Begin each day

I recently went up to Santa Barbara to see my friend, Judith Scott, in "Doubt," a thought-provoking play by John Patrick Shanley that is set in the 60's. Really enjoyed it...and the q&a session afterwards.

While having breakfast at Andersen's Danish Bakery the next day, Judith happened to mention she stayed in bed that morning just thinking of all the wonderful things she liked...almonds, flowers, etc. I said, "That must have made you feel good." What a great way to begin each day! And if you went to bed listing five things for which you were grateful, that would really set the stage for the next day. I'm going to try it, starting tonight.

We stopped to shop, of course, and found a great place on State Street, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art store. It fed our artistic souls. Bright colors, unusual jewelry, unique handcrafted art glass, educational books and creative toys for children.

Santa Barbara is a wonderful town. It seems no matter what the temperature happens to be, it's a beautiful day. The architecture is extraordinary. Lots to see and do.

Up, Up, and Away

I hope I don't wait until I'm on my deathbed (one word or two?) before I gain clarity.

Wouldn't it be awful to wait until then and think, "Oh, that's what that meant." "I should have taken advantage of that opportunity instead of worrying about whatever it was I was worrying about." How many times have we heard that before people check out, they say they only regret the things they didn't do.

Well, I'm pretty much of a risk taker. Flying in a little single-engine plane for many years...three trips back to Ohio and a couple to Oklahoma...qualifies me, I think. There was the time on one of those Ohio trips, we were over 29 Palms after flying around clouds most of the day (before my pilot was instrument rated and couldn't bore holes in clouds)...we had been climbing and wanted to level off at around 7,000 ft. That's when we discovered there was a problem. It's like stepping on the accelerator of your car and passing someone at 75 mph and then letting off the pedal, only it wouldn't let up. It's like it stuck down. Well, it could be just as serious in a car...maybe more so with traffic. Thankfully, we hardly see any planes up there except when we near an airport.

However, we were flying over mountains...and looking down, there was no place to land safely.
That's when we radioed Palm Springs and told them we had an emergency. I was sure they would give us some sage advice. Only, "How many aboard?" Excuse me...he may have said, "How many bodies aboard." That's how I read it.

In any event, my good pilot used his head and figured out that he could turn off one of the magnetos (there are two) and it would let up enough to get the reading off "red line," so the engine wouldn't overheat and quit. That was the fear. It's the opposite of what most pilots are trained to do. You're trained to handle an "engine out." Not a wide-open engine. It doesn't happen. Well, now we know it can...and did. The worst part was having to dive (literally...since we couldn't slow it down as one usually does to descend for landing). It felt like my head was coming off. When we had the runway lined up, I was told to push back my seat as far as it would go...we had to shut off the engine completely in order to slow it down enough to stop at the end of the runway, which meant if there was any wind gust, we would not be able to adjust.

Palm Springs was chosen as our landing site because we figured if the jets could land there, the runway would be long enough to handle the speed of our little Cessna. As it turned out, that was the calmest day I've ever seen in the desert.

Truthfully, the air traffic controllers at the Palm Springs airport were most gracious. After we radioed the emergency, they cleared the airways for us. Didn't that make us feel important...and there was even a fire truck to greet us.

Well, I took the liberty of saying, "we" throughout, but the credit all goes to Dave Black. Whatever you do, if you are going to fly in a little plane, pick a good pilot.
Oh yes, I think I deserve a little credit, because I found out in an emergency, I just shut up and let the pilot figure out how we were going to get out of this. I do remember thinking as my birthday was near, "Oh well, I guess turning 32 isn't any big deal." Thank God, I found out it even gets better.

Solving Life's Problems

You don't have to be an actor to get a lot of the book, the ARTIST'S WAY, A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity by Julia Cameron. I was reminded of that when I had lunch with a friend who said she hadn't spoken to her dad in three months due to a misunderstanding.

The first thing that came to my mind about my friend's situation was the advice about writing a letter to the person with whom you want to say things to that you know may worsen a situation and that you may later regret. You write the letter and tear it up. I've never done that...but I have used my morning pages from the ARTIST'S WAY to unleash any anger I may have toward someone.

But, this daily act, which is one of two basic tools Julia recommends in this book, has far more reaching benefits than just that. It gives you clarity. It helps clean house...(don't I wish)...of the brain that is...clear away the clutter. What is getting in our way of being our authentic selves?
Julia says, "The pages lead us out of despair and into undreamed-of solutions." She states, "When I am stuck with a painful situation or problem that I don't think I know how to handle, I will go to the pages and ask for guidance."

Three 8 1/2 x 11 pages written in long hand of whatever comes into your mind. It's called stream of consciousness writing. It works.

And now, I've got to go back to rereading this wonderful book. I have to admit I've lapsed and not done my morning pages in quite some time. Maybe that's why I haven't been able to
post more often. My creativity has been stifled. Look out. I'm coming back...it says here
in fine print.

Italian Goulash

After moving out here from Ohio after college, I landed a job in Newport Beach, which happens to be where I met my husband. Being a newlywed, I was seeking new recipes. We had a potluck one day, and a nice lady named Rita shared her recipe for Goulash. I remember she used hamburger. Over the years, I've tweaked it a bit to fit our taste. I thought of this dish as more of a family meal on weekends, because it is so good leftover too.

I made it a few times for company, and much to my delight, everyone loved it. So, I thought I would share this with you. I made this dish for the cast of one of my plays on our rehearsal night, substituting Italian turkey sausage (it was spicy!), because I knew a few didn't eat meat. It was very good.

