Hadley Girls Hit the Big Apple

At Legally Blond.
My sisters and I just finished up a wonderful trip to New York City. We'd been talking about going for a long time, and since I have a milestone birthday coming up this week, we decided now was the time. Our trip was full of walking, attending Broadway shows, walking, seeing the sights, walking, celebrity sightings (more on that in a future post), Subway riding, eating and WALKING. We had a blast! Here are a few pics.


Serendipity (of John Cusack movie fame) was a few blocks from our hotel.


Sarah and Bekah with Rockefeller Center in the background.




Striking a pose near Lion King, which we saw last night.


From the Staten Island Ferry.

More to come....

Sziasztok! (That's Hello in Hungarian)

This weekend my childhood friend Julie visited me. She's back in the states after spending two years in Hungary. Julie and I have known each other since I was 2. You just don't have many friends like that in your life. Always one for adventure, Julie suggested we take a hike in the snow on Saturday. It turned out to be really beautiful, although we had to give up on the first trail we tried because it was so icy.


Other highlights included two improv shows, Easter with Sveta, Blaze and Krishana, and an afternoon in Denver.


We spent Monday afternoon in Manitou Springs, exploring the local sights. The sun was out and temperatures were near 70 degrees! (That's Colorado for you.) We ate yummy Mexican food at The Loop and then drove through Garden of the Gods for some last-minute pictures.

Julie is planning to return to Spain to continue to do ministry related to music and the arts (she is now nearly fluent in both Hungarian and Spanish). She showed me a video of a phenomenal musical she wrote in Hungarian. The musical, which shares the gospel, was so well-received that it is continuing (churches are requesting it) even though Julie is no longer there. It is inspiring to see the fruit of her hard work.

Bekah Sings

Videos of Bekah singing (in the musical "Urinetown"), as promised. Both songs are great, but the second is particularly beautiful.

Hope Cantwell, the stereotypical, idealistic heroine sings to her love interest Bobby Strong. My favorite line: "Even your heart knows you should follow your heart."


The music director told Bekah this song gave him chills.

Vote for Stick Horses!

A few days ago, a coworker told me that she had voted Stick Horses in Pants as the best theater troupe in Colorado Springs. I was flattered. I wanted to make it easy for anyone else to do the same, so here's a link to "Best of the Springs."

Thank you for your support!

Bekah in Urinetown

OK, you'll have to get over your prejudice against the title (I did). But this weekend I traveled to Aberdeen, Wash., to see my sister Bekah play the lead in "Urinetown." One site describes the musical this way:

One of the most uproariously funny musicals in recent years, URINETOWN is a hilarious tale of greed, corruption, love and revolution in a time when water is worth its weight in gold.

Bekah played Hope Cladwell, an optimistic girl with a pure heart who finds herself in love with hero Bobby Strong and conflicted over her father's role in oppressing the people by making them pay to use the restroom. The musical spoofs other musicals, including "The Sound of Music," "Les Miserables," "Spamalot," "West Side Story" and "Fiddler on the Roof." Bekah got to sing some beautiful songs. I'll be posting videos in the next few days. Of course, I'm proud.

Here's some pictures from my weekend.

Borscht

On Thursday night, my housemate, Sveta, and I made borscht — Russian stew. Sveta lived in Russia until she was 7 and craves Russian food. And when I visited Russia a few years ago, borscht was the food I liked everywhere we had it (and we had it often). Sveta and I have been talking about making borscht for more than a year. We finally did (using an authentic recipe from a Russian woman in town). And the result was delicious. You can find a simple recipe for borscht at Cybersoup. If you want the authentic recipe, I'd be happy to give it to you. It's a little complicated but very tasty.

Second Annual Horsey Awards

The second annual Horsey Awards were held this past Wednesday at Caspian Cafe. The event honors the members of my improv group Stick Horses in Pants. The food was delicious. The laughs were plentiful. And the awards were...well, unique. Among them an award for making up the most useless jingles, an award for being the best person to point when something is funny, an award for bringing the most spice to the group. Hard work, loyalty, consistency, friendship and kindness were also recognized.


Jeremy and I represent in black and white. (I recruited Jer back in the day.)


The special looked amazing.


My kitten, Mia, enjoyed my award...or just the box it came in.

The God of "Yes"

A few weeks ago, I was going through a period of discouragement. Doors were closing left and right, and I didn't understand why. In the midst of that, the Lord ministered to me one Sunday morning during worship. He impressed upon me the idea that He desires to give me good gifts. And that if what I desperately want isn't happening, it must not be the good He has stored up for me. What a refreshing and wonderful truth.

I was reminded of a special date my dad took me on when I was 17. It was the fancy kind for my birthday. We went to an elegant seafood restaurant on the coast and then drove and hour and a half to Seattle to see Phantom of the Opera. For me, it was a perfect evening. And I pondered what would have happened if, instead of accepting the wonderful evening my dad offered, I demanded a pizza party or movie instead. I would have missed out. Big time.

In my new Boundless article, "He Says Yes," I explore the truth that our heavenly Father desires to give us good, nourishing gifts. When we're close to Him, we don't have to fear we're missing out.

Nephews Blowing Bubbles

So cute!

Back From Florida

Grandpa and Me.

I spent the past seven days in Florida, first at the Florida Christian Writer's Conference near Sarasota, and then with my grandparents in St. Petersburg. When I first arrived, Florida was experiencing "winter," with temperatures in the 50s. So much for getting away to warm weather. To add insult to injury, I got a cold.

The beach in St. Petersburg.

Warm weather finally came on Saturday, and on Monday I was able to walk out to the Gulf in St. Pete's. I especially enjoyed spending time with my grandparents and finding out that Hadleys can be traced back to the pilgrims (although not any that came over on the Mayflower). When I told Grandpa that my improv group performs at the Broadmoor, he told me a story about how my grandma (who died when I was little) once stayed at the Broadmoor when she was visiting a guy she was interested in. "Once she met me," Grandpa said, "she pretty much forgot about him." It was fun to think of my grandma making a trip to Colorado to see a potential suitor--one that she forgot when Grandpa swept her off her feet.

So I return from Florida with a cold (which will soon go away) and family stories (which will last a long time).

Grandma Cookie turned 90 this year.