The Amazing Audra McDonald

Tonight I sat less than 30 feet away from one of the greatest voices I have ever heard in my life. This voice belongs to Audra McDonald and I was in the Hale Center Theater in Orem. She is performing in 110 in the Shade for a limited two week engagement as a fundraiser. After hearing her voice on the soundtrack to 110 in the Shade (as well as the three other cds of hers that I own) I was blown away. She sang her first song (Love, Don't Turn away) with true heart and passion and received thunderous applause for her effort. About half way through the first act, the audio track stopped working. They stopped the show for 10 minutes and then continued with nothing but piano accompaniment. They made one joke then continued on in a professional manner. The sound came back on about 25 minutes later. My favorite songs were Raunchy, Old Maid, and Simple Little Things. Despite these words of praise, words cannot truly express how I felt and how I was lifted up by hearing her singing. My heart was full of joy. During the intermission I hummed all the music while reading through the program. After 5 minutes, a woman leaned over to me and asked how many times I had seen the show. I told her that this was my first time but I had almost all the music memorized. She laughed, complimented me on my humming abilities, and then I proceeded to gush about Audra and her other cds. She received a standing ovation at the end of the show (oh, and the other people in the cast were amazing as well.) A friend of mine, Melissa Lindsey, was in the show and did a great job.
After the show I waited by the door for her to come out and was able to get my 110 in the Shade cd signed and get my picture taken with her. As a side note, she said that she loved my necklace (Monopoly necklace as seen in the picture below) and mentioned that her daughter would have loved it as well. She was lovely and gracious as she could be. I will now have to buy myself another ticket for next week. If any of you have the opportunity to get a ticket, do so immediately.As an interesting side note, I ran into a friend of Alison and Jordan's. I have met Amelia several times (their wedding, Caleb's birth and funeral, Isaac's birth, tree decorating, etc) and we compared our love for Audra McDonald. She drove down from Salt Lake to see the show.

It's good to be busy

I know it's been a while since I've posted. It seems like there is never enough time in a day to accomplish all I'd like to. In the past two weeks the following events have occurred in my life:

• I regained electricity in my bedroom and bathroom
• Went to Lagoon with my parents, a few siblings, and their kids (boy were my feet tired afterwards)
• I lost my hat from work on Wicked at Lagoon
  
• Did my Visiting Teaching (for those who don't know what I'm talking about, please visit www.lds.org)
• Sat through a very long lesson on dating and courtship (while making snarky comments under my breath to the person next to me)
• Saw Wicked Tinkers in concert
• Attended the Scottish Festival at Thanksgiving Point (it rained)
• Went to Summerfest (it rained)
• Watched the fireworks from my back porch (it had finally stopped raining)
• Went to lunch with Sherri and Emily (it had been way too long)
• Delivered lunch to a coworker and his wife who were working on a Saturday to finish a project
• Attended a wedding reception (it started to rain)
• Went to dinner with Cameron, Cami, Scotty, and Sarah @ Gurus
• Attended a very long managers meeting at the Provo Library
• Bought the new Glee CD
• Had brunch with Sarah, Cami, Angie, and Scotty (I provided Milk and OJ)
• Visited a friend who had just gotten out of the hospital after having brain surgery to remove a cancerous brain tumor (radiation starts in a little while)
  
• Attended church, FHE, and Ward prayer (once again, see www.lds.org if you are confused)
• Had a sit down with my landlord about renewing my lease and had a roommate meeting with our landlord about cleaning, leases, and construction in the basement
• Listened to my roommate and gave her advice about work frustrations
• Worked 8.5 hours each workday
• Send my boss on yet another business trip and sent his wife a gift certificate from all the managers to apologize for all his trips.
• Ate 3 healthy salads
• Cleaned my bedroom and my bathroom as well as cleaning my car inside and out
• Began reading a book on interviewing relatives for family history projects

This weekend I plan to get together with family, clean, and perhaps go out with friends or on a date. I hope you are having as much fun as I am.

Electricity

I have not had electricity in my bedroom for over a week. On May 26th I arrived home from dinner with friends to discover that I had no electricity in my bedroom, bathroom, or the hallway outside both rooms. I called my landlord and left a message. I called again Thursday morning and Friday morning with no response. Luckily, I own an extension cord. This way I was able to have a bedside lamp that I could carry from my bedroom to the bathroom and back. It has been very frustrating. On Saturday I heard from my landlord, who reported that she had not received any of my messages but had been told my one of my roommates of my predicament. She and her husband came by to flip switches in the electrical box (as though I wouldn't have already tried that.) She said that she would call her handyman. That was a week ago. Apparently her handyman was out of town and he is the only person that she trusts. I received a voicemail from her today saying that the handyman was coming tomorrow night. This has been a frustrating experience but I have tried to be patient. Thank goodness for an extension cord, flashlight, and an battery powered alarm clock or my bedroom would be unlivable at night (as my landlord has forbidden candles of any kind.) I guess I'm just grateful that our air conditioning and power to the kitchen and family room have remained.