1 lb. hot Italian sausage
1 large can diced tomatoes
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 medium onion
1/4 chopped bell pepper
1 1/2 cups elbow macaroni
1 can black beans, drained
1 T. parsley
1 T. crushed basil
1/2 tsp. ground oregano
1 clove garlic
salt and pepper to taste

Remove sausage from casing. Brown in deep pan with 1 T. olive oil on medium high heat. Break up sausage into pieces after browning. Turn heat down to medium low and add onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Saute for about 5 min.
Add tomatoes, tomato sauce and a little water. Add herbs and spices as noted above.
Cover and cook on low for about 25 minutes, stirring after 10 minutes. Add macaroni and cook until macaroni is al dente (about 15 minutes). Add beans the last 10 minutes.
Serve w/parmesan cheese on top and crusty french bread.
I precede this entree with a salad.
Bon Appetit!

Diva Dish

If I hadn't gone about producing Butterflies are Free at my acting studio several years ago, I probably couldn't have told you who Eileen Heckart was. But, I researched the film role, and then learned Eileen had won an Oscar for her performance in that movie with Eddie Albert, Jr. and Goldie Hawn. She had also won Emmy's (for one...a guest starring role on Lou Grant) and
Tony's as well. In other words, one of those fabulous character actresses that you may not be able to identify by name but have enjoyed her work for years.

I ran across a book written by her son, Luke Yankee, last year. After thoroughly enjoying all the fantastic anecdotes he tells about his life with his mom and the many famous people with whom she worked and socialized, such as Marilyn Monroe, Paul Newman, Ethel Merman, Lucille Ball,
I heard about his one-man show where he tells all these great stories.

We had a chance to see his show tonight, and I must say it was all I expected it to be and more.
Luke sang a few heartfelt songs and included tape of some of his mom's roles on broadway and film.
But, one of the most touching moments for me was when he acted out the last scene in Butterflies are Free, which he hadn't gotten a chance to do with his mom because she had become ill. Through the magic of technology, he performed the scene with his mom's voice. It's obvious that Luke inherited a whole lot of talent.

He signed my book...and I thought, he's just as nice as I expected him to be. Try to see it if it comes anywhere near your area. You'll be glad you did.

In truth, after months of rehearsing, and one-week before we were to open, we were not able to perform Butterflies are Free. Nevertheless, I'm grateful for the opportunity to revisit that wonderful movie and discover all the interesting things about the life of Eileen Heckert.

Trust

I've never been very good at trusting. Maybe it's my Sicilian heritage, "Never sit with your back to the door."

I remember a management team exercise we had once where it turned out that having to trust was the secret to winning. Guess what...my team lost. I'm sure I was influential in the game.

Today, I finally got back to my yoga class after a three-month lay off...shame on me. Excuses like play rehearsals, the holidays, a week's vacation, etc., etc. Boy, did I miss it. However, I had a test today. (I'm getting back to the trust issue in case you're wondering.) I had just laid down on my mat as class was starting when I remembered I forgot to lock my car. Usually, I put my purse in the trunk before I leave home ever since I read an article that said baddies are on to the fact that women don't bring their purses into class, leaving them in the car. I forgot to do that this morning, so I put my purse in the trunk of my new car after I arrived. Maybe it was the fact I was admiring the Jag parked next to my Honda CRV before I went in that distracted me...but it just hit me that I didn't remember hitting the lock on the remote.

Choices...do I leave now and then be one of those people who come back in and make noise as everyone has just chilled out a little...or do I really test myself in "letting go of all worries" as Linda usually says at the beginning of class. Do I trust that the universe will send angels down to protect my car? There are usually people coming and going at the Center all the time, so I'm thinking, "Cami, relax. It will be there when you get out. It would be noticeable if someone were trying to steal your car."

Then I thought about the guy at the dealership when we bought the car who told us this car is one of the most stolen as he's trying to sell us the extra warranty and insurance.
I'm thinking...let's face it, not everyone would wait two months to get "green tea metallic." Now if it were silver, I might have to worry. In any event, I did finally relax thru class; and when I came out, there was my car safe and sound. Just as I was really getting used to it too.

Red Carpet

Well, I can't necessarily say I'm sorry I spent two hours watching the pre-show on the red carpet before the Screen Actors Guild awards, because the stars' outfits did not disappoint,
but watching the show was a little trying at times.

I never thought I'd hear myself saying, "Bring back Joan Rivers." Actually, I like Joan Rivers doing the red carpet interviews. Yes, she's a little over the top at times or a lot, but I found her patter at least entertaining. The stars may have gotten a little perturbed at her questions, but it couldn't have been worse than this year's interviews. I thought Juliana did a pretty good job, being called in at the last minute for an ailing Ryan Seacrest. She was up on all the star credits, etc, but did both women (I don't know the other woman's name) find it necessary to hug all the ladies as though they were their best friends...one even getting her body makeup on someone's white top!

At first I thought Javier Bardem was rude when he answered, "I don't want to talk about that," but a second later when I recalled the question (which I can't recall now), I realized his response was most appropriate.

Granted, it must be quite challenging having all the movie and tv info on the tip of your tongue as each nominee approaches the microphones. I'm sure they have something at their disposal (an ear teleprompter?), to assist them. Maybe the stars have been on those magazine programs and feel more comfortable with the hosts...I don't know.

I believe seeing Debra Messing in that gorgeous Oscar de la Renta dress was worth the time spent watching it! The stars looked beautiful...(Sandra Oh's gown was a stand-out too!) The guys weren't bad either. The step to show off the great shoes was a nice addition.

As far as the awards go, it was a good show...I just had such a difficult time watching that movie..."No Country for Old Men" that I'm thinking with all the awards it's winning, it may encourage others to make more movies like that. But, then, maybe there aren't too many other wusses like me around.