Back to Alaska?

It's true folks, I'm heading back to Alaska for another visit--although technically this one is for work rather than pure vacation--I'll still have fun though! TBA Theatre will be putting on "Rail Tales: Songs and Stories of the Railroad" as the latest Folk's Tales creation, and my friends at the company have lovingly decided to bring me up to be a part of it! Especially because I've been with Folk's Tales for 6 years (is that right guys?), it makes it that much more special that I get to be a part of the show. Of course, playing the violin helps a lot :) But I like to think they want my glowing presence on stage too, right?

Unfortunately, this does mean that I miss out on my friend Ara's wedding--I hope that it's spectacular and special, and I can't wait to see some pictures! On the fortunate side, I get to be at my friend Amanda's wedding (at least part of it, if I can get away from rehearsal for a bit!).

Meanwhile, I've been requested to learn Orange Blossom Special for the show. Those who are familiar with the song know how difficult the first part can be--the shuffle chords are a bit strenuous to anyone, but particularly those of us with small hands that have a hard time stretching that fourth finger out! But I'm going to give it my all, that's for sure! I intend to practice at least twice a day every day until I get to Anchorage (and probably once I'm there too!). If I start to sound like something presentable, then maybe it will make it into the show! So there's a little teaser for those of you in the Anchorage area... go see the show and see if she plays the song! Right now, all I can say is that my neighbors are unaware of my squeakings, thanks to my trusty electric violin that I don't amplify :) The perfect way to suck for a while and not let the whole complex know it!

So those of you in the Anchorage area, drop me a line if you want to squeeze some visiting time in. Prior to the performances of Rail Tales (February 9, 10, 11), I'll probably be MIA for the most part, but I'll have some time after that before I head back to the Twin Cities.

I love you all!

Snowboarding!!!

So, even though I still haven't put stuff up about my trip to Alaska in December, I didn't want to fall behind on other activities either. So since I have a couple pictures from my snowboarding trip, I thought I would share those!

My friend Melissa teaches snowboarding during the winter (on top of her regular full-time job), so some of us at work thought it would be fun to go out and have her teach us. The group started with one… and it soon ballooned to 10! It was a little bit crazy, but I was really impressed with Melissa's ability to focus on all of us.

And the result? Well, I'm certainly not ready to graduate from the bunny hill, but I actually did okay! There were a few things that I need to work on, but I'm having a good time figuring them out. My poor knees were pretty sore by the end of the night, as I had more trouble with the forward leaning than the backward leaning, but I iced them when I got home and didn't end up with too much bruising! I did have aching muscles, but not nearly as bad as I thought I would get. I bought a package deal, so I have two more trips covered for the future.

It really was a lot of fun, and here are a couple pictures from when we were wrapping up in the chalet:

My goodness!

My goodness, I've failed all of you in my blogness... is that a word? Anyway, I realized that I hadn't put anything on my blog since returning from Alaska, so I better give some sort of update.

I don't know why I haven't felt like updating my blog. I usually enjoy writing something up and sharing some pictures and such, but I suppose everything has an ebb and flow, and right now I'm just a little behind the curve.

I'm back to work, and I really enjoy working with the people I'm working with. I'm going to go snowboarding for the first time tomorrow night, so I hope my rear doesn't get too sore from all the falling :) But I'm also looking forward to it. I also have pictures from my time in Alaska--there are some really great shots! So maybe sometime soon I can get myself in gear to start posting again. But for now, whoever ends up reading this, know that I'm okay :)

Ciao for now,
Lindsay