The Hunger Games Trilogy

Much time has passed since my last post. Busy days have made weeks blend together and before I know it spring is already coming to a close as summer's knocking at my door. No matter how busy I've been or how heavy, blood shot and undeniably tired my eyes are, I just can't help but read a good book. Or in this case, good books. The Hunger Games was recommended to me by a stranger standing next to me in the book isle of Target. As I hemmed and hawed at all the options the lady to my right seemed to notice my frustration as I tried to find something appealing to read. "You should read The Hunger Games trilogy. You will love it" she said. Why not? I told myself and I'm so glad I did.

 I'm a big fan of Suzanne Collins books. Although the writing is simple and easy to follow it is the intricate concept that makes this book a page turner. From the moment you start reading the first book you are immediately intrigued with what will happen next. Suzanne does a great job keeping her readers continuously entertained while still maintaining a fluid story line, natural growth of relationships between characters and descriptive moments that allow you to picture each detail in your mind.

Each book had a surprising factor. There's something is each book that leaves your jaw dropped a little and maybe even a little gasp here and there. You fall in love with certain characters, your angry with certain characters and you hate with passion at certain characters just as "the girl on fire" does. The only thing that I would tell you with concern is that you will not want to put the book down. No matter how important of a day you might have ahead or how tired you might be you will not be able to put these books down. On that note, read with caution!=)

If you haven't read the books yet, definitely do. I believe that the odds of you pleasantly devouring each book is ever in your favor!

Christmas is fast approaching. Our tree is lit, the stockings are hung and the scent of cinnamon is drifting through our home. In the background I can hear the little chattering of...... uh, my kids telling me of all the things they want? All of a sudden my mind comes to a screeching halt! Okay, I get the fact that kids want everything under the sun but I definitely don't want my kids to think that Christmas is all about getting "things". My 5 year old comes up to me with a magazine in hand and shows me 4 pages of toys that he so kindly circled to indicate the items that he would like from Santa. Wow. No bueno.

No matter what religion you practice or how you celebrate this holiday season I think that we all can agree on the importance of teaching our children that giving to others is far better than receiving. I told my 5 year old that he needed to go through his toys and pick out what he would like to donate to other boys and girls. I was unbelievably surprised at how excited he ended up getting when he fully took on the task. My son transformed from "wanting" for himself to "wanting" to give back. Although this might change tomorrow I am still excited to see his growth in such a positive direction.

There are so many struggling people who are waiting for all of us to put our "wants" aside so that we can give them what they need. If you feel compelled to do so, please visit the site below (one of many sites!) and see how you can be of service to a family in need. Not just this holiday season but always!

http://www.habitat.org/cd/giving/lander/default.aspx?media=Google&source_code=DHQOQ1107W1GGR&keyword=needy&gclid=COGg0tLQg60CFRJthwod4zoPKw&tgs=MTIvMTUvMjAxMSAzOjEyOjA3IEFN

Getting GLITTER fever!

I think most mom's would agree that keeping up with a regular Mani and Pedi is just plain difficult. With our kiddos, schedules, home and work...how can we possibly touch up our nails? I think it's important for every mom to feel beautiful and sometimes it's the little things (like having our nails looking nice) that can make all the difference in how we feel about ourselves. Thanks to Cosmopolitan Magazine, a very obvious solution was brought to light.

Facets of Fuchsia

 I decided to paint my nails instead of getting them done at a salon. I just don't have the time to go. I painted my nails a dark purple/blue and I absolutely loved the color, especially since it's so fitting for this time of year. After a few days of washing dishes, taking care of my kids, laundry, cleaning etc, my nails began to chip away. I was frustrated at the thought of having to take enough time to make sure my entire finger wasn't purple from the polish. Cosmo made me realize that there is an easy and quick fix to my problem. The solution? Chunky glitter polish. Yep, glitter! Now, at first I thought to myself- "Really? I don't think so....I'm not 15yrs old!". For some reason I felt as though I wasn't able to wear some fun, funky polish. I mean, c'mon...I'm a MOM!! WRONG!!....even more reason to wear some fun colors and top it off with some dazzling glittery polish.

 I picked myself up Revlon's Fuchsia chunky glitter polish and let me tell you how easy it was to put on my nails and how effective it was at covering up the chipped polish that hid underneath. Viola! I saved time covering my chipped nail polish as well as adding a little flare to my style. It's the little beauty tips that help make a mom's life a smidge easier.

I survived.... my auditions.

So, my auditions came and went. All of my preparation for this audition was put to the test the moment that I stepped in front of the casting director's.

The morning of the audition:
I woke up early....REALLY early. Too early in fact. At 4:45am my cell phone alarm went off, echoing in my ear drums. All I could think of was how comfortable my warm bed was. I got ready and left my house hoping to bypass the horrific LA traffic that was more than likely waiting for me. Sure enough I sat in traffic for over an hour. The worst part was I didn't even have my coffee to give me some sort of morning boost!

I arrived at the audition venue and noticed a large line of people wrapping around the old building. As I walked up to the line of people I couldn't help but wonder who was a better vocalist or actor than me. I patiently stood in line until everyone was brought into a large, stuffy room. I soon found out that I wouldn't get the chance to audition for another 6 hours!! Let's fast forward 6hrs, past the boring story of me sitting on my butt for 5 hours and spending the last hour driving to a Starbucks for tea; It was finally time for me to audition!

