20 Year Service Award Pictures

After the dress rehearsal...

I'm lucky to work with such talented singers!!!!

Me with Rhonda, our director.

My friend Luisito was celebrating his 20th year with Disney. CONGRATS!

This is What I Do...

Since I came home from Utah, I've been working CONSTANTLY. Phew. I'm tired, but I've been doing the 20+ Service Awards again this year and its been great. Here are a few pics from the dress rehearsal today.






OH: And by the way... it was warmer in UTAH today than it was here in Orlando. Just thought I'd let y'all know. :)

Sunday Sunshine!

This will be a fun week.

And here's my SUNSHINE from this past week:

1. It is assumed that my heart is OK. I obviously didn't advertise this issue on my blog because I didn't want to alarm people, but from Monday until Wednesday last week I was experiencing these weird chest pains. I couldn't breathe too deeply or a sharp pain would shoot out- right where my heart was. Let me remind you all that I am a singer... and breathing deeply is a little bit important. Anyway, I couldn't bend over or sleep on my left side either. It was a little freaky. BUT I have been TOTALLY swamped with rehearsals for a special event and have been in shows at the same time. No time for a doctor! And then the not being able to breathe right was making me light headed... not good. So yeah- Wednesday I broke down and went to the doctor. The nurse freaked out and got me into a room before I even filled out papers. She kept asking me if they needed to call 911 and stuff. Hmmmmm... they take chest pains very seriously! Anyway, long story short, I was there for about three hours while they examined me, did an EKG, and determined that my heart, from the test results is OK. HOWEVER, what I was feeling is NOT normal so they want to try to get to the bottom of it. So next week I'll go back to the doctor... blood work... whatever else. But the test said I was fine, and the pains have tapered off. So I think we're good to move on.

2. I'm intense during the rehearsal process. All week I've been trying to pace myself with rehearsals AND shows. HOWEVER, this coming week I only have to think about the special I'm working on. YAY!!! It's funny because I am REALLY intense when I'm in these rehearsals, and all last year I think everyone thought I was WAY too serious about the whole thing. Yeah- I come off as intense and really troubled and whatever else... and shy. Yup, the shy thing comes out in me during all this. It's weird. Ah well, EMBRACE it, Ames. Ha. ANYWAY- the point of all this is that I am really happy that for the next three days I get to enjoy doing this other show. I love doing it!

3. THREE WEEKS TILL MY DISNEY CRUISE!

4. This morning my mom woke up and heard a cat meowing. She went downstairs and there's "Leslie" the cat. She'd come in the doggy door to greet my mom. (Cuz really, who doesn't just walk into the homes of strangers???) I thought it was a cute story.

5. Chuck has been researching jobs in a place I would really like to go...

6. My roommate Hannah is getting addicted to The Office. I love to see people head down that path. :-)

7. Happy Birthday to my cousin Shannon and Melissa Porter!

8. I really loved carving and painting pumpkins this weekend. Yesterday was just a great day overall. I needed a day off SO badly, and it was pretty much perfect. Yay. I love days like that.

9. GAS PRICES ARE GOING DOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

10. CHRISTMAS IS TWO MONTHS AWAY!!! I love the holidays!!!

11. I cleaned my bedroom yesterday. THANK HEAVEN.

12. I got some fantastic shoes while I was in Utah. I wore them today and it made me happy.

13. I got some salt to refill our water softener with. Das all I'm gonna say.

14. My roommate Kim is home for a few weeks! YAY! I've missed her as she's been floating around on a boat for eight weeks. I know it's good for her, but I'm selfish and would rather have her here.

15. Speaking of my roommates... the other night I was hyper and we all had fun. It was late. Sometimes it's just good to chill with the girls!

16. Thank you to Bethany who left behind some magazines that I am finding very interesting as of late. Again, das all I'm gonna say.

17. Chuck still loves his little book I gave him. He shows it to everyone. Ha.

18. The weather here is AMAZING right now! SO SO PRETTY! Although I'm a little bummed that I now find the pool a bit too chilly for swimming. Those good ol days have passed.

19. I made yummy apple cider last night. It tasted great!

20. I had a great Sunday and I'm ready for a new week!!! Be happy this week, y'all!

Pumpkins: Galinda, Elphaba, and Meatloaf.

Bring on the Halloween festivities! I can hardly believe this is the second Halloween we've done all this together! Weird. Time flies.

Let the creativity begin...

Yes. I definitely made Galinda and Elphaba pumpkins. NERD. Nerd I say.

The guts of the pumpkin have always been my favorite part of Halloween. I love the squishiness!!

