Spring...FINALLY!

After a grueling winter in Philadelphia, spring has finally arrived! It's beautiful, the temps are perfect, and green is sprouting all around the city. Our park across the street is in full bloom, and even our little flower box full of orange lillies is making a comeback! I'll keep you posted on the flower box...wouldn't it be cool if it blooms on the day our baby is born?!?!



Ahhhhh,
Jess

Breathless

We just returned from Jeanne Ruddy's dance concert series "A Decade of Dance" at the Wilma Theatre. The series included three mini-shows from Ruddy's past performances: Significant Soil, Breathless, and LARK. It was beautiful to watch truly committed dancers take on challenging choreography and characterization, but I have to give a special shout-out to my friend Meredith Riley Stewart.

Meredith and I were cast as doubles in "The Ibsen Project" (Philly Fringe Festival, 2009), but I didn't really get to see her dance because (being doubles) we were always attached and moving together. Plus, the choreography in that show, while beautiful, was more improvisation than actual dance. So, seeing Meredith move today was...well...moving.

In Breathless, Meredith portrays a young mother whose husband convinces her to sign a life insurance policy, and then he murders her (drowns her!) to collect the money. He also runs off with a stripper. What a plot.

all images from Bob Emmott

I don't know if it was because I'm pregnant or what, but seeing her joy and strength at the beginning of the piece was so emotional for me. She portrays the happiest, most loved woman. The audience knows that she's going to die, and you can clearly watch her confidence in her husband erode as she begins to piece his lies together. The character's journey is built around movement, of course. But, Meredith brought something extra to the table through deep-rooted emotion that surfaced through facial expression and physical quality. It was truly stunning to watch.

Way to go, Meredith! And congratulations to the entire JRD company for such a committed performance. It was beautiful.

Moved,
Jess

My Lucy debut

My guest post is up at A Modern Day Ricky and Lucy!!!
Hope you have to time to check it out. Leave Lucy a comment so that she can meet you. She is an old friend, snarky momma, and fantastic blog-mentor.

Inspired,
Jess

Okay, Okay...I know

Please excuse the mess!! I am attempting a DIY blog face-lift, and it's not going as easily as I had anticipated :(

Remaining calm,
Jess

Sympathy Man

This post is an "I Love You" to my husband, who recently crossed over from mild-pregnancy-sympathy-pains to full-blown-pregnant-man. At first, he was a little more tired with me, eating a little more with me, feeling bloated quite often with me. But, now he's waking up in the middle of the night and can't go back to sleep, he's craving right alongside me, and (this is true, I swear!) last night I caught him sleeping with a big fluffy pillow between his legs. I tried to steal it, just to see what would happen, and he woke up and said "Hey! I need that!", which is the perfect response when someone attempts to steal your between-the-leg pillow. I understand.

John, you are too too too much fun. I love you. I promise to always bring you a beer when you are nesting--ehem--I mean building Man-Projects, and I promise NEVER to try and steal your between-the-leg pillow.

Thanks for being pregnant with me,
Jess

Three--it's a Magic Number

SO, I've been tagged...and this is actually my first survey EVER! Thanks, Lucy for forcing me to take the time to fill it out. It was actually fun :)

1. Three Names I go by:
-Jess
-LouAnn (husband calls me this...we're strange)
-Poops (sister calls me this...she's even stranger)

2. Three Jobs I've had in my life
-Dance Instructor
-Actor
-Freelance Writer...do you love how I fail to mention "Administrative Assistant"?? Ugh.

3. Three Places I've lived:
-Amarillo, TX.
-College Station, TX.
-Philadelphia, PA!!!!!! LOVE IT!

4. Three Favorite Drinks
-Green Tea (Hot or Iced)
-Grey Goose Vodka Martini, slightly dirty (this one seems like a distant memory...)
-Grapefruit Juice

5. Three TV shows I watch
-Project Runway
-The Office
-Wendy Williams (How YOU doin'?)

6. Three Places I've been
-Tokyo, Japan
-Madrid, Spain
-BERMUDA!!

7. Three of my favorite foods
-Banana Bread
-Pizza
-Cinnamon Rolls

8. Three Cars I've Owned
-the Purple Satty (1997 Saturn)
-1994 Honda Accord
-Toyota Corolla...owner by default--through marriage

9. Three things I HATE doing
-hiking in the snow & camping on a freezing cold-ass mountain
-watching sports
-listening to AM radio

10. Three Places to find me on the weekend
-South Philly Tap room (pre-pregnancy fave!!)
-Fairmount Park
-in my kitchen making blueberry-banana pancakes & bacon, loving on my husband

11. Three Movies I've seen recently
-Precious
-Alice in Wonderland in 3D
-It's Complicated
-I have to add a fourth one because I LOVED this movie: Where the Wild Things Are

12. Three Places I'd like to Visit
-Mexico (to see our Masons!)
-Italy
-Japan again...take hubby


Whew! That was hard. I had to ask John about a couple questions. Haha..."Honey, what are three things I hate doing?" He was quick to answer that one :)

Contemplating in threes,
Jess

I'm so excited!! And I just can't hide it!!

Just received an invitation to guest-blog on one of my favorite sites :

A Modern Day Ricky and Lucy

I'm not sure about the date-of-post yet...but stay tuned for more details!!

In the meantime, I keep daydreaming about what I'm going to write about. It has to be GOOD because a lot of people read Lucy's hilarious blog. Be cool, Jess...be cool.

Giddy with anticipation,
Jess

PS: In honor of my upcoming Lucy debut, here's my favorite classic I LOVE LUCY clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wp3m1vg06Q
This video comes with a warning--if you're 9 months pregnant, you might pee your pants.