Tuesday, February 28, 2006
WHO KNEW YOU COULD DO SO MUCH WITH SAND!
WATCH THE SAND LADYThursday, February 23, 2006
FUN WORLD!
My 7 year old neice Litah is on school vacation this week, so we decided to have "fun time with Auntie Taunia!" And what better place to have fun than at FUN WORLD!
Fun World is located on the Daniel Webster Highway in Nashua, NH (exit 36 off Route 3N, then take a left and follow down for about 1/2 mile). I've driven by the building a bunch of times - it's a giant white warehouse-lookin' building with big rainbow letters spelling out FUN WORLD!
We went in and it was packed with kids. The great thing about it is that there's a ton of stuff for kids of every age. There was a small seating area where people could chill and eat hot dogs and stuff, there was TONS of video games for the teens, and tons of younger age, Chucky Cheese-type games for the younger ones. But the thing that made me happiest was the giant 2-story carousel inside the building. It was BEAUTIFUL, and Litah and I loved that. There was also a small-kid sized indoor roller coaster that Litah went on all by herself. That thing was FAST...and FLIPPY! She got off the roller coaster and screamed, that was AWESOME! Good thing, because Auntie Taunia got dizzy just on the carousel.
There's also a giant indoor playground that had one of those pits full of plastic balls. I *so* wanted to jump in there, but it was restricted against big people (people over 4'6"! not fatties)
We also got this charming picture taken. High quality, no? And how funny is it that my honkin' melon is taking up the whole picture? Like I pushed my neice aside and said, "move it, honey!" Honestly, I thought her whole head was in there.
We spent a good 2 hours there and could have stayed longer if they weren't closing up. If you're a parent looking for a fun place to take your kids, this is the joint. If you're a grown up with a video game addiction like me, you'll probably like it too.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
ASSORTMENT
This weekend, I found out that my dad made a deal with my mom: he would quit smoking if she would sign up for the gym with him, and they had to go 3x a week. She, of course, happily obliged and they have already been to the gym 3x! I'm so proud of them both, but most especially my father.He was essentially given a death warrant by his doctor, and he tried to joke it off. Apparently, it really scared him, though, and now he's doing something about it - and I couldn't be prouder or more inspired by him. Go Dad!
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In other scary health-related news, my dad's dog Bailey had a major seizure this weekend. Turns out, he has epilepsy. My father said it was one of the scariest things he'd ever witnessed, and I don't doubt that. Bailey had the seizure the night of my birthday, and ended up having to stay overnight at the animal hospital in North Andover. We're pretty much frequent flyers there now, since Julip has visited them before for her chocolate overdose and threw up numerous times on their floor.
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Tonight I have an audition for a drag show. The pay is decent, and I think it would be super-fun. It would also confirm my appointment as the Queen of the Queens in Boston. I'm telling you, I'm getting gay-er and gay-er by the minute! Pretty soon, I'll be running a club in South Beach and throwing temper tantrums while being fed aspirin by my houseboy.
And speaking of gay....
We're 95% done with our album! As soon as it's finished, the album will be copyrwitten. Then, it is being shipped off to various radio stations. I'm doing a mass-marketing for my song "Gay Boyfriend," and also going to submit the sheet music version for inclusion in a few contemporary Cabaret songbooks.
It's gone over so well at our gigs that I think it has the potential to make me some money if I market it correctly. If anyone out there has some suggestions or ideas about that, I'm all ears.
Alrighty, time for me to be part of the world of the living and take a shower. Students this afternoon, then my drag audition tonight. Adios!
Sunday, February 19, 2006
SODERFEST SURPRISE!!
Turns out 34 is the best birthday I've had on record - no lie!Thursday night was great. Ben and I went out dancing and I got some extra exercize which helped me lose 3 lbs for Friday. Yea!
Friday night, we went to the piano bar and had a blast. More details are below about that.
Saturday night, I thought I was going to dinner and to Ryles for swing dancing with Suzanne. When we got to the S&S deli, there were about 15 people waiting to surprise me! This is the first real surprise party I've ever had...and it was so nice that so many people showed up. Especially since Inman Square is well-known for it's lack of parking. Suzanne was so great to plan this for me.
We had dinner and then a bunch of us headed over to Ryles for swing dancing. People found out it was my birthday, so I ended up dancing a LOT, which was great. Got a few pictures, and they're posted over on Flickr.