And, because it's tradition in my family, our Halloweeny dinner was chili, cornbread, and apple cider. Somehow it's just not the same here where it's 82 degrees. Sigh.

The finished products.
If you'll notice at the bottom of the pumpkin pile is a little brown pumpkin.
It's in honor of our future kitty, Meatloaf.

Something to Blog About

On this lovely Saturday afternoon, I, along with all other Americans, decided to take a trip to Wal-Mart.

Drive drive drive.

OH LOOK!!! Gas is selling for $2.72!!! (Am I REALLY getting excited that gas is selling for that "cheap"?) It was 3:30 PM.

Shop. Wait. Pay. Drive drive dri...

Same gas station. 4:24 PM. $2.55.

As naive as it is to say, if this is what the bad economy is doing for me, I won't complain.

Amy Still Lives at BYU

The MDT department at BYU, in their fantastic new wing of the RB, has created a wall of featured alumni. This is what I found when I got there:



It made me happy. I miss college life.

Kensie Games

While I was in home I discovered a few games to play with Kensie. My mom's condo has a loft- which came in very handy when entertaining an 11 month old!




I just think this is funny. :-)

It's FINALLY Official!

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I'm going on a Disney cruise! Ha ha. HA. Anyway, November 13-16 I am taking off and hitting the high seas with my friends Lindsey and Tyler. Yep. I need another vacation- And I've only been home from my last vacation for a week. So yes, I am going to take full advantage of my Disney lifestyle and get on a big boat and float around in the water for three days. Kara- I need to get on YOUR ship!!! Too bad I don't have seven days to spare right now....hmmmmmm. But for now, the three day cruise will totally do!



What else is going on? Hmmmm. Tomorrow is my eighth day of work in a row. I can't wait for Saturday when I'm off! But I've been lucky enough to be in rehearsals for a big special event (the same one I did last year in the big blue dress for those of you who remember...) and it's going really well. It's hard doing shows AND rehearsals, but whatever. I'll survive. I love singing different music and doing something other than B and B. It's grrrrrrrrrrrreat! (And I don't mind AT ALL that it only takes me ten minutes to get to the rehearsal studio!)

OH! And here's the sunshine of my week:

* Coming home from vacation was great because I got to get back into my normal eating habits. I'm not eating out several times a day! YIPPEE!

* Three months and three weeks left on my contract... but who's counting?

* I'm back in Orlando with a boy who keeps me entertained and happy. :-)

* Kensie had her one year portraits taken in an outfit I helped pick out. I LOVE THAT BABY!

* I'm driving my own car again! (For the first few days back I kept wanting to push down the clutch though... my car is automatic. That was funny...)

* The holidays are coming! I LOVE THE HOLIDAYS!

* I bought a cute wallet in Utah which really has helped keep my zillions of cards in one place. Who knew changing purses could be so easy when you have a wallet to throw in there?! :-)

* I'm just thankful for who I am and the way I choose to live my life. My choices create SO much freedom in my life. Some would say my lifestyle and beliefs are restricting, but I CAN NOT testify enough how much FREEDOM living simple gospel principles gives me. I am reminded this every single day, and I am so very thankful for that knowledge.

* I've been reading the book, "Making it on Broadway: Actors' Tales of Climbing to the Top." In so many ways the stories of these actors inspire and motivate me, but more than anything, I am reminded how much MORE important it is to have a personal life. More than a big career in show business I want PEOPLE. I want a husband and kids and even a little white picket fence! Performing is amazing. It is a drive for me as a person, BUT it's not MY LIFE. I don't ever want it to become that.

http://www.amazon.com/Making-Broadway-Actors-Tales-Climbing/dp/1581153465/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1224635031&sr=8-1

I think I do a pretty good job at keeping a balance, if I do say so myself. :-) (However this hasn't always been the case. I spent most of my BYU years focused on my performing life... I didn't leave any time for social things or dating... ah well... it all worked out. Ha.)

* And finally: The weather here is STUNNING right now! I love it. The temperature is perfect and there's a slight breeze and hardly any humidity. Incredible.


ALSO: I am in need of yummy, really healthy recipes. Lean meat dishes, salads, anything you've got. HELP!

Breathing Again

I'm still on Utah time. I should go to bed. BUT I don't have to work till like 3:00 tomorrow. So who cares, right?

