Rainbow feathers and bricks

I know my mother is dying to hear about my life through this here blog...It's been such a long time! HI YOU GUYS! How are you? You doing okay? You making it through the hard times? You smiling? You laughing? I hope so. :) haha 

The past couple of weeks have been unreal crazy. Like where did all this busy come from? And can it go away soon? haha :)  

\\GOOD NEWS//

I have all A's.

I was hired as a Theatre History TA for next year (Fall 2012-Winter 2013)!

I am in two shows currently: Hedda Gabler and The Bear!

I was invited to the Outstanding Theatre Arts Student Award Ceremony next week for Playwriting!

Zac got a full time job for the summer!

Zac's mother sent us an Easter basket box! 

(Thank you Karen :])

So you wanna know something funny that isn't really funny? Life is like a pillow fight. You think the pillows will explode into millions of rainbow feathers when they slam into your face but then they hit you and they're full of bricks. After you get hit in the face with the brick filled pillows, some teeth might fall out and you might get a concussion, but then you pick up another pillow and one tiny rainbow feather pops out. 

AND THEN EVERYTHING IS OKAY AGAIN. 

haha I don't know if that made any sense, but what I mean to say is this: Life may seem to be going awesome and then something hits you and you find out what's really going on--even if it wasn't what you expected, it may be better than before. I'll just suffice it to say that a huge door slammed in my face on Monday--one that I thought would be opening up for me. 

(Cue the bricks)

BUT THEN.

Another door opened!!!!

(Cue the rainbow feathers)

I was invited to the Theatre Arts Student Award Ceremony for BYU next Tuesday night! :D I'm not exactly sure "why" but I do know it has something to do with my Playwriting. :) Yippee skippee, look out world. Chelsea got swag.

I promise I'll write more happy thoughts later with more details and all that jazz. I just need to get back to that dumb reading prompt. Ugh. Death and the King's Horseman. I love the play...I just don't want to analyze it right now. :( Wah. A lot of writing this weekend and two Hedda and The Bear shows on Saturday. SO MUCH BUSY.

I just really love this song.

:)

A Post About Being Married and Acting :)

Here's an early good morning to you!
There's nothing like taking a hot shower the morning after a long day that went really really well. :)
I finally found my character for the show I'm in, "Hedda Gabler."
It's taken me a while-and I'm not quite sure why-but I know I did some deep soul searching and figured some stuff out. Anne Shakespeare, the head artistic director of Utah Shakespeare in the Park, was my first TA in an acting class here at BYU and she pushed me farther than I ever thought possible. She came to a rehearsal last Thursday night and I hadn't seen her since that first acting class (2+ years). Yeah.
She watched me perform.
And talked with me for 2 hours after rehearsal.
Let's just say my performance wasn't awesome. :( I was drowning in confusion and doubt.
Anne laid her wisdom on me:

The reason why I was hitting brick walls with my acting is because I'm married.
That might sound awful, but keep in mind, besides my role in "The Stronger" (where I portrayed a married woman) this is my first role since getting married.
It does something to you, to your acting. Being married, I mean.
Once you become intimate with someone in such a sacred and personal way (like with a husband) you give half of yourself to him. It's like you are one in flesh.
I was confused with my acting because I'm not who I was when I was single. I'm just not. My priorities have changed. Husband=Number One.

But guess what?
Anne had me check out a book called, "Fascinating Womanhood." And I'm finding my femininity again-what makes being a woman so amazing. I've read a couple of chapters now and I applied what I've learned so far all day yesterday and amped it up when I first went onstage last night for rehearsal.

And I found my character!
My old confidence when I'd walk onstage was on fire.
My old sassiness when I'd nail my lines surged through me.
My old "stick it to the man" when I pursued an objective kept me motivated.

Just wanted to tell you the good news.
:)

Preparing for Battle: The Pie Fight.

Good morning you guys! 

And Happy St. Patrick's Day to ya, too! 

(Imagine that said in a beautiful Irish trill)

I woke up twenty minutes ago with that awesome "It's Saturday" feeling. The husband is still in bed, snoozing. We've both had a long couple of days and it's so wonderful that the weekend is finally here. Lots of late nights/early mornings, tests, quizzes, rehearsals (more on that for a different post, methinks), frustrations that come with being newlyweds, and the joys of being newlyweds.

I have some pretty exciting news.

I AM GETTING IN A PIE FIGHT TODAY. 

There will be pictures. 

There will be laughter.

There will be joy. 

(Was anyone else thinking There Will Be Blood? haha I promise there won't be.)

I've been looking forward to today since last Sunday when I heard about our ward's Pi Day Activity. Plenty of people are making pies for us to eat and plenty of pies will be made for throwing.

You know wanna know what I'll be doing?

THROWING THEM PIES.

But srsly. I can't wait to have a pie thrown in my face. I hope it doesn't hurt. >< haha I hope it's as awesome and fun as I've always thought it would be. 

Just for a moment, take a travel with me down memory lane.

I'm seven.

At my dad's apartment complex.

