There were so many. I remember watching Mary Poppins, West Side Story, Guys and Dolls, Carousel, and my favorite at the time, Meet Me in St. Louis. Then, when I was 12, my mom and dad took us to see Les Miserables in San Francisco. It was such an incredible experience to see a live performance. She also took us to see Starlight Express. (If you’ve never heard of it, you are missing out!!!) Anyway, I fell in love with musical theater. And then, last summer in New York, I went to see a few actual plays (no music) and I realized that I don’t even need music to make me enjoy theater. I just love it all and Broadway is the perfect place to enjoy the wonders of the theater.

So, of course, this trip to New York would not have been complete without a visit to the theater. And in fact, I saw a fabulous play , Time Stands Still with Kelly and Sarah, and then I went to see a new musical, Next to Normal, while Sarah and Kelly went to see In the Heights (two different days). And one of my favorite things about seeing live theater is hanging out after to meet the cast…something I didn’t know was possible until Sarah introduced me to the stage door. The other thing I love about it is the possible celebrity sightings…like when Alec Baldwin basically ran into us as we were entering the theater to see Time Stands Still. Just one more reason to love New York.

Feb. 20 – I love Broadway…which means I have to tolerate Times Square!

Last night a group of us went to dinner at Fatty Crab. It was Sarah, Kelly, me, and my two new friends from my apartment building this summer, Sara and Alisa. It was so fun to have this eclectic little group together…and the restaurant was amazing.

Sometimes I get kind of stressed out when I try and combine different friends from different parts of my life. I’m not sure why, but I do. I’m just so glad that I have amazing friends who don’t. In fact, I can trace a large percentage of my current friends back to my dear freshman roommate and one of my besties, Jennifer. She has a talent for just forcing people together. From Jennifer came Sarah, and from Sarah came Kelly and Candice, along with a few more.

Anyway, I love when new can join the old (and by “old” I don’t mean age, just length of time). It’s not something I’m very good at making happen, but I want to try and do it more…because how sad would my life be if Jen hadn’t introduced me to Sarah, and so on and so on…

Feb. 19th – I love new friends that can hang with the old.

As a teenager, I started to delve into makeup now and then. I was never really totally into it. I just kind of did what my mom did (minus the 35 coats of black spider mascara). My junior year in high school, one of my friends on my cheer squad commented on my school picture saying, “Wow, I never realized how bushy your eyebrows were.” Well, you can imagine my delight at that observation…by the next day I had pencil this eyebrows with only the slightest hint of the redness required to get them that thin.

Right before I left on my mission to Switzerland, in an effort to take full advantage of the fact that I was leaving the country for 18 months and thus couldn’t be properly punished for spending a lot of money on my step-mom’s Nordstrom card, I spent an hour at the Bobbi Brown counter stocking up on new makeup and brushes, along with a quick lesson on how to apply everything I was purchasing.

Then, after I graduated from college, I went to beauty school to become an esthetician. Up until this point, I’d always liked makeup, but just as something you do as a woman. In beauty school, however, I learned all of these amazing tricks and ways to totally transform how someone looked. Then I spent four years working in a salon and spa. During this time I got to do bridal makeup applications and learned more and more about what can make or break a makeup app.

Fast-forward four years. I’m still totally obsessed with makeup. The MAC counter is one of my favorite shopping destinations. I update colors every six months or so and go in periodically just to learn new tips and tricks. (Just ask anyone who has seen my makeup collection and they will tell you that I have a problem.) The best part is, I feel like I’m lucky to be someone who loves makeup considering how very fair I am, and the fact that I’m now over 30 and seriously, there are very few women I know over 30 who can get away without wearing makeup

Feb. 17 – I love makeup.

When I was lying in bed for two weeks straight, dying of pneumonia, I watched a lot of daytime television (aka talk shows…I got over soaps during my undergrad and have never gone back). Anyway, one day Melissa Rivers was on the view and she is where I got the title of my post. I thought this quote was just brilliant.

No, I’m not currently on any kind of mood altering chemicals–I’m actually rather drug averse–however, if I needed to be on them due to a chemical imbalance, I would. What I wanted to share with you, at the risk of sharing way to much info about myself (what’s new?) is that I am currently in therapy and I talk about it a lot with my close friends and some of my family.

I was not abused as a child. Yes, I went through some hard things, but whose childhood wasn’t riddled with some kind of drama? And for those of you who happened to be in that lucky few who had perfect lives, I’m sure you have your own issues just the same.

Anyway, I kind of knew therapy would be a good thing for me a long time ago, but I just didn’t know if I was ready for it or if I really wanted to deal with my crap with a stranger. What I have discovered after only a few months of meeting with this woman is that I can actually make my life ever better than it is just by getting an outsider to encourage me to look at things differently. She doesn’t give me answers or tell me what to do. She doesn’t judge me. She just helps me to see my life and the decisions I’ve made and the things that have happened to me through a different lens. For those of you who have been in therapy, hopefully this makes sense. For those of you who haven’t, hopefully this won’t discourage you from going. 😉

Don’t get me wrong. I think I’ve got a pretty fantastic life and I thought that before I started therapy. But there are just some things that I want to make even better and some things I’d like to change, so I’m doing it. Therapy is not a cure-all and it’s not something I want to do for the rest of my life, but in its proper time, it is amazing.

Feb. 16 – I love therapy–in its proper time and place.