Surfin’ Salsa

This is literally one of the most delicious things in the world.
3-5 mangos, chopped
3 jalepenos, chopped
1-2 lbs cooked shrimp, chopped
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
lime juice

Mix all together and chill for at least an hour (I’d aim for at least 3 hours to really let the flavors meld). This is delicious and nutritious. Serve with tortilla chips, or as a topping. Also, you can eat it with a spoon if you’re like me.

Children’s Books Book Club

You know what I’ve always wanted to do? A Book Club where adults read children’s books AND snack on food inspired by the books. Wouldn’t that be awesome?

Think about it…You could read all of those books you grew up loving, or ones that have come out more recently that you haven’t gotten the chance to read, or that have come out recently that you’ve read and really love. You’d have the chance to really talk about the books and enjoy the company of adults with bright minds (I mean, don’t get me wrong, but I only get to talk to younger children about these books. But think about it…after living a little more, you can get so much more out of these books!).

Also, think about some of the children’s books you’ve read. Who doesn’t want to snack on Turkish Delight while discussing the psychological effect that the White Witch had on Edmund in the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe? And you know you want to sip some butterbeer and eat some pumpkin pasties while talking about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named Voldemort’s transformation from life-sucking parasite to full-bodies snake man in the Harry Potter books.

And those are just the easy ones. What about trying some celery soda while reading Half Magic? Or butterscotch krimpets like in Maniac Magee? Or BLTs or Liverwurst while discussing the growth of Meg in A Wrinkle In Time?

I’ve always wanted to try some of the more interesting foods I read about in books, and I’m sure there are some people out there who also feel that way.

See this is a really great idea…I just need some folks to share it with (and kids are welcome)! Who’s in?!?

My Last Night in NYC

Last wednesday was my last day in NYC for he next two and a half weeks. We’re down to just two weeks now, and I still haven’t told you guys what I decide to do on my last night in the city.

Honestly, most of you probably already know what I did, because I think at least 70% of my readers follow me on twitter. The other 30% is a collection of family, friends, and other WordPress users who don’t follow me on twitter. (comment below and tell me which you are! 😊)
Anyway, for those of you still interested in this story, I asked “What do I want to do on my last night in NYC?” I don’t know why I even wasted the time asking. Everyone (and I dI in fact mean everyone. Even the Newsies cast members and security and merchandising) knows exactly what my answer was.

NEWSIES!

Yes, that’s right. I wanted to leave NYC on a high note, so of course I would have to see Newsies. I invited a friend’s sister to tag along, and she did, so I wasn’t alone.

Of course, most of Wednesday was spent putting the finishing touches on my room and my packing. With the anticipation of seeing Newsies, though, I was done packing really early, and had an hour to spare before I could even check in for my Southwest flight.

Side note: Why is it that time drags on when something exciting is coming up? We really need to figure this out.

 

Of course, since I was done packing early, I was ready to leave early, because I had so much extra time to get ready. So I headed out, hoping that spending some time on the subway would mellow me out and calm me down. It didn’t.

I was still a hyper mess when I got to Times Square, but I resisted the urge to go straight to the theatre. It was barely 4:15pm. The matinee wasn’t even over yet.

I had recently been upgraded to a Starbucks Gold Card Member, so I thought I’d work at maintaining that privilege. That stalled me for about 15 minutes. I don’t think I’ve ever been so grateful for a long line before.

I walked past the theatre again, only to see that the show finally had been let out, and there was a huge crowd of people waiting for autographs. I was able to take a picture of one family under the sign, which was actually really exciting. It’s the only picture they have in NYC of all three of them! I talked to them about Broadway a little bit, and then they left to catch a dinner reservation.

I wandered back and forth along the street for a bit and then I settled myself at the front of the SRO line to wait for Anthea to arrive and the lotto to happen.

As it turns out, I didn’t need to get in that line. My name was called! I won lotto tickets! And a couple guys from the show saw that I won lotto tickets and gave me thumbs up!

Anthea and I went to Schnipper’s to get dinner before the show, and it was absolutely delicious! I definitely want to go back there soon. It was so good!!!