I had so much fun over the weekend. It reminded me how much I miss going out and just partying with friends. Of course, my body reminds me why I don't do that anymore. Staying out until 4am each night has left me exhausted, and I'm now just getting that nasty cold that everyone has had. But hell, it was worth it because I had a HUGE amount of fun with awesome people.
And 34 aini't that bad. If this weekend was any indication of the year to come, then I am certainly looking forward to it!
I'm a lucky gal with really great friends and loved ones. Can't ask for more than that! :)
Saturday, February 18, 2006
DEAR GOD, I'M 34 AND HUNGOVER!
Well kids, Soderfest is finally here....and I couldn't be more exhausted.We went out last night to celebrate my birthday at the piano bar. It was a super-fun night, and I ended up getting a gig out of it! Mary, the host, asked me if I'd be interested in subbing for her while she's away. It's a pretty high-profile gig at a great venue, and I made friends with the owner too. Yea for Soderfest!
I also had many a cocktail to celebrate my birthday. Afterwards, we went to IHOP to get some pancakes (or PAN-KA-KAS! as I insisted on calling them) and didn't get home until 4:00am. Now I have to jump in the shower and head to high tea with my family. I hope the tea has caffeine, because I'm exhausted!
Anyhow, here's a picture of me, Mary, and Brian - the hosts at the piano bar. More weekend details to come later, but there's some new pics up on Flickr.
Enjoy!
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS (WHY I LOVE SODERFEST!)
THURSDAY, 2/16: Ben is taking me salsa dancing at Ryles! This will also bode very well for my Friday morning weigh-in at Weight Watchers.
FRIDAY, 2/17: I'm meeting Sue, Habib, Shah, Brian, James, Bill, and maybe a few other people over at The Encore for some cocktails and piano bar action. If you're reading this and want to come, stop by!
SATURDAY, 2/18: MY BIRTHDAY!!
Afternoon: My mom's birthday is 2/20, and she wanted to go to high tea at the Four Seasons for our birthday. Not really my thang, but my mom is really into it and so I agreed to go with all the gals in the family. My Auntie Gram is going too - so it should be a nice afternoon.
Evening: Suzanne is taking me to Ryles to go swing dancing! I'll be getting more exercize during Soderfest than I did during my whole 33rd year. lol
FRIDAY, 2/24: Jen, Shah, Brian, and possibly Sue & Habib leave for Mystic, CT. We're staying overnight there and going to hang at the local bar and also go to Mystic Pizza!
SATURDAY, 2/25: The rest of the group - Rich and Ben are going to meet up with us and we'll be spending the day and night over at Foxwoods. Whoo hoo!
I have some amazing friends and family, I tell ya. Everyone puts up with my obnoxious birthday antics and still want to actually be around me. lol I'm so excited that I have so much cool stuff happening this year. Everyone deserves a birthday like this. Thanks to all my peeps for making me feel so special.
Here's to winning big at Foxwoods!!
Sunday, February 12, 2006
THE JOY OF SODERFEST CONTINUES...
Tonight, after our BLIZZARD OF DOOM, I decided it would be in my best interest to go out and shovel while the snow was still fairly light. Because Suzanne is out of town and shoveling is never a pleasant experience for me, I decided to get it done.
So, in the dark at 8:00pm, I got the front stairs, walkway, and 3/4 of the driveway done to the end of the driveway - which is always the worst. There was about 4 ft of heavy snow piled up at the end and our driveway is about 12 ft across. I almost started to cry because I had been shoveling for an hour already, and I knew that my back was going to be in serious pain.
Across the street is the town salt reservoir. All of the big plow trucks are constantly going by our house to get more salt for the town. I was looking at the enviously (is that a word?) wishing I had a big mac with a plow on the front.
As I watching them all drive by, the hugest one stopped and asked me if I wanted him to plow the end of my driveway. I nearly cried. He turned his gianormous truck around at the end of the street, came back, and smoosh all 12x4 feet of snow into a giant pile on the side of the driveway. He was SO nice and friendly and he yelled out, "how's that??" I yelled back, "thank you SO much! You are my new best friend!"
He laughed and went on his way to finish working for the night.
I can't get over how nice that was of him to stop and help me - considering he had the whole town to plow. It really made my night, and just added to the joy of Soderfest.
So, thank you anonymous mac truck man!!
Saturday, February 11, 2006
THEY MUST HAVE KNOWN IT'S SODERFEST!
