I love Pinterest. I would not call myself obsessed or addicted, but Pinterest and I have a healthy friendship. Whenever I am in search of the perfect new DIY project to tackle, need inspiration for the perfect outfits, or need a step-by-step description of how to create a new hairstyle, Pinterest has my back. Some of my favorite things to pin are lifehacks (such as curling hair in foil with a straightener for indestructible ringlets, among other things) and unique DIY projects.
Last night, I was scrolling through the Health and Fitness page and found a lot of pins that were "TV Show Workouts", which are similar to the more common "TV Show Drinking Games"; for example, instead of taking a drink whenever Dr. Huang analyzes someone on SVU or whenever someone gets a text from A on Pretty Little Liars, you just do 20 burpees instead. I thought that these were the funniest things and promptly pinned one (or two or three) workouts for each TV show that I watch (or may potentially watch at some point). Here's to watching my next Law and Order: SVU marathon productively and guilt-free!!
Do you use Pinterest? What are your favorite things to pin? Let me know in the comments!
Now that I'm home for break, I have a chance to enjoy the simple things in life, like sleeping, eating actual meals, sleeping, doing laundry, sleeping, reading, sleeping, blogging, sleeping, and working out.
If you've ever been in college, you know how easy it is to let these things fall to the wayside. For example, my friends all refer to me as a professional sleeper (I can sleep anytime, anywhere), but once school gets into full swing, I find myself missing and craving my much needed hours of shut-eye.
But my least favorite thing to give up during the school year (even more than sleeping) is working out. Though I take four different dance classes a week at school, I find that going to the gym for an hour or two and just taking time to focus my thoughts while working out on the elliptical or stretching or doing ab workouts on the side is incredibly refreshing and motivating. I find myself more energized overall and I notice how much better I do in my dance classes when I work out my ideal amount.
I always start off each semester with a regular workout plan, going to the gym for at least an hour 4-5 days a week either to work out alone or to take one (or two, or three) of the university-sponsored fitness classes. However, once MT life kicks into high gear, I find that I barely have time to take a breath, let alone work out any more than stretching and doing planks in my trailer in between all of the rehearsals, practicing, crazy class schedule, homework overload, work schedule, and a few hours of sleep here and there. Add in getting a crazy bad case of pneumonia, and there's really no time to work out even a little bit as much as I would like to.
Disclaimer to other majors: this is a joke!
Thankfully, now that I'm school-less for a month, I have time to work out to my heart's content. I would like to be able to join a gym near my home, but since I am only here for a month, I'm thinking it may be more trouble than its worth. "But how does one work out without a gym?" you ask. I think that there are many ways of doing so: my brothers workout for lacrosse at home by running on the treadmill, doing pushups and crunches, facing-off against each other, and practicing stick skills with each other or using the LAX wall in our backyard.
I, however, am not good at creating my own idea of how I should be working out. That's where the beauty of modern technology comes in: I get the majority of my workouts off of YouTube. YouTube is an amazing resource for all kinds of workout plans; I can get cardio workouts, ab workouts, arm workouts, leg workouts, ballet workouts, floor barre classes, stretch classes, tap classes... the list goes on and on and on. I love the multitude of videos that exist in cyberspace; I can pick and choose which workouts I do each day and never get bored. Some of my favorite channels for workouts are Blogilates, XHIT Daily, and JessicaSmithTV. All of these channels have completely different types of workouts that are all created to be done in a small space at home and I highly recommend nearly all of their videos.
So if you're thinking that you should spend your break sitting on the couch watching TV, take a minute, hook up your laptop to your TV (with a handy-dandy HDMI cable), stand in front of your couch and do a workout or two in the comfort of your own home. Try and fight the lazy stupor that always seems to arrive with vacations.
And if you really can't seem to get motivated to do a workout, play a quick round of Just Dance, either alone or with family and friends. Those dances are so entertaining and the competition is so intense, that you won't even realize how much of a workout you're getting. :)
I haven't written anything for so long and I am so excited to get back to posting! I have had an absolutely CRAZY semester of school (not as totally insane as last spring, but still pretty jam-packed). To show you a compacted version of the past few months, I thought it would be easiest and most entertaining to construct a photo diary for you to peruse... enjoy!!
My Semester...In Photos:
Oh, these are just some of my best friends. It's casual.
After finishing up my shows
"Hernando's Hideaway" from The Pajama Game
and one of the most fun jobs ever,
TIC Summer Camp! Mustache Monday!
I moved back to school. However, instead of a normal dorm, this year, I moved into a trailer park.
Sadly, mine is not nearly this cool.
I started classes and was immediately swamped with homework.
Luckily, I'm a music major, so my homework looks more like this:
Then my school had a gala fundraiser and all of the MT classes sang in it.
Me and my lovely friend Laura
Meanwhile, I was getting antsy because it was almost my 21st birthday!
And the Snapchats started rolling in...
Unfortunately, it wasn't until the end of September, so I had to preoccupy myself. In the meantime, I studied,
...It's my favorite part because you'll see...
visited monuments,
Monumenting by moonlight!
and ate cupcakes.
Finally, the day arrived. I was finally 21!!
Legally drinking!
I spent a lot of my time during the semester planning my recital.
Yes, that is actually me as a toddler...
But I was able to spare a little time for fun too. I braved a camera makeup-less and posed for my beautiful friend's "Beauty in You Campaign", which promotes self-love and self-confidence for women everywhere:
And then, my friends and I turned Halloween into #halloweek. My favorite day was the day we dressed up as Pretty Little Liars (my guilty pleasure TV show). I was Aria!