Anthea and I were the first people in the theatre, and we got all settled and really enjoyed the show from out 4th row seats! SO AWESOME! We even got to move over three seats for the second half. The show was amazing as always, but the best part was the curtain call.

Everything went very smoothly until Jeremy came out. He slipped a slid feet first, rolled himself over and stood up to continue running to the center of the stage. He played it off very well as if nothing had gone wrong, but a couple of the guys (Jeremy included) had huge grins on their faces. They were definitely getting a kick out of the fact that Jeremy ate it on stage.

After the show, I stage doored as always, and took pictures with a couple of the guys. I had everyone who came out sign a white Ivy Cap (similar to a Newsies hat) that I had to commemorate my 10th show.

NOTE: Pictures will be posted, but I forgot my cord to connect my camera to my computer…so it’ll have to wait!! 

UPDATE: See the stage door pictures by clicking here.

Five Fabulous Friday Favorites! (July 6, 2012)

Here’s a list of some favorite things from the past week!

Favorite Fourth of July Treats:

Favorite Fruit (double entendre for a few people):

There are only four people who will get the double meaning of this…

Favorite Moment:

I don’t really have any photos of this or anything, but on Monday (as many of you know) Brendon Stimson made his Jack Kelly debut, and I went to go see it for many reasons, including the fact that I met his mom in Times Square and she talked about how she hoped Brendon would get to go on one day. Well, he did, and he was phenomenal, as I’ve said before. But my favorite moment was when he came out of the stage door that night, and when he saw me he said “Hey Steph, how’s it going?” which pretty much sealed the deal on that performance being the most memorable one.

Favorite Smile:

Isaac’s Live Lip-Dub Proposal is adorable. It brings happy tears to my eyes.

Favorite YouTube Video:

This video is just plain amazing, but Ben Fankhauser and Andrew Keenan-Bolger might be my favorites in it. I think Ben is actually singing about Andrew

Hope you enjoyed! Share your Friday Favorites in the comments below!!! Thanks all!

Related articles

• Brendon Stimson Is Jack Kelly (stephanieisms.wordpress.com)
• Five Fabulous Friday Favorites! (June 22, 2012) (stephanieisms.wordpress.com)
• Five Fabulous Friday Favorites! (June 8, 2012) (stephanieisms.wordpress.com)
• Five Fabulous Friday Favorites! (June 1, 2012) (stephanieisms.wordpress.com)

Five Fabulous Friday Favorites! (June 8, 2012)

Here’s a list of some favorite things from the past week!

Favorite Article:

BroadwaySpotted.com did an article on “How to Plan a Tony Party!”

How to Plan a Tony Party!

So, you want to plan a Tony party for your friends, right? Everyone loves to get together and watch the Awards with a group of like-minded people who would have as much fun cheering and screaming at the tv as they do. Just in case you need a few suggestions of what to do at the party, we’re here to help!

My team and I have come up with a few fun things that might spice up the party. (Click here to read the rest!)

Favorite Dinner:

Creamy Gnocchi Alfredo

Favorite Mixed Emotion Moment:

GRADUATION! My seniors have OFFICIALLY GRADUATED! I am so proud of all of them, but so sad I won’t see their smiling faces next year!

Homeroom 506, the Forgotten Homeroom.

Favorite TV Show:

ABC’s Revenge

Favorite YouTube Video:

Hope you enjoyed! Share your Friday Favorites in the comments below!!! Thanks all!

Related articles

• Five Fabulous Friday Favorites! (June 1, 2012) (stephanieisms.wordpress.com)
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• The First “Five Fabulous Friday Favorites”!!! (stephanieisms.wordpress.com)
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Five Fabulous Friday Favorites! (May 18, 2012)

Here’s a list of some favorite things from the past week!

Favorite Breakfast:

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Oatmeal

Favorite Exercise:

Chest Flyes (Strength Circuit 3 Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred)

Favorite Movie:

Favorite News:

Newsies is open-ended!!!

Favorite Song:

Hope you enjoyed! Share your Friday Favorites in the comments below!!! Thanks all!