There's a Dunkin' Donuts down the street from me that I continue to frequent even though they ALWAYS mess up my order. I cannot help it. I'm back on the junk and when I need my french vanilla fix, they're the closest to me. But TODAY, my friends, was different!
Because of the impending BLIZZARD OF DOOM, I thought I should pick up a bagel not only for today, but tomorrow as well (MUST HAVE BREAD!!!!). So I ordered my two bagels with strawberry cream cheese and my medium french vanilla coffee. I went to the window and handed him my debit card to pay and he said, "You don't have any cash?" I wanted to say, "Dude, I don't even have a BRA on right now. You're lucky I was functioning enough to grab my debit card!" Instead, I told him that no, I did not have any cash.
He then gave me my order free.
HUH?
He said they "just changed over the register" and couldn't accept cards right now, so my order was free. And then he shhhh'd me, because he obviously wasn't supposed to be giving away free bagels and coffee. I laughed, took my free loot, and drove away.
I LOVE SODERFEST!!
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
WEST COAST RETALIATION
Sorry, dudes. The East Coast did it first, and we did it BETTER:WEST COAST RETALIATES!
Besides, cupcakes are WAY more hip hop than painting pottery.
BE A SUPERSTAR!
I found a super-fun site online that I thought I'd let you know about! I know I'm going to sound like I work for them, but I just think this is a great thing for people who love to sing and love to sing karaoke :
The site is www.ksolo.com and it's like a karaoke system, only you can record yourself and save all your recordings for people to hear. It's VERY easy and all you need is Internet Explorer (it won't work on any other browser) and a microphone. If you create an account, you get a 7 day free trial.
People can listen and rate your songs and give you feedback - or you can set your preferences to not allow people to do that. From what I've seen/read/heard so far, it's a really supportive and friendly community of singers.
I think it's a great idea and a heck of a lot of fun for people who like to sing. So go ahead: get your song on! And you can even record "Happy Birthday." You know, maybe for a diva who is celebrating Soderfest or something.
Be sure to let me know if your songs are open for listening. I'd love to hear you!
Thursday, February 02, 2006
TAUNIA THE TITAN!
A few months back, I was hired to do the singing for a new PC game called "Titan Quest." It was a sweet gig, and really cool because I got to singing all classical-like and in ancient greek!There's a video interview with the producer and composer of the film up on this gaming site and you can hear some of what I'm singing under the interview. You can also see me in the studio recording too - a little further into the clip.
Click on the image below and go to the first link (for now) called "Titan Quest Developer Diary 3." I thought this was pretty cool - like a real TV interview!
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
THE BEGINNING OF FEBRUARY CAN ONLY MEAN ONE THING....
That's right kids, it's the most wonderful time of the year! Soderfest is upon us! The countdown and festivities have officially begun! What's that, you say?? You don't know what Soderfest is?? You should find all the answers you need in the FAQ section below:WHAT IS SODERFEST?
Soderfest is an annual tradition started many years ago by my friend Brian. Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE to celebrate birthdays - most especially my own. I would give my friends and family a two week countdown - daily - until the big day. It was initially annoying, but eventually a tradition was born and people grew to love the countdown. Brian then dubbed the countdown "SODERFEST" after my last name.
WHAT IS YOUR ACTUAL BIRTHDAY?
My real birthday is FEBRUARY 18th. But the fun starts two weeks prior!
WHAT HAPPENS DURING SODERFEST?
Well, most importantly, there's the countdown. There's a daily post (seen to the left) of how many days until my birthday. Then, there's the scheduling of plans with friends and loved ones. Sometimes there's parties, sometimes there's movies, sometimes there's dinner. A good time is usually had by all.
DO YOU ACCEPT PRESENTS ON SODERFEST?
I do not ask for presents....the only thing I ask for is RECOGNITION. Everyone deserves a day (or a two week celebration) to feel special!
WHAT ARE THE BEST WAYS TO RECOGNIZE SODERFEST?
Oh! There are SO many ways. A telephone call, an email, a text message, a comment on the blog, or an old-fashioned letter. Be creative! All well-wishes are met with gratitude and love, and it's FREE!
DON'T YOU THINK YOU'RE GETTING A LITTLE OLD FOR THIS??
I will celebrate Soderfest until the day I day. Don't be a grinch!!!
I'll be 34 this year. Crazy!
Un-Soderfest related: Some of my students performed in the Diva Voice Studio Winter Concert this past Saturday and it went amazingly well! For pics, click on the flickr thingy over to the left.
LET SODERFEST BEGIN!!!