Thanksgiving Weekend

For those of you waiting for the update, I'm sorry it's taken me so long to write. I've been swamped with events:

Wednesday 11/22: I worked and then saw the Broadway production of Grey Gardens at the Walter Kerr Theater. It was an amazing production with amazing talent, however it was very dark. Christine Ebersole is unbelievable. I did love the show (don't get me wrong), but it was very uplifting....just a very sad story.

Thursday 11/23: Thanksgiving with the Day family. It was great sleeping in, then being surrounded by Shawn's family. Amongst the many glasses of wine we had quite the feast and plenty of dessert, accompanied with my Mom's brownies made in Vegas. It was a very special evening for me.

Friday 11/24: This was not the greatest day.....I sadly had to work, but it all was fine in the end. Seeing the New York Philharmonic perform always makes me VERY happy.

Saturday 11/25: I spent most of the day working on projects while Shawn met up with his friend Billy from Rhode Island. I joined them around 5:30 and we indulged in Pam's Real Thai Encore then went to the Eugene O'Neil Theatre to see the Broadway production "Spring Awakening". Once again, I enjoyed the music, the concept, but the story was a little odd. Plus, some of the talent (in my opinion) was not of the Broadway caliber. I was REALLY surprised with the casting. But I'm looking forward to hearing the cast recording because it was really good. Afterwards, we all went the Therapy, had a quick drink and called it a night. I pleasant evening indeed. :-)

Sunday 11/26: We met up with our friends Brian and Adam in Union, NJ (at Brian's pad) for brunch around 11ish. We would have been on time if traffic wasn't my ass. :-) Afterwards we headed to the Watchung Reservation to hike, however the trails and such were covered with mudslides so we decided to hang out for a bit then drove to Echo Lake. The afternoon was somewhat lazy and relaxed which I think we all desired. Later that evening, we joined Shawn's folks at his Grandma's house to set up her Christmas tree (with wine of course). Shortly after we ordered Chinese and then drove back to Forest Hills.

Monday 11/27: I worked and then went to rehearsal for the NYCGMC. :-)

Music Legends

Saturday (11/18): I will cherish the memory of this day for a very long time. I had the rare opportunity to sing in the finale of Barbara Cook's concert at Carnegie Hall. We sang from Bernstein's Candide in "Make our Garden Grow" which brought down the house and sounded amazing. If you haven't heard this legend sing, please click on the link below (it's the only reference I could find).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dN7iWdBjJhI

Sunday, I spent the day hanging out with Brooke and her boyfriend Andrew, along with Matt (visiting from Boston) & Shawn separately. A little breakfast, a little improv, and a little wine later in the day. Shawn and I made our way to Lincoln Center later that evening to watch the legendary Dionne Warwick sing her heart. It was definitely a musical weekend I will treasure.

Hanging out at work

Check us out! Some of my co workers. :-)

Las Vegas

Shawn and I just got back from Vegas a couple days ago after visiting my family. This was Shawn's first introduction to the Zipkin family. As expected, everything was wonderful ( including our premature Thanksgiving feast) and celebrating my Grandmother's 80th birthday. Also, this was Shawn's first trip to Nevada so there was lots to do in a short period of time. We explored the strip as much as we could (The Stratosphere, Sahara, The Imperial Palace, Circus Circus, The now closed Stardust, Harrahs, Caeser's Palace, Bellagio, Venetian, The Wynn & The Paris hotel and Casino.) We mainly explored Henderson and all surrounding areas. On the last day, we drove to the California/Nevada State Line to Buffalo Bill's Hotel and Casino, and took a trip on the famous metal roller coaster, ate at La Salsa and lost mucho money gambling. It was great being around family and having Shawn right beside me....especially on 11/11. :-)

Here's a clip below I found on YouTube of the Celine concert we saw on Friday night.....simply amazing!

Gary Revel Jr.

This was one of my best friends from high school......Look him now. :-)

Olivia Newton John (Atlantic City)

I know it's probably ridiculous to some, but seriously, I enjoyed seeing Olivia in concert. She performed almost all of her hits and some new material from her new album. She looked great, sounded great and the program was perfection. I'm so grateful to have had the opportunity to see her. :-) Next on the list....Celine Dion in Vegas (11/10/06)