We're watching Saturday morning cartoons together in our pajamas. 

My brother is eating cereal.

We're on Nickelodeon.

And then a family pie fight ensues on tv.

Whipped cream everywhere.

Glasses smeared with pie filling.

The Dad thinking, "This is what I call family bonding time."
The Son thinking, "My sister's so dumb looking with pie all over her face!"
The Sister thinking, "I hate my brother *cry cry cry*"

The Mother thinking, "It's going to take a long time to get these stains out."

hahha

So amazing.

I turned to my dad and said, "I want that to happen to us."

He laughed for a really long time.

:)

AND TODAY IS THE DAY.

The day I've been waiting for.

13 years in the making.

It's finally here.

I need to come up with a hand sign like Katniss gives to District 12 from The Hunger Games. 

Okay, you guys.

The battle commences in T-minus 2 and a half hours.

May the best thrower win.

"I Teach Them Correct Principles and They Govern Themselves"

Ah. As I stare at the monitor and type this post, my itchy eyes and uncoordinated fingers are scrambling up my thoughts. Have you ever been going about your business and then all of a sudden you look at your hands and realize you're shaking? haha That's been me all week. I know in the last post I wrote I was sick at home. But that yuckiness went away after a full day of rest and Hulu (Hello Smash and Once Upon a Time). Now my grossness is back stronger than before and I'm at school, battling homework and all that jazz. Zac's next to me in the library and we're sharing a big ol' lump of tuxedo fudge from valentine's day. I'm wearing my snazzy sweater vest I got from DI and my hair is big as big can be. This past week has been out to get me. I'm pretty certain of it. But it's the best when you can unwind with a bubble bath and watch Mythbusters on Netflix with the hubby.
SPEAKING OF HUBBIES.
Zac's on project to make us a homemade computer! I LOVE HIM AND HIS SMARTNESS. haha He's been working hard all week long adding up costs, creating a budget, and asking me for my insignificant valuable input in this computer creation. We're pretty pumped about this...in the end, the computer will cost at most $365 not including the monitor, mouse, or keyboard. I just looked over at him and he's looking up more steals. :]
I applied on Tuesday for a library clerk position. Confession time: I've wanted to be a librarian since I was a little girl. No, really. I just love the idea of being surrounded by books for hours at a time and helping people with books. As soon as classes were over for the day, I went to library, found Zac, and he told me a position in Emily's interlibrary loan department just opened up. I emailed my resume and class schedule immediately. The job listing closed the next day and they'll be hiring whoever it is tomorrow. Fingers crossed, please! :]
I've started writing my new one act play this week! Hoorah! I also have a new scene for my novel saved on my laptop which I'll be editing like a madwoman tonight.
Last night was my first rehearsal for Hedda Gabler! FINALLY. Oh my word. I always forget how nervous I get right before the first rehearsal. It's almost like I'm auditioning all over again...especially because I was cast in this show last October. haha But Lawrence, my director, is the bomb diggity. He is so awesome at creating a fun and relaxing environment for us actors to play around in.
As I'm learning more and more about directing this semester, I have a growing appreciation for all the HARD and INTENSIVE work directors do. While I'm required to take this class for my major, I don't know if directing is my forte. haha I'd much rather stay behind the scenes with writing or take direction while acting. That's just where I'm most comfortable. However, it never hurts to be pushed and stretched...so I'm jumping on in with trust and confidence in myself as well as the Lord that everything will work out. :] While in directing class today, George Nelson mentioned a quote from Joseph Smith Jr. The quote: "I teach them correct principles and they govern themselves."  Having the gift of agency is so precious and powerful. I am so grateful for the guidance of the Spirit, both in theatre and life. :]