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Jillian Michaels is kicking my butt…

So it’s been about eleven days since I started Jillian Michaels‘ 30 Day Shred workout. It’s brutal, and I’m still on level 1. Tragic, right? I also haven’t noticed a change in my body yet, but I wasn’t expecting to see those changes yet, especially since I’m still on the first level.

Fortunately, it is getting easier. I’m able to keep up with the workout without feeling quite as strained. I literally float through the final cardio bit, and die again during the abs circuit at the end. At this point, I’ve decided to move on to level 2 starting this Sunday. Depending on how the first day goes, I might come back to level 1 until I truly master it, but we will see.

I’ve been eating a lot better since I started the workout. I eat smaller portions at dinner, and I only have a sandwich and a piece of fruit for lunch. I also have fruit and cereal (cold or hot) for breakfast with a glass of water.

I thought now would be a good time to evaluate how my goals that I shared earlier were going.

GOALS:

1. To feel healthier. I’m not sure what this will entail yet, but some days I feel bad, and hopefully moving around a little bit more every day will help me feel better more days out of the week. I do feel better most days, and I’ve found that I have a much easier time falling asleep at night.
2. To look healthier/happier. Hopefully I’ll be able to trim away a couple of lbs, but really, I just want to have that happy glow that endorphins give you. Not sure how this is going because there are other stressors in my life that are affecting my appearance (slight change in responsibilities at work for the last week)
3. To keep working out daily after the 30 day Shred is over. Definitely hasn’t changed yet.
4. Drink more water everyday. I currently drink a little over one 32oz Nalgene BPA free bottle of water everyday. I’d like to be up to two a day at the end of these 30 days. Well, this has changed. I drink a glass of water in the morning, 32oz at work, another 8-16 oz while working out, 3-4 glasses at dinner, and then some more afterwards. Each glass is about 16oz, so this comes to at least 72oz a day, which is perfect! I’m very happy with this!

So in addition to this, Chris and I have decided to try GM’s diet during our first week of summer break. The first link that he found (I think via Pinterest) is here. But a better and more detailed explanation can be found on the official website here. I don’t know how well this will actually go, but it might be interesting. I can’t wait to give it a try! Hopefully by then, Jillian Michaels and I will be friends and I’ll be working out on level 3. (Dreams do come true…IN SANTA FE… Sorry, I can’t resist Newsies references!)

Related articles

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• Ripped in 30, Week 3 (funfitchic.net)

Looking Inside Yourself.

Over the last few weeks, and especially the last few days, I have taken a look at me. I mean, I have been really delving into what makes me who I am, and how I can improve myself in different ways.

One of the first things I realized, was that I need me time. I take some time to myself, but I need a different type of me time. I need to go on an adventure alone, or try something new alone. I need to embrace my independence as a woman of the 21st century, and really experience some of life. I don’t know what all of this means yet, but I know it needs to happen. I’ll probably start with taking the time to go out on my own this weekend. Central Park might just be calling my name! Maybe I’ll wander the High Line, or visit Astoria. All I know is I need to go out on my own and take in some sights.

I also realized that I want to exercise. Yes, exercise. I want to do something that makes me feel good, something that works as a killer stress relief, something that can really beat the anxiety and frustration out of me. This deep desire led me to the cruel but wonderful Jillian Michaels 30 day shred. I wrote about this late last Friday, and I started the workout on Sunday. It’s brutal. It’s painful. It’s tough. But when I’m first done with my workout, I feel so accomplished, so it’s all worth it. About an hour later, I realized how much pain I was in. My upper-back was sore, and the front of my thighs were burning every time I walked up or down stairs…not a good thing when you live in a city that is built up and down. So I called my dad. I explained the pain I was feeling to him, and what stretches Jillian Michaels had recommended that I didn’t think were working for me. We talked for a few minutes and came up with some alternative stretches that I feel more, and I’ll be incorporating them into my cool-down tonight. Hopefully, that will help, and I’ll be a little less sore tomorrow.

