This week just flew right by! The details are all a little blurry, but these are the things that came to mind…
FAVORITE FIVE FRIDAY
1. I’ve spent a lot of time with Netflix in the last week. Season 2 of House of Cards was released, and the binge-watching began. What is it that’s so appealing about settling in for hours of television? This is a serious question because I know it is not just me. Binge-watching is the new way to watch TV. For me, I just have to get to the end. I’m desperate to know what happens so I just keep watching. I believe I watch this way because of my curiosity as an actor. (Maybe I’m just lazy, but I would prefer not to view it that way). I digress… It doesn’t matter why, how, when I watched it. Ultimately, what matters is that I did. And it was awesome. I feel like I should be paying Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright for master classes in acting. They are both ridiculously talented and such a thrill to watch. Do yourself a favor and check out Season 2 on Netflix. If you don’t have Netflix, do yourself a favor and get on that.
2. Back at Universal for multiple shifts over President’s Weekend. A happy time was had by all! 🙂
3. Every year the Academy Awards roll around, and there always nominees I know nothing about. Maybe it’s just a title or two I haven’t seen. Sometimes it’s an entire category that I know nothing about. I’ve been trying to improve my knowledge of these unknowns. Each year I see more films, and I try to be well-informed. This year, Dan and I crossed a new one off the list. We went to see a screening of all the Live-Action shorts. Living in L.A. certainly has it’s perks, and getting the chance to see the less mainstream works is one of them. It was very cool, and they were all very well done. Now, when I fill out my Oscar ballot to make my guess on what will win in the category, I will actually have an opinion instead of just picking the name I like best.
4. I was going through old photos on my hard drive this week, and of course I found pictures from my high school theatre days. I know a lot of people don’t look back on high school fondly, but I really loved it. (Okay, not all the time. But a lot of the time.) I came across pictures from doing Grease. That show was such a learning experience for me. It was one of the first times that I didn’t play the “nice girl.” I felt uncomfortable about being cast as Rizzo, but I ended up having a lot of fun. When I look back on it all, it’s a great reminder that sometimes being forced out if your comfort zone is the best thing that can happen to you.
WordPress won’t let me upload video for free, but in case you wanted to hear a little of me singing “There Are Worse Things I Could Do” – here is a link to where I posted a short clip on Instagram. 🙂
http://instagram.com/p/kqyUEOgpa7/
5. The Disney Parking Pass. Such a good investment! It makes impromptu Disney trips possible. 🙂
That’s all she wrote! Happy Friday, Friends!
The Art Of Acting Up 
I’m always looking forward to reading your posts! You’re so dang positive. You’ve had so much change in your life recently and I have to ask- do you embrace it? For someone like me, I’d be really scared or nervous to move cross country, to find new jobs, new friends.
What ultimately made you leap? And you seem so happy- no regrets. Just curious to look into the inner workings of a Joanna.
Thanks, Oriia! I certainly try to stay positive, but it’s not that everything is always easy. FFF makes me look for the best parts of my life, what is going right. Remembering what I am grateful for is the best way to stay positive and happy! 🙂
All the change is tough for sure! But it’s also so exciting. L.A. seemed like the perfect place for Dan and I to pursue our dreams. Having a partner makes it all a little less scary. 🙂 When we made the decision to move it was a “now or never” kind of thing. We were in the right place in our lives – no kids, no mortgage, no responsibilities to keep us in one place. We wanted to go out and see what we could do. Dan and I both dreamed of living in a big city like New York or L.A. – both individually and together. We knew we would regret it if we didn’t at least try. That played a huge role in our decision. And we are so happy we made that choice. California is wonderful, and we’ve been having a great adventure. Who knows where we will be in five years, but I believe God has a plan for us and that we will have each other. That’s all that truly matters 🙂
Thanks for following my blog and keeping up with me. You are so sweet! 🙂
That’s so awesome! I’m glad you both have each other and that your dreams coincide. 🙂
Can’t wait to see next week’s! Be safe and have a good one. We all miss you and your hubby.