Wedding Wrap Up

Wow...it's hard to believe it has already been one month since the big day. Time sure does fly.

What a day it was! Thankfully mother nature cooperated with us and blessed up with "balmy" weather in the upper 30's and clear skies. No one had any flight delays amd everyone arrived safely. Who could ask for anything more?

We are still pouring through all of the wedding photos (there are 800 of them), but if you find yourself with some free time and want to browse please do! Just follow this link: http://www.pictage.com/609971

For those of you in attendance you may have noticed several photographers capturing the moments throughout the celebration. No I wasn't trying to create my own paparazzi! As it turned out a good middle school friend of mine is starting his own photography business, and as a favor to me agreed to shoot the rehearsal dinner and day after brunch. I invited him to attend the wedding too because one can never have too many photos. Here are a few he snapped.....

Getting ready is such a process.

Portriats of a bride.
Jürgen's Grandfather knows how to party.

Slowing down for a few minutes.

I LOVE the pictures Devin took and cannot wait to see more. I will certainly keep you posted as they come in!

How I spent my Christmas Vacation....

Celebrating Hanukkah!

With my family staying in Louisville and Jürgen visiting with his family in Baltimore I was left to fend for myself in the Arctic Tundra of Chicago. Thankfully I had two wonderful friends, Roni and Rick who brought me in for Christmas Eve and Christmas to celebrate the festival of Lights with them. We had a wonderful time, ate yummy latkes and helped calm me down after the garage debacle. Rick's mom, Ginny, snapped a few photos!

Rick, Roni and Myself before the yummy feast
Rick and Roni saying a Hanukkah prayer before we chow down
Christmas day was spent with many lovely ladies...Jude, Roni, Ginny, Jessica and Melissa. Such fun!

The Little Prius that could

Hello friends and family! It's been awhile since my last post. With the holidays, the close of my show and then.....oh yes....the WEDDING...times were busy. But I am here to tell you the Blürg is back!

Now sit back, relax, and I will share with you the tale of the Little Prius that Could.

The time was 12:30 am on Christmas Eve. The place was the alley behind my house. It had been a long snow filled day of work, then a show, then a visit to Clarke's for some hot chocolate and socializing with friends. After taking a detour to drop off my friend at her house I made my way home. It must be noted that I have spent my previous Chicago winters driving a Jeep, and was still getting used to navigating the harsh roads in my more compact, fuel efficient vehicle.

As I pulled into the alley behind my house I was quick to notice how much snow had accumulated throughout the day, and my little Prius was trying as hard as she could to get over the snow mounds. At one point I thought to myself "I should just park out front" however I ignored the little voice in my head and kept on truckin'. I came to my garage and began to engage in the oh so delightful snow mobile dance. The dance consists of two steps, driving forward a few inches, reversing a few inches, driving froward a few inches, reversing a few inches. It's tedious but if done correctly it will safely get you over the snow mound and home safely. My car was aligned properly to enter the garage, I pushed on the gas in a final attempt to hurdle over the mound of snow in front of my garage and as soon as I made it over my little Prius surged forward and through, not into, but through the wall of my garage. The carnage looked something like this:


Yeah see that open space...a brick wall used to be there!

I sat in disbelief as I watched a wall of bricks collapse on my windshield and shatter. It was cold, dark and I was all alone. Not to mention it was only a little more than a week before the wedding! Not what you need as you enter the final prep stages for such a huge event.

In the end all I could do was be thankful I wasn't hurt, and amazed that my car wasn't horribly damaged. Look how well it help up!

The Prius is all fixed now and the wall....well it's still down but construction should commence soon. In the meantime I am parking out front more often, for this is a mistake you are only allowed to make once!

Slip slidin away.....

Mother Nature has reared her ugly head once again. It happens every year, and regardless of how many Chicago winters (this will be my 8th!) you have survived it never seems to get any easier. Currently we have about 5 inches of snow on the ground with the threat of more. It's lovely to look at, but not so lovely to walk or drive through. With this snow comes ice....lots of ice. And with this ice comes....doom!

Last week I headed out the door on my morning venture to the mindless day job. The hour was early and I was groggy, so I walked slowly down the three flights of stairs to my garage. I had made it all the way to the first floor flight when all of a sudden and without warning I felt my feet slip out from under me. I flew up, then back, then down, right on my sacro with a brute force and proceeded to slide the rest of the way down the stairs. I saw stars and crumbled into a heap at the bottom of the staircase in the snow. I could not believe what had just happened, and wondered if I could feel my legs or move my hips. Thank the heavens above for I managed to make it out of this debacle virtually unscathed. I am still pretty sore, and doing seven shows a week is not aiding in the healing process, but I will persevere.

Thinking back on it this could have been an absolute nightmare. Had I fallen on my head or my neck it's quite likely I would not be around to type this blog. I could have potentially broken a hip or my tailbone, which would not have fit into my "dance all night" wedding plans. I find it best not to ponder the "what if's" but rather count my blessings daily. And always hold onto the handrails, like a seven year old child.

Be careful...it's dangerous out there.

Some views from my back porch. Brrrrrrr.......

O Tannenbaum O Tannenbaum!