Another thing I realized is that there are some things that I do that I later realize aren’t the best choice, and I decide to try to be better and not do it next time. Sometimes, it works, and I do improve. But there are somethings that are still a huge struggle and I don’t quite manage to keep up with it. For example, I realized that the breakfasts I was having weren’t doing much for me. They didn’t make me feel better and healthier like I hoped. So I tried a green smoothie. I used Linda Wagner’s recipe from her blog (you can read it here). I really liked it. It tasted good, I felt better. But I got lazy, and couldn’t get myself to make it every morning. And I didn’t always remember to put the ingredients on the shopping list. So I started making excuses. But like I said at the start of this blog,

people only fail when they do something along the lines of quitting for good. Taking a break is one thing. Totally fine. Heck, even if it’s a twenty year break, it’s still fine. The problem arises when you are too scared to come back to a project and it keeps you away.

So I need to keep taking my own advice, and even when I struggle with some of this stuff, I need to keep going and not give up. I need to be strong, and so do you! Because, as Davey says in Newsies,

“Now is the time to seize the day, stand down the odds and seize the day. Minute by minute, that’s how you win it. We will find a way, but let us seize the day. Courage can not erase our fears. Courage is when we face our fears.”

And so,  I need to face my fears of failure, and stand up and try to “Seize the Day.”

Feeling Healthier…

It’s a real struggle sometimes to get yourself to feel healthy, especially when, like me, you have a desk job that keeps you cooped up in a tiny little room for nine hours a day (ah, the life of a volunteer). I love what I do, and so I don’t even feel the need to run screaming from the room ever. Which is part of my problem. ‘

Basically, I don’t have enough day light to work out outside, and I can’t afford a gym membership. So I’m taking to analyzing my situation.

I get up around 5:15am every morning. It takes me anywhere from 30-45 minutes to get ready, and I need to be downstairs by 6am for our community’s morning prayer. Prayer usually takes about 15 minutes, and then I have until 6:30 for breakfast and packing a lunch if I haven’t started that before prayer. At 6:30, I leave for work, and that takes about an hour where I walk from community to the subway, take the subway, and then walk to work. I spend 9 hours working, so that puts the end of the day at 4:30pm, which isn’t entirely accurate because we almost always have students lingering. I then have to head home, which takes an hour, and I usually get home between 5:45pm and 6:00pm. Then, if I’m not cooking, I have between 40 minutes to an hour for myself before prayer, which can happen as early as 6:40, and then dinner usually runs from 7pm until 8pm. If I’m on clean-up, I don’t get done until 8:30, and by that time I only have half an hour before I need to be in bed to get 8 hours of sleep (operating on the assumption that it takes people, on average, 14 minutes to fall asleep).

Basically, what I have discovered is that between all of my other responsibilities, I have approximately a one hour slot and a 30 minute slot everyday where I can do something like working out. 45 minute work outs won’t work, and running for 30 minutes doesn’t make me feel better, so I’m going to try something new.

Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred.

Yep. 20 minute workouts that will kill me over again every day for the next 30 days.

We’ll see how this goes. Hopefully, it will get easier as time goes on…if not, well, anyone with the courage to actually read this blog will probably hear me rant about it.

GOALS:

1. To feel healthier. I’m not sure what this will entail yet, but some days I feel bad, and hopefully moving around a little bit more every day will help me feel better more days out of the week.
2. To look healthier/happier. Hopefully I’ll be able to trim away a couple of lbs, but really, I just want to have that happy glow that endorphins give you.
3. To keep working out daily after the 30 day Shred is over.
4. Drink more water everyday. I currently drink a little over one 32oz Nalgene BPA free bottle of water everyday. I’d like to be up to two a day at the end of these 30 days.

I’m sort of viewing this thing as a form of the Insanity or P90X workout. I know it’s probably not really, but I think this is way more manageable for me, and I can always find the time everyday to get this done. So I’ll try to keep track of how all of this goes, and keep anyone who is interested in the loop.

GO ME!!!

My Newsies Gift! (aka the most exciting night of my life)

I saw Newsies for the first time just under a month ago at their last preview performance. Unfortunately, Kara Lindsay was sick and couldn’t go on. Unfortunately, her understudy hadn’t really run through a rehearsal yet. Fortunately, Laurie Veldheer is a phenomenal actress and pulled out all of her stops and really did the role of Katherine Plumber a whole lot of justice. As amazing as she was, I wanted to see Kara Lindsay, so I knew I had to come back. That night, I also saw my favorite little Broadway actor, the one and only Lewis Grosso, as Les, and goodness can that kid sing. He adds the perfect amount of charm to the character of Les, and he is a lot like the Les in the movie! I was happy with the show.

