onto each graham square just before serving.
TOP with raspberries.

NUTRITION INFORMATION

Nutrition (per serving)
Calories 80 Total fat 4g Saturated fat 2.5g Cholesterol 10mg Sodium 95mg Carbohydrate 11g Dietary fiber 1g Sugars 6g Protein 2g Vitamin A 2%DV Vitamin C 4%DV Calcium 0%DV Iron 0%DV

 

It’s amazing with any kind of berry or even without!    Let me know if you try it!

 

R

R

2 years…

I wed the man of my life 2 years ago today!  Whenever the nasty notions that my dreams and goals are far-fetched and improbable try to invade my psyche, I right myself by remembering that my husband is from the other side of the world, and that we met on a cruise ship.  Talk about improbable!

When I started working with Princess Cruises, I was going through an ugly period in my life…I wasn’t working enough, I’d gone through a punishing break up with a boyfriend, and I was in debt.  This cruise ship job came to me through a friend that I’d done a recent gig with, and though it was the absolute last thing I’d ever wanted to do, I needed the work and the escape and I took it.

It has turned out to be the most prolific gift ever.  On the professional front, I’ve been able to sing and dance numbers that I wouldn’t have had the chance to do anywhere else…where else could I be Jessica Simpson, Tina Turner, Barbra Streisand, Sutton Foster, and Kelly Clarkson all rolled into one?

On the personal front, I’ve been able to see most of the world and meet people from all corners of the globe.  People who have enriched my life and whom I wouldn’t have met any other way.  I know first hand that we are all more alike than we are different.

On the life-changing front, I met my husband.  He was initially scheduled to be on a different ship, but ended up being assigned to the Emerald Princess.  I met him on his first day aboard, March 6, 2008.  He was jetlagged from a brutal 30 plus hours of travel, and these folks put him to work immediately!  I was tagging along with a friend to the boutique where he worked, and while he helped her, he told us about his crazy travel days—I remember being amazed that he was so friendly and open and funny after no real sleep and no time to settle in before being fast tracked to work.  The fact that he was hot wasn’t lost on me either.

We didn’t really see a whole lot of each other those first few weeks.  I began running into him in the crew bar, and we began having these really easy, fun conversations about our lives and experiences and found that we had a lot in common for people who had a hemisphere and a few years between them.

I remember the moment I knew that this was something…we’d started the evening in the crew bar, and we closed it out.  The lights came on, people stumbled out, and we were still talking and it didn’t feel right to stop.  He came to my cabin (calm down, people, this is G-rated) and we continued talking till daylight.  We actually pulled into the port and were anchored alongside the dock in Civitavecchia before we realized how long we’d been together.  When he left my cabin, he said ‘good night’ and kissed me on my cheek.  When I closed the door behind him, I leaned against it and I knew something really good had started.

And I still know.  He is my friend.  He is my partner.  He is a blessing and a power and I am so grateful for him.  We happened.  Everything is possible.

Happy Anniversary, Tony!  I love you madly!!

R

Jack…

is the name of the 12 year old kid who came to each and every one of our shows last cruise and sat in the front row and waved at me.  He got a message backstage after our third show of the cruise, and most of the cast came out to sign his autograph book and say hello to him.   We found out that he’s also a performer back home in LA, but what was most striking for me was his gorgeous sense of wonder and excitement about what we did that evening…especially as it was the show that I don’t really enjoy doing.  Nice lesson in flipping the switch and embracing the positive!    Thank you, Jack!  You’re a sweetheart!

R