Well, it's all over. I had an amazing and wonderful trip to Utah, and truthfully, if I had the choice, I'd have stayed much longer and spent time with the rest of the people I really wanted to see (Laurel, Michelle, Tara, Melissa, Seidi, Kevin, Jeff... the list goes on and on...) BUT tonight I'm snapped back into the reality that my life is here in Florida. I have a bedroom. I have roommates. I have a closet. I have a boy who was super cute to come home to, and I have responsibilities in the ward and at work. Time to get back to it all. And I can do it. Yep. I can!

Y'all know the struggle I've been having with my professional life and the monotony of it all. I have mixed feelings about being back. Today I had a twinge of excitement to get back on the stage again- so that was a GREAT sign, but I also can't help but think about how there are four more months left on my contract. (ACTUALLY, my contract is up four months from TODAY!) There's still a big hill to get over, and I am praying to do it joyfully and to make a difference in the lives of the people I work with. I have been sooooo blessed with this job and with the people I have met here in Orlando- there's no need to want to rush through the tail end of the experience!

So here I am. Rejuvenated and refocused. Ready to go back to callings and work and eating healthy and working out. Ready to go back to "a dates" once a week, ready to go back to my swimming pool and keeping the house clean. Ready for the monotony of dancing cutlery and ready to bring some happiness to the lives of my coworkers. I still miss my family and friends. I miss the people who know me so well and who I know love me. This is all a recent development in my life... ha ha... I used to have no qualms about leaving Utah and change and whatever else. But I've grown attached to my roots. Weird how getting older has done that to me...

Fittingly, this post is titled "Breathing Again." I feel much better than I did a few weeks ago. I'm breathing and enjoying things again. Life is good.

And before I go to bed... I, of course, must post more Kensie pics...

Shoe shopping! I needed a pic of her in her winter hat!

Sucking on Nana's hoodie. YUM!

I DO NOT WANT TO BE A BUTTERFLY FOR HALLOWEEN, PEOPLE!

And this is me and Matt. My cousin. He grew up some time between May and now. I feel old.

Another New Obsession

I saw Aida twice this week... this is my new obsession.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3n-ZXBWdFw

(It won't let me post it on my blog...)

Jam Packed and Wanting More...

SNOW!

I'm considering this my Christmas.
WHERE ARE THE PRESENTS?!
AND THE LIGHTS?!!
AND THE MUSIC???!

I'm really so happy that I got to see some snow this season. And since I bought three coats while I was here, I got the chance to use them! Yippee! Yes, I live in Florida and I bought three coats while I was here- it makes TOTAL sense.

Do I really HAVE to go back to Florida in two days? I don't wanna. Hmph. I know that many of you would LOVE to take my place and go live in Florida for the winter months- I'm taking submissions for anyone who wants to play princess for a living while you're there.

The last couple weeks have been SO SO SO good for me. I have been OVERBOOKED for two solid weeks, so that's been tough, but it's also been wonderful to see some the people I love most! Yay! I also apologize to those of you I didn't get to see. There's only so much time to cram everything into. Sniffle.

The great news is that all of this has rejuvenated me. Don't get me wrong, I'm still gonna be counting down the weeks until my contract is up, but I can do so more joyfully now. :-)

Here's the latest update on my Utah adventures:

Couldn't resist... I bought the kid a tutu.
We soon found, however, that wearing it on the head is much more exciting!

It still sags a bit. Oh well, she'll be able to wear it for awhile!

Girls Night Out with Nichole, Jamie, Aubrey, and Heather.
We missed the rest of you girls!

On this subject: Can I just say that I think Aubrey is one of the funniest people in the world??? Every time we get together I am reminded how much I love being around her. She cracks me up. Good, good times. Read her blog... you'll get a taste.
http://shinercircus.blogspot.com/

At Village Inn with my dad and family after seeing "Aida"
(Yes, I saw it again... a different production)

A HUGE shout out of THANK YOU THANK YOU goes to Chuck's mom for hooking my dad and me up with BYU Homecoming Football game tickets! Thanks to Lisa and her dad for being so so so generous and letting us go! WE LOVED IT!!!!

Gah. I LOVE my school. Look at that scenery. Sigh.

Only a day and a half left here in Utah. Sniffle. But I have good things to look forward to in Florida. I'll be doing the 20 Year Service Awards show again in a couple weeks- so that'll be fun. Yay.

My Favorite Picture Thus Far...

Mountians, Pedicures, and GREAT Theatre...

Here's what I've been up to the last few days... I LOVE BEING IN UTAH! No time to elaborate... but yeah. Good, good times. Do I really have a whole other life back in Florida???













And the great theatre? I saw Aida at HCT-Orem and Into the Woods at HCT-WV the past couple nights. I ache to do a show that means something. :-)