Still, I wanted to see it again…and I really wanted to try to get tickets for Opening Night. Sadly, I realized that I couldn’t ALWAYS put Newsies first, and that I needed to stay at work to help my students. It was a heartbreaking decision to make, especially since the person who I work with said I could go if I wanted to (it’s so nice to have people understand how important something is). So, while I didn’t go to opening night, I tried to rush the first show after opening night. I didn’t get it. I must have looked pretty devastated though, because one of the Nederlander staff members told me I could see if the box office was selling standing-room-only (SRO) tickets.

When I came to NYC, I swore that SRO tickets were stupid. Who wants to stand for two to three hours with nothing to lean against or support you? But this was NEWSIES! Could I really pass on the opportunity to finally see Kara Lindsay? Could I ignore the opportunity to see Jeremy Jordan, Ben Fankhauser, Ryan Breslin, Andrew Keenan-Bolger, Mike Faist, Brendon Stimson, Ryan Steele, and Garret Hawe again? (I had to stop naming them…there’s 34 people I wanted to see again). NO! I told myself, Get in there and get yourself some tickets! Well, I was with a friend who was visiting NYC, so despite telling myself that, I needed to see what she wanted to do. Thank God she decided to get in line too! And that they had SRO Tickets!

So for some two and a half hours, I forgot that I was standing and fell into the world of the 1899 newsboys strike, and was once again awed by how amazing this production is. That’s when I made the decision to get the cast a gift. I knew they all loved candy and that Andrew Keenan-Bolger was a sucker for Hot Cheetos, but I wanted to do something original

So I brainstormed, and scoured pinterest for inpiration. There, I stumbled upon MummyDeals.org’s Candy Bar Poem (follow her on twitter or check out her blog!!!).

I thought it was creative and so I spent a few days working on a letter to send the Newsies cast, and a few more days hunting for the perfect candies to tape into place. I wrote mine out on the wrong side of wrapping paper so I could just roll it up and call it wrapped. Adding a few more bags of candy I dropped it off at the theater after work on Friday.

I hung around outside the Nederlander waiting for Alyssa to meet me for the Newsies Lottery. I had doubts about us actually winning, but I knew it would be nice to hang out with her for a little bit.

The shocker of all shockers happened…we won tickets! So we stayed in the Times Square area for the next two hours and the best thing happened…Kara Lindsay replied to my tweet! I was going to get to meet her (FINALLY) after the show (I missed her after the matinee because she hadn’t come out by the time we had to leave to take a friend to the airport).

I was on cloud nine. Things were looking bright and cheerful as Alyssa and I walked into Forever21 for a little light shopping. We weren’t having too much success, and were about to leave when my phone went off. I looked at the alert and a little squeal escaped me and my eyes teared up…Kara Lindsay had mentioned me in a tweet! with a picture!?! I couldn’t get my phone to load fast enough and I was greeted with this darling picture:

Aaron Albano, Capathia Jenkins, Andrew Keenan-Bolger, and Thayne Jasperson with the poster I sent them! (Image by Kara Lindsay)

They got my poster! And from the looks of it, they thought it was pretty cool too! I felt even more awesome! It was fabulous! I thought the day couldn’t get any better.

Oh how wrong I was! By intermission, the Official Newsies Twitter had mentioned me in a tweet that linked to their blog…and this picture:

The Newsies put my poster on their Tumblr!

I practically fainted! This was so amazing and so exciting. I was shaking with excitement and happiness. It only got better after the show when I got to meet most of the cast outside the stage door and they “sort of” knew who I was (I may have been giving them hints, nbd). I got to meet Kara Lindsay, and got my third picture with Jeremy Jordan, Andrew Keenan-Bolger, Ben Fankhauser, and Garret Hawe. It was the perfect way to spend an evening!!!