Keep smiling,
Chelsea

v-day madness

So I am mega sick today. :( I went to sleep at 2am doing hw then woke up at 7am to finish the hw that was due today. I emailed all of it to my TAs and emailed all my teachers saying I wouldn't be in class. Then I promptly went back to bed from 8:41am-12:53pm. I have a huge headache and I've been taking medicine for it all day. Blargh. I think the past couple of days of stress tackled me hardcore today. Ah! I just sneezed everywhere and it sent my head into hysterics (I covered my nose, don't you worry, Mom). Speaking of moms, where's a girl's mom when she needs her? Oh, yeah. Arizona. Not cold Utah. Wah wah wah. Pity party for me. hahaha Okay, I'll stop.
I'll share with you a couple of awesome things that happened yesterday for V-day with Zac. :) I woke up early again yesterday (7am) to study for a directing quiz I had at 9am (which I did awesome on--I know I only missed one...maybe one more...but I'm very proud of myself). After I finished studying, I remembered Zac the night before asking me if I wanted him to wake up early with me to make me some chocolate chip pancakes. When he offered, I turned him down but thanked him. As I still had an hour or so before I needed to leave for class, I decided to make HIM some surprise heart shaped chocolate chip pancakes smothered in Nutella! HE LOVED IT YOU GUYS. I woke him up with all the food and we ate breakfast together in bed. It was his first time--no one's ever done that for him before.
*One of the best things about being married to Zac is I still find out WONDERFUL and AMAZING things about him as he does with me.*
After that wonderful early morning together, Zac gave me a gift-Tuxedo fudge. I thanked him, kissed him, hugged him and left for class. After dominating that directing quiz, I had a TIP scene (Theatre In Performance) meeting with my scene partners in Dramatic Lit. We're doing a ten minute scene from Chekhov's "The Cherry Orchard" through the lens of Marxism. That's a lot going on, but we are gonna rule. Even though I'm the most quiet one in the group, I offered some help with our scene! Which felt awesome. I also took copious amounts of notes which I'll type up today and send to the rest of the group. :)
After that meeting, I went to the library to print off the rest of my TA application and a paper due in my English class in a couple of hours. I also wanted to print off my 15 copies of the first 4 pages of my novel because I was being critiqued yesterday in English. ...But ran out of money. That was a mess. It was only supposed to take half an hour tops to get it done. I ended up being in the library for 45 minutes...maybe even closer to an hour. Grawr.
Zac asked me to go to the Benson building to run some errands for him (science building does not compute with Chelsea's theatre knowledge). After the library fiasco, I marched into the science building and fumbled through Zac's instructions to sign him up for a chemistry make-up lab on Thursday from 3-6pm. Hooray Chelsea!
Then I rushed home, ate lunch with Zac, and he surprised me with ANOTHER V-day gift! He made some crayon art! Whenever I get a working camera again, I will be sure to post pictures. :) It's so adorable you guys. He's so adorable.
Then I was off again to be critiqued for the first time in English for my novel. Oh good golly. I got some amazing feedback--both the praise and the helps were wonderful and I corrected my novel last night accordingly. My midterm in English is tomorrow so my novel needs to be perfect (or as close to perfect as I can get).
That was my last class of the day! HOORAY! Emily meets up with me after our English classes let out and we walk home together. Yesterday was so much fun walking with her! We ran into an old classmates of Emily's who was in Writing for Children and Adolescent with her last semester. We talked about writing and all that fun stuff. :) She was so nice.
As soon as I got home, I collapsed into bed and napped for a good while. Then Zac and I went to Red Robin for our V-day date. Om nom nom.
Then we came home, I plowed through hw until 2am, and we fell asleep together.
I should be in the clear with hw this week...I got through the roughest part yesterday and this morning.
Welp. I'm off I think! NEED. a shower. Then I'm gonna check out the show Smash. I've heard only wonderful things about it. :)

growing old is beautiful.

I'm not watching the Superbowl. I'm watching these two videos instead. :) Best Sunday ever :)

1) Ok Go came out with a new music video. It's the bomb. :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=MejbOFk7H6c#t=0s

and

2) Lauren Fleishman is a New York based photographer. She's doing an art book project of couples who've been married over 50 years. It's so precious I can't stand it.  http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/laurenfleishman/love-ever-after
If you want to see the pictures, go here. :)

Zac was just lying next to me in bed. We were wrapped up in our quilts and each other's arms. He asked me what I'd say to someone if we were married over 50 years. I said, "I've been married to my best friend for over 50 years. We didn't like each other when we first met and I still don't like him. That's a joke."

p.s.-I went to my first ever film audition yesterday! While I have no idea how it went, I'm proud of myself for doing it. :) Here's to a wonderful week!

Love,
Chelsea

I'm so blue it's not even funny.

Hey guys! Been a while, but it's nice to write again. :) I've been pretty busy with school lately...I finally got a break today to unwind and relax. :) Zac and I are getting ready to watch Columbiana on our loveseat, snuggling with each other underneath lots of blankets. I can hardly wait. :)
Tonight I filled out my Mormon profile page at mormon.org. Let me tell you. It was a great experience writing out my experiences with the Church and sharing my testimony. :) The profile should be ready in a couple of days...I'll let you know when you can see it! I promise!
Yesterday in my directing class we read a chapter in our textbook about characters. I was surprised we didn't have a quiz over the chapter and instead found George handing out a personality quiz! It's the color one...you know what I mean?
No?
Let me outline it for you. :)
You're given four cards:
1) Orange [extroverted, spontaneous, outgoing, physical action]
2) Gold [organization, time management, control]
3) Green [logic trumps emotion, facts, looks for answers]
4) Blue [family&relationships, love, emotion, service]
In the beginning you look at each card's pictures and asked to rank them according to what you like best. You mark that down on a sheet. Then you flip over the cards, read the descriptions, and then mark the best fitting description to your personality to the least corresponding. Then there are 10 questions you need to answer and rank them 1-4. After that, you tally up each question and mark that down. In the end you add everything up and that's "you" in a nutshell!
My scores:
47- Blue
31- Orange
24- Gold
18- Green
Or in other words...
47- Hufflepuff
31- Gryffindor
24- Slytherin
18- Ravenclaw

Basically, 48 is the highest you can score in a category. WHOA. HUFFLEPUFF ALL THE WAY, MAN.
I'm a very good finder.