Bucket List in Images

The Bucket-theory: deliberately and systematically fill your life (bucket) with experiences and adventures (drops), and understand that you are 100% responsible for the content of your bucket. Dare to make changes, dare to live your life the way you want to, don’t settle for a medium life, search for possibilities, go for it and just don’t stop!

My Bucket List so far--I will continue to add to it as I remember.... (Past, Present & Future): 

Love & Marriage. Getting to experience falling in love and building a life together is one of the most beautiful things that exists in my eyes.  The day that I got married to my one true love, was the happiest day of my life.  To be surrounded by friends and family that support you and your love...is one of the most amazing and inexplicable moments of one's life.  I highly recommend it...

The True Heroines: This is a project that is very close to my heart .  It is a project that happened with creative individuals that wanted the same thing: To create an outlet where they could live their dreams and bring like minded creative individuals on-board to do the same.  
So far we are living the dream with this one and just riding the wave to see where it takes us....but it is definitely a bucket item list that is becoming something tangible...

Family.  Having a family of my own and becoming a mother....this is an item that I definitely want in my bucket.

 
Dad walking me down the aisle.  This was a dream come true--and something that I dreamt of my whole childhood.  The moment that my dad and I hooked arms before he gave me away...is a moment that is forever imprinted in my heart and soul.  In the bucket!

Broadway.  Someday and in someway I want to have the opportunity to tell an amazing story on Broadway...I don't care if I am 33 or 83...I want this one in the Bucket and I won't stop till it happens!

Production Company & Studio.  Has been a dream of mine since I began producing and writing in film school...I feel it getting closer and can't wait until the day that I get to be a part of many creative and important projects in a studio I can call home.  

Vacations with family.  Some of the best moments are spent on vacations with the ones that you love.  I enjoy every moment that I get to experience this.  I can't wait to see my own children playing with my parents and parents-in-law...I have great memories so far...and am excited to drop more of these special moments in the bucket. 

Ballet.  Getting to live the dream of performing with a company was something that came true at a very young age for me...it was something that I always wanted...albeit a short-lived career...it was a wonderful and learning experience, which grounded me into the person that I have become.  At least I can say that this one is in the bucket!



"It's Never Too Late to be what you might have been" -George Elliot

When life feeds you lemons....

...make sure that you make some really tasty lemonade!

No but seriously...sometimes life gets a little crazy--so seeing as I have been in full housewife mode lately--working on my character for our upcoming shoot..here are some helpful tips incase your life is full of lemons, and you need an outlet to throw them :0( ...I mean, use them 

 Housewife Tip of the Day:

1. Quarter a lemon and run it through the garbage disposal to get rid of nasty odors and freshen the drain.

2. Remove food odors from wooden cutting boards and countertops by rubbing the surface with a lemon. Also use on wooden cutlery and bowls.

3. Make a paste of lemon juice and cream of tartar to clean copper or tarnished brass. Rinse and dry immediately after using.

4. Add half a lemon to the dishwasher load for sparkling spot-free clean smelling dishes.

5. Use lemons to clean sink faucets and remove lime scale build-up.

6. Mix lemon juice and water in a spray bottle for a natural air freshener.

7. Make your own all-purpose cleaning solution. Combine lemon juice, vinegar and water in a spray bottle. Great to use on windows. Use newspaper to dry.

8. Squeeze lemon juice into your laundry for a refreshing scent. Lemons can also be used as a spot cleaner for any stubborn stains. To bleach your clothes, add a ½ cup of lemon juice to your rinse cycle and dry your clothes in the sun.

9. Combine 1 part lemon juice with 2 parts olive oil for a natural furniture polish.

10. To freshen up your microwave and loosen up any baked on particles, boil lemon juice in the microwave.




Hope that these housewife tips are helpful...
Incorporeal noun of the day: Wisdom. Think about it, reflect on it....use it!


Peace.

Truly Heroic Ambitions...

So over the last year or so, in addition to all the other fun things I seem to get myself involved in...I started creating and writing a character. This little character then developed into a story, which in turn along with other characters...turned into a pilot project....

My good friends: Fiona, Paula, Joel and I created this really awesome story concept and have recently been watching pieces come to life. Needless to say, it is getting really exciting!

Our little show is set in the 1950's just after the war when everything seemed perfect on the surface. Perfect homes, perfect lawns, perfect dresses, hair, nails...etc. But underneath that veneer, are people who have real problems, people who are afraid to express themselves for who they really are...and people who just want to be set free. The fictional town: Paradise Hill, is just that...paradise on the outside....but a little taste of hell on the inside.

Anyways, we recently had a photo-shoot with the amazing Tom Belding, and we watched these characters come to life for the first time on the little screen...it was pretty awesome to see something that you can only conjur up in your mind...become a reality...

Keep on dreaming....keep on being inspired!
Incorporeal noun of the day: Inspiration

Introducing: Margie Hepburn

...and Pearl Andrews.....