I stood next to the door that I would soon enter, hoping to amaze the director by giving a superior audition. My heart was beating pretty fast and my palms began t sweat. I kept telling myself to relax as I took in a deep breath but I couldn't help the involuntary shaking. I walked into the audition room, handed the pianist my music and took center stage. I smiled and the director's smiled back. I began to sing "I dreamed a dream" from Les Mis and finished after belting "shame". The director said "that was very good" then looked my resume and head shot over again and then told me thank you for auditioning. I left feeling defeated.

On a positive note~ I am happy with my audition and for the wonderful experience! I love meeting new people and having the chance to do what I love and grow from each audition that I have.

A friend of mine that is a very famous person in the entertainment world once told me this: "there are many talented people in this world but the people that will make it are the one's that can control their nerves. The other 75% wont be able to handle the pressure".

Now that I'm a wife and mommy it is definitely a different "ball game" when going on auditions and being part of the entertainment world. There's a lot of benefit such as how I approach my auditions now that I'm a wife and mom. I appreciate each opportunity and respect the arts to a new level. The trick is balancing it all! That will be a work in progress!

Surviving the Lion's Den

Yes, I'm here. Although I haven't posted in a while, I can assure you all (if anyone is out there haha!) that I am still circulating in the world of "blogs". Life has been crazy and somehow each day, week and month seems to exceed the craziness of yesterday.

 I'm jumping back into the world of performing and hoping that I can keep my nerves in check. My un-ending love for performing is the reason I've jumped back into the lions den. Why do I call it the lions den? Well, auditioning for something is never an easy task. Auditioning requires confidence, ability in whatever you have to showcase, as well as being dynamic, fun, energetic....blah, blah, blah...you get the picture. More importantly for me, it's keeping my nerves in "check". If I can do all that then I have to wait and see if the "lion" is going to chew me up and spit me out (reject me) or allow me to live (a call back).  A call back is HUGE. A call back means they liked you enough to have you come back again and hopefully WOW them again.

I'll never forget a time I was in a singing competition. I knew I had to wow the judges and so the pressure was on for me to remember my lines, show emotion and energy in my acting and hit all the right notes. The room that I auditioned in was dim. There was a small stage and in front of me was a table. At the table sat 3 lions...I mean judges;) The judges didn't smile, talk or even turn away for a second. They kept their gaze on me as if to not miss the moment when I failed. I took my spot on the stage. My feet were firmly planted on the little black piece of tape that was stuck to the stage floor. I nodded to my pianist to begin and away I went. I became the character and lived, at that moment, as if the words I was singing were true reflections of my real life. I wouldn't have been able to tell you what was reality and not because I became the character I was supposed to be. Once my audition is done it's as if a light switch has been turned on. Reality is back and the fantasy of the character is safely placed in the lyrics on my sheet music. This particular audition went very well and the "lion's" were pleased. I won the competition and all the hard work and time put into had payed off.
So, now I'm back in the whirlwind of auditioning and now practicing for a few auditions that are coming up. I'm very excited as well as being very nervous. It's the bitter and the sweet, right?

My kids are amazing when it comes to me practicing for an audition. I'll sing my song to them and they'll listen, critique or sing along with me. Perhaps I have a few performers in my brood? No matter what happens I can walk away from each audition with a smile on my face knowing that I am doing something that I love! Keep the dream alive, folks!!

Today was a crazy day... one of those days where you feel like everything has literally been passing by with snail speed. I felt completely overwhelmed yet extremely bored. Is that even possible? Apparently. The past few weeks have actually been pretty crazy; preschool, family gatherings, deadlines, adventures...you name it and it seemed to happen.

One particular event that took place, sometime during these past few weeks, has made me think... a lot. Do you ever have those days where you just sit for some seemingly endless amount of time about a cluster of stuff that should be nothing but really is something? Wow. I just confused myself so I assume I've lost any of you reading this. I guess what I am trying to explain is that sometimes things happen that leave you feeling like you need to ponder the experience. You have to dig deep and figure out what it all meant. But sometimes when you dig deep you have a rush of unwanted emotions that saturated your clear thinking. These emotions leave you foggy, drained and confused. You almost feel angry for even wasting your time on these emotions because you most likely will never find a resolution as to what it all means. Life is funny that way, don't you think? We live each day, some days better than others, and are left with experiences that can either move us in a positive way, enriching our lives further, or in a negative way which will drag our hearts down to our feet. Or sometimes you left in the middle. Your neither up or down, just smack dab in the middle trying to make sense out of something.

love not hate

All through school my biggest fear wasn't whether or not I made it on a sports team, dance or leading role in the play. I feared not being liked. I was petrified at the thought that someone wouldn't think I was nice or fun to be around. I had such a difficult time accepting the fact that someone may not like me.

As an adult my feelings on this have changed quite a bit. I'm sure there are people that don't like me and for reasons I will never know or understand BUT there is nothing I can do about that. I except it as their problem, not mine. I don't feel that way I did when I was younger and as a matter of fact I don't think much about it except when I think about my children going through the same feelings that I had.

Now, as a mother, I have a new fear.A fear that my kids will be engulfed with the same worries that I had growing up. I don't ever want them to feel sadness or pain, yet I know that it's inevitable. I hate to think that someone may not like my kid!! Of course, I think to myself, "how in the world could someone not adore my child?" but, as life goes, someone will hurt their feelings and break their heart's.

I hope that we can all be aware of how our children will feel as they go through school. Our children may be scared to meet knew people for the mere fact of being rejected. I believe that it's important to treat each other with an open heart and absolute kindness so that our kids can see how to treat each other.