My parents visited me this past week to check out The Snow Queen and help me do a little decorating around the house. We picked up a lovely tree from Gethsemane (no, not the garden from the good book, just a local greenhouse in town) and had a grand ol' time setting it up and listening to cheesy holiday music. Here are some photos:

Unwrapping the tree from the evil plastic netting.
All fluffed up and ready for some light action.
Puttin' on the Ritz.
Time to decorate! Look at all my lovely ornaments!
Some favorite ornaments: the Dapper Dancing Frogs.
Hanging our first Christmas ornament.
Close up shot. Thanks for the ornament mom!
The final product. Can you find the pickle?

Happy Holidays to all!

Opening Night!

After a mere two weeks of rehearsal and a few days of tech The Snow Queen opened to a full and supportive crowd on December 1st. I bought a special dress for the occasion and ended up taking nary a photo. Terrible I know. However here are some images from the show.

For all you Chicago peeps: It closes Dec. 28th....hit me up for tickets!
We're Summertime Kids! This is yours truly aka Gerda alongside the talented Patrick Andrews aka Kai. We are best friends. Until he becomes a jerk and leaves me.
Gerda surrounded by Kai and the Imps, dancing like they are flower children of the 1970's
Kai becomes seduced by the Snow Queen. Foolish boy.
He flies to the Arctic Circle until a small shoe less girl decides to chase after him. That's Broadway Veteran Cheryl Lynn Bruce as the Storyteller. I adore her.
The enchantress throws me off course while I try to find Kai. Crap.
Composer/Adapter/Musical Genius plays Ravenheart, and gives Gerda advice. How nice of him.
Back on track, I got me some fancy horses, a funny hat and nothing will stop me now!
Except maybe the Robber Girl (Barbara Barrow). I look concerned.
Gerda manages to weasel her way out of that situation to hop on the Reindeer's (Bob Goins) back towards Lapland (which is an actual spot on the map).
The Fish Lady sings about fish and the audience FREAKS OUT!
Yeah you may be seven feet tall and made of ice, but I will bitch slap you to Timbuktu. Yes I will.
Kai is depressed and so very cold. It's his fault. Don't feel bad for him.
Oh Kai I am here to save you. Run away again and I will tell everyone about the time you dressed up in your mothers heels and pearls.
Love at Last!

So basically you saw the whole show right here, but trust me it's way more fun with the band and the music. All in all a great experience which I am really enjoyed coming back to this year. We have two more weeks which means I have about two days of peace before family descends on Chicago and wedding madness begins!

Unique Shower Ideas

OK I know I know I promised to write more frequently and I FAILED! With being in rehearsals, teching the show, thanksgiving, opening the show, going back to the day job while doing shows, and oh yeah planning the wedding blogging has taken a back seat. Now I have no choice but to overload you with new blogs to catch you up to speed. Buckle your seat belts.

First off our most recent wedding showers. We have been blessed to have had a total of five...count em...five wedding showers this year. I credit this to being from different hometowns and living in a different city than our parental units. Whatever the reason it has been so much fun and we are so thankful to all who attended and certainly to those who hosted.

I journeyed back home to Louisville at the end of October for a Christmas Ornament shower hosted by my cousins Cassie and Brenda Stokes. I have taken to collecting Christmas ornaments since I graduated from places I have traveled, museums I visit and other exciting adventures. Therefore a shower dedicated to the baubles was a perfect fit. We had a wonderful time and I think it made us all excited for the holidays to arrive. Sadly I have very few decent pictures of the event, but here is one I enjoy:
What's that you say? Why am I holding a pickle? In case you didn't know there is an old German tradition to hide a pickle in your Christmas tree and the lucky soul who finds it first wins a prize! I love this.

A few weeks later my dear friend Jenn hosted an unforgettable shower for us here in the Windy City- A Book and Boardgames shower! It was so much fun and such a clever and unique idea. We had it at a neighborhood bar called Guthrie's which houses hundreds of games for people to play while they drink and eat pizza. Which is exactly what we did (when in Rome...)! They rented out the back room and the Chicago wedding contingent joined us for beer, pizza and a rousing game of Apples to Apples (along with a few other varieties). Thankfully we snapped several photos at this one. Here's some eye candy for you....

(from L to R): John, Sara (Hoyer), Sarah (Kinsey), Brigid and Ira have their libations in hand and their game face on.
The game playing begins. Apples to Apples in the best game. Get. Yours. Today.
Meanwhile I take a moment to pose for the camera on the other end of the room. Check out my boots...LOVE them! Katie and LaShawn love them too I think....
LaShawn, Roni and Jess join me in posing. Pity they are all so un-photogenic.
Roni and Rick get in touch with their 2nd grade selves with an intense game of Guess Who?
Jürg and Katie survey their cards in the group Apples to Apples game
More of the group. That's Jenn our lovely host in the glass and her handsome partner-in-crime Mark. Thanks guys!
Jenn is super excited!
There was also some fun gift opening. I let Jürgen do the honors this time. Mackenzie and I are enjoying this apparently.

I have to say both of these showers were an absolute blast, plus very creative and unique ideas. I highly recommend both should you or someone you know be having a shower in the near or not so near future. You can't go wrong with a nice Christmas ornament and who doesn't enjoy a good book or board game?

Thank you to our lovely hosts and our guests!