...and last but certainly not least: Dottie Rodriguez

Inspiration...

Well after many road blocks along the way and a lot of frustration...I continue on the path to some-kind of success in my craft of acting.  I recently discovered vision boards and created one for my upcoming wedding ( so exciting...)--but my good friend Chelsea Hobbs just re-inspired me when she told me to build myself a vision board of my career (which I have been meaning to do for ages...but somehow never get around to), because she said it really worked for her--so there-in lies my next project for the day!! Stay tuned for an update....I promise it will be up very soon.

In the mean time check the inspiration board I built for my wedding-theme: vintage glamour!

A Legacy

Inspiration is something that if you are open to can happen many, many times a day. I have the fortune of having that happen to me, having inspiration hit my instrument, and throttle me into different emotional states....inspiration makes me feel alive. It lets me know that I am still here, I am still whole and able to live another day.

There is a young girl whose blog I read who is truly an inspiration to me and to hundreds of other people in the world. Her name was Eva Markvoort, she passed away on March 27th. She had Cystic Fibrosis and made it her mission to inform people of what her journey was like...we met once but I feel like I know her through her poetry and through her constant will to create a legacy through her truthful journey on the web.

She has an amazing story. She is a true inspiration. To those of you who don't know about her, I urge you to be inspired and read her blogs, watch her documentary and donate to her legacy.

Her story and her legacy make me think about what it is that I want to leave on this earth, what is my mark? I ask myself this today and urge you to ask yourself the same. Whatever it may be...

So I leave you with this: Incorporal noun of the day: Inspiration. What does it mean to you? Be inspired, be open, inspire others with your stories. Remember that you have one life and that you must live it to the fullest everyday.

Peace.

http://65redroses.livejournal.com/

A day in the life

I read this fabulous article today, put together by numerous actors-about what it is that they do daily to keep their craft alive and thriving.  Being an actor is so interesting and exciting.  It made me think about what I do everyday to keep myself alive and I thought that sharing would be fun.

One of my favorite things to do is watch people. I always try to study people: What about a person makes me see the person is sad? What is the relationship between the couple in a restaurant? Are they married? Have they been together for a long time? Is the guy in love with the girl? Is the girl in love with the guy? Seeing things for what they are is crucial to an actor. It helps you create a truthful scene and/or character. I usually spend countless hours a week studying people and their relationships, their reactions...what their body is doing when you ask them a certain question. Studying people, it is one of the things that we do best.

Besides all the exercises of studying others, you can also examine yourself. The good old mirror helps. Create a character and talk to the mirror, studying your face. How does it change when you become a killer? A teacher? A little girl? A cop?Take yourself on a journey in the safest environment of all, your own home! It will teach you and give you confidence. You see yourself in the mirror several times a day; so why not, brush your teeth as the character you imagined yourself playing! 

Another thing that I often do, as working my voice is a challenge that I am trying to overcome,I work my vocal exercises in the car...  Or when no-one is home. I always start warm-up with lip trills, then humming, humming-chewing exercises...etc.  Vocal warm-ups of the tongue-twister variety after are always fun just to get everything warmed up....try these "What a to-do to die today..." or this favorite of mine: "A box of biscuits, a box of mixed biscuits, and a biscuit mixer."

I also read the trades everyday.  Even if it is just the Variety headlines, just to keep up to date with ratings and what is new and fresh.  I always check Imdb--who is the #1 Star on the star meter this week?  I also, about once a week, check the ubcp film production list site http://www.ubcp.com/index.asp?navid=29 just so that I can keep myself up to date on what is going on here in BC.

There is a lot more we can do with our day, always, and impossible is nothing! Good luck on this most interesting journey!

SO I leave you with this incorporeal noun for the day: Perseverance. What does it mean to you? Think about it for a while. Reflect on it. Enjoy it.

Peace,

J

This Woman's Work

Life is too short to do things that we don't love, we must enjoy it while we can. Enjoy the beauty, enjoy the pain, enjoy the little things.  

Recently someone close to my heart was diagnosed with Cancer.  The news made me re-evaluate my life and think about what it is that makes me love life and what makes me happy.  I spent an afternoon at their house looking at an album of their life, and it made me see that life can pass by in an instant...  

As an actor, telling stories is what I am passionate about doing.  Affecting people-- in ways that they perhaps, aren't able to experience on their own....awakening feelings and emotions that were stored away.  

Well this week on television there was a story told through dance that really affected me.  It is a piece choreographed by Tyce DiOrio, and it is about a couple going through the struggle and turmoil of cancer together. The strength that the partner has to have to support her, and the struggle that she is going through inside and out.  Perhaps it is because there is someone near and dear to me going through this right now, but in any-case, it was beautiful and inspiring and I wanted to share it with you. Enjoy.

I leave you with an incorporeal noun for the day: Hope. Think about it. Embrace it. 

Peace,

J