'Cause two can keep a secret...
And then, for actual Halloween, my best friend and I were Sophia Grace and Rosie (from Ellen).
My semester hit a bit of a speed bump when I got really sick with pneumonia for about a month...
So I was thrilled when Thanksgiving rolled around and I could finally sleep.
I wish I could say it was just a food coma
I was also busy with a few shows throughout the semester. I sold tickets and promoted "Company"
And I assistant directed/choreographed a Disney Cabaret to raise money for The Make-a-Wish Foundation.
Coolest. Poster. Ever. (that's really our cast!)
We raised over $500 in donations to make children's wishes come true!
This makes my soul melt.
Soon it was December 7; classes had ended and it was time for my Musical Theatre degree recital. EEK!
from my dance to "White Houses"
Post-recital sibling silliness.
After a whirlwind week of finals, it was time to go home. I had to say goodbye to my roommate who was graduating this semester and going to Disney world to be friends with some famous mice or something...
See ya real soon!
And in the blink of an eye, I had gone from over-booked college student to a relaxed, lazy bum, now had time to rediscover crazy things like sleep and TV and Blogger and YouTube... the list goes on.
And now, Christmas is in a mere week! It's the most wonderful time of the year and I hope that you truly enjoy it.
I hope you've enjoyed my photo diary! Until next time...
I apologize for it being so long since I last posted on my blog! I have been beyond swamped consistently for the past six months. However, my life is finally starting to slow down a bit and I am able to breathe a little here and there. Also, I developed a pretty nasty summer cold that forced me to call out of work today. So I figured that while I sit in bed, I would share with you the major happenings of the past few months of my life!
One of my favorite moments of 2013 thus far was being cast as the Female Swing in the world premiere musical "Three Little Birds" at Adventure Theatre MTC in Glen Echo, Maryland. The show was based off a children's book written by music legend Bob Marley's eldest daughter Cedella. In turn, Cedella's book was based off one of her father's songs, also entitled Three Little Birds. The incredible Michael Bobbit adapted the story for stage and John Cornelius arranged and adapted many of Bob Marley's most famous tunes to fit the concept of the production. Does this sound like an awesome show yet?
Well it was. Nick Olcott directed the extraordinary six actor cast in the most fun, brightly colored, upbeat, and unique production that I have ever been a part of. 3LB was incredibly well received by the public and got amazing reviews. The production actually did so well, that in February 2014, it will be playing for a limited engagement at the Off-Broadway children's theatre, The New Victory Theatre!
I was absolutely blessed to be a part of this production and had an incredible time working with and learning from so many talented and beautiful people. I also got to perform as Nansi in the second performance and as Cedella in one of the final performances of the run, both of which were absolutely incredible experiences.
As soon as 3LB closed, I was asked to be an understudy in ATMTC's next show "Big Nate: The Musical" , another world premiere musical. Based on the Big Nate comic strips and books, the story was a high energy children's musical about the trials and tribulations of being a sixth grader, as told through the eyes of Nate Wright. I understudied Jenny and Mrs. Godfrey/Ellen Wright in this show and again, I had a blast and a half. Though this rock-musical was completely different than 3LB, I was again so blessed and thankful that I was given the opportunity to be a part of it.
During the run of "Big Nate", I auditioned for and was cast as Deloris/Ensemble in "The Pajama Game" at Montgomery College Summer Dinner Theatre. Though I had been in the show before (when I was 17, I played Gladys), this show was an entirely different experience. This time, I got to be in numbers that I wasn't in during my first time in the show, and vice-versa. The production concept was much more abstract than the first time and Jay Brock's directing style helped us actors to really flesh out the production. The whole idea of dinner theatre was also introduced to me, as having a two hour waiting shift prior to curtain completely changed my process of preparing for a show. I grew so close to my cast though throughout this process, as well as the cast for the other company show, "The Wiz" (which I am currently on costume crew for). This whole experience has been really fun, and though definitely time consuming, I am so glad that I got to be a part of such a wonderful family.
In addition to working at MCSDT for the summer, I am also currently working as a Drama Specialist/Athletic's Counselor at TIC Summer Camp in DC. TIC is universally considered an incredibly unique summer camp, as it merges Technology and Athletics into one experience for 6-16 year-olds. The campers split their day half and half between their chosen technology concentration (Programming, Film-making, Animation, Digital Arts, Digital Music, Web Design, etc), and a myriad of sports activities that also may include one hour of either Tennis or Drama (with me!). It is an amazing system and I have met some f the coolest kids in the world working at this camp. We are currently halfway through the Session 3 of 4 and I am having an indescribable amount of fun. I also love everyone on staff with me, and they are a huge reason why this job is absolutely amazing.
I think that I have hit on pretty much all of the major highlights of my life as of late. I'll definitely be posting more often soon; I discovered a new thrift store and I have been working on a variety of DIY projects that I cannot wait to share with you!!
Until next post!
Love, Leaza
P.S. I forgot to mention that this picture of me was found on Pinterest by my friend!! I was so excited!
Last night, I was scrolling through the Health and Fitness page and found a lot of pins that were "TV Show Workouts", which are similar to the more common "TV Show Drinking Games"; for example, instead of taking a drink whenever Dr. Huang analyzes someone on SVU or whenever someone gets a text from A on Pretty Little Liars, you just do 20 burpees instead. I thought that these were the funniest things and promptly pinned one (or two or three) workouts for each TV show that I watch (or may potentially watch at some point). Here's to watching my next Law and Order: SVU marathon productively and guilt-free!!
