My latest addiction

Well, I held out as long as I could. I remember the exact first time I heard about Sudoku--I was giftwrapping presents during the holiday time for a theater company in Anchorage this last december, when one of the boys that was also helping started wrapping a book of Sudoku puzzles for his mom. He described it to me, and I proceeded to forget about it.

But then they started to appear everywhere. I would see blog entries on friend's sites about it, I would hear the word when I was out shopping. Finally, I was watching the local news in the Twin Cities, and they said something about how doing puzzles or crosswords are a good way to keep the brain active. So I started doing crosswords and Sudoku! But Sudoku soon won out. My favorite place to play online? websudoku.com. If anyone has another site that they like, please share! What I like about this one is that it actually keeps track of your time and the number of puzzles you have solved, so you get to see what your average time is and what your fastest has been. They also have different levels of puzzles, which is nice.

So I'm addicted :) But I love it!

Come see "Pirate Tales"!

A Pirate's Life for Me!

For any of you in the Anchorage area, please come and see TFYP's production of "Pirate Tales", stories and songs about the life at sea. It opens tonight and plays Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays for this weekend and next (Fridays and Saturdays at 7:00, and Saturdays and Sundays at 3:00).

It's been great being up here for the show. And I'm really pleased with how the show turned out, so if you are around town, check it out. I've included a couple of promo shots that we did for the newspapers. Ciao for now!

Back in the AK

Hey everyone! It's good to be back in Alaska, however short it may be. It's almost strange, because I've only been gone for a month and a half. So it hasn't been long enough for people to even really miss me, almost as if I've been here but they just haven't seen me in a little while. But it's strange, because in that month and a half I have gone through so much change! So I think it is a more dramatic experience for me at this point.

But I love it up here. Of course, I've started rehearsals for "Pirate Tales" with Theatre for Young People, which is opening THIS FRIDAY at the Williamson Auditorium on the UAA campus. It's going to be a great show, and I was very encouraged by our first rehearsal last night. I was also a bit overwhelmed, because there is a lot for me to work on in the next few days--but all will be well :) It's really great, because all of the cast are my friends--so what better way to come up to Alaska?

I'm staying with my parents, in the room that I grew up in, but all has changed :) While I was gone, they took advantage of my emptying the room to finally give it a nice remodeling! It looks beautiful! They were able to put down pergo flooring, and my mom did a beautiful painting job on the walls--one wall in particular is painted with leaves all over it.... heck, why don't I take a photo?

As you can see, a lot of work went into the room, and it really is beautiful. It will be a nice guest room for people to stay in, which is great. You can also see, in the far left of the picture, part of a frame hanging on the wall--my mom took some paper that I had made by hand when I was in middle school and got it framed. Here's a clearer shot:


It's a nice touch--it's like part of me is left in the room :)

So I'm enjoying being back. It's funny; I almost feel like I'm having more trouble with jet lag from this trip, with only a 3-hour difference, than I have had coming back from Israel in the past, where there was an 11-hour difference! But I'm sure after today I'll have bounced into Alaska time :)

Bye for now,
Lindsay

The cutest kids ever!

I would like to take an indulgence with this blog: My cousin Ian and his wife Kimkoa have two beautiful boys. They bring me so much joy :) I wanted to share a couple photos of the two of them--just to brag a little bit. I'll be heading up to Alaska this Saturday, and I cannot wait to see them!

Matt's visit to Minnesota!

Hey everyone! Matt just got the chance to visit with me! For those of you who don't know, Matt and I went to undergrad together. He had to come to Minneapolis for some training at the end of the week, so he was able to stay over for the weekend, which was just great!

The first day we went out for breakfast, and then braved the Mall of America on a Saturday! We had a lot of fun, walking all over the mall, and then we took advantage of all the rides that are there and had a great time (even on the log ride, where I really didn't want to get wet--and didn't!). We came back home and I ended up making some venison chili which wasn't too shabby :) We then were able to go and see King Kong, which neither of us had seen yet. So it was a pretty full day!

The second day was pretty chill, but we were able to meet up with another friend, Fran M. from Alaska, for lunch. She's been living in the Twin Cities for about 4 years now, so it's great connecting with someone else who lives here. We went to a fabulous Cuban restaurant in Minneapolis where there were very few tables, but the wait was worth it! Other than that, it was watching Olympics and setting up Matt's very own... non-blog. As I'm sure Matt will post on his "non-blog", Matt hates the word blog. So, his new online journal will focus around reviews of movies that he has seen--and there will be quite the variety! He hasn't got anything up on it yet, but if you visit his site, you can join his mailing list to subscribe: www.squeaksreviews.blogspot.com Have a great week everyone!

I love the Olympics!

I absolutely love the Olympic Games. I get caught up in all of the personal stories; I cheer on all sorts of competitors in sports I may not even always watch. I laugh; I cry; I yell; I love it. Period.

Oh, and for the random thought: I sneeze just like my mother... it makes me miss you mom!

Two weeks and counting!

Hey everyone! I'm going back up to Alaska in two weeks! Don't worry, I haven't given up on living in Minnesota, this is just a trip back up to do "Pirate Tales" with Theatre for Young People (who are currently performing "Madeline", if you want to check it out). I'm super thrilled about having a chance to see everyone so soon after leaving--it almost doesn't seem real!

But speaking of Pirates, I recently took the What's My Pirate Name quiz, and I am:

My pirate name is:

Dirty Jenny Cash

You're the pirate everyone else wants to throw in the ocean -- not to get rid of you, you understand; just to get rid of the smell. You're musical, and you've got a certain style if not flair. You'll do just fine. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from fidius.org.

Curses! I happen to like my stink :) What's your pirate name? Leave a comment to let me know! Arr!

A rumor I heard...

So I've heard that Joaquin Phoenix is performing at the Williamson Auditorium this weekend in Anchorage, Alaska! That's the rumor that's going around :)

A surprise visit!

Well, last night I was just settling in to a night of TV (no plans has been made), when all of a sudden I got a call from my great aunt Theora! She is my maternal grandfather's youngest sister, and since there were nine children in the family (him being the oldest, her being the youngest), they were actually 17 years apart in age! So Thee is only about 4 or 5 years older than my mother :)

She was in town at the end of a business trip and called to see if I was available. What luck! I was so happy that I was free, and it was wonderful to spend some time with her. I was a poor reporter, in that I didn't even think to bring my camera to get a picture, but we looked fabulous :) What was extra nice about our visit is that when we stopped in Sioux Falls, her and her daughter-in-law were only able to be there for a couple of hours before they had to hit the road for Omaha, and with all of the family around, I really hadn't felt like we had gotten a chance to get to know each other. So this was a wonderful surprise visit :) Hooray!