WE'RE GONNA NEED A MONTAGE!

I cannot even begin to express my awe, excitement and thrill of these past months...and my shock that it's taken so frackin' (that's for you, Jeremiah!) long to write you readers of my crazy blog! There is much, too much to catch up on. But I'm going to do the best I can! Here goes...god, there is so much...

Seriously. We're going to need a montage. And since I'm going to begin about where I last left all of you, when my fiance headed out to Navy Bootcamp, this one seems highly appropriate...

Being from Canada, my experience with the American Military was minimal, at best. My version of the Navy was what you saw on TV. I used to be a big fan of NCIS, but it didn't prepare me for what the beginning of training was all about. My fiance headed off to train for four months, and though the time apart was difficult, it made the little contact we had superbly romantic and precious. The first two months were sent sending letters back and forth, filled with sentiments of love, stories about our days, and our longing for his return home. The first time we saw each other at his graduation was breathtaking; we hadn't been able to Skype, and our phone time had been limited to about 5 short calls over the two month period. So. Magical moment.

The next two months were spent making visits to San Antonio during his final training, and making big plans for his return! I also spent a lot of time staring at him in uniform. Yum. But this is a family blog, so...I'll leave it at that!

I kept myself busy over the months, but with his return, busy turned into top-speed-whirlwind! Who on God's Green Earth thought finding an apartment, moving to another city into said apartment, finding jobs and preparing for the holidays -- and doing it all in a month!! -- was a good idea? Oh wait, WE DID!!!



So, we find ourselves living in one of the most beautiful cities in North America, a few short blocks from the Pacific Ocean. New jobs keep us busy while Jeremiah maintains his Naval duties, and I continue to audition and discover what opportunities I'd like to pursue...including heading back to school to study psychology so I can work as an expressive arts therapist at children's hospitals and veteran clinics. The thing of it is, life has been such an exciting ride of late, it's taken us on many twists and turns and landed us in this little paradise of a city where we are starting a life together, and discovering and rediscovering all of the things we love, new and old!

Welcome to The Cutting Room...

I said yesterday's post was a two parter! There is a lot to catch up on from the beginning of the year!

As I'd mentioned, I'm still pursuing that whole artsy acting, writing, producing thing. I'm still in LA workin' it...



Here's a little taste of my latest project...

Ok. Let me tell you a story. Way back in December I auditioned for this great crew of people who were passionate about what they do, and passionate about film noir as a genre. They instantly came across to me as that kind of team that anyone would love to work with. That day was my lucky day, and five months later when we finally hit production I was proven correct...they were completely badass.

The Cutting Room is an 8 part neo-noir series that follows the emotionally damaged, gun toting, whiskey slinging Charlie Chase. A disgraced former police detective, she's now on her own. Having burned all her bridges, Charlie goes through life no longer caring. Around her, a deranged serial killer is actively seeking to become the most prolific in US history...when the murders become more and more personal, an unwilling Charlie is forced back on the hunt.

The Cutting Room will premiere later this summer...until then, hit the show up on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/TheCuttingRoomSeries

and 'like' us! As soon as we hit 250 (We're almost there!) a new trailer will be released...if you like what you see, spread the word and spread the love.

Because Charlie is cold and sad, and she needs a little love in her life...

We'll Make Can-oz-ican Babies.

Annnnd I'm back!! This one is gonna be a two parter! Much to catch up on...

Since the last post in January, my life has taken on quite a new and thrilling path...Los Angeles has begun a brand new chapter in my life in a way that was quite unexpected! Especially in LA...

Who falls in love in LA!?

When I last left you, I was gushing about what 2012 had blessed me with...I also briefly alluded to having met a boy. Oooh, a boy, you say! Yes. Ok, well, a man, if we're getting down to specifics. Don't want it to sound creepy. Well, this man, simply put, swept me off my feet. Done. Toast. My White Knight. And the next 7 months were blissful and surprising!

Yes. I moved to LA to pursue my dreams. I'm still doing that! (I'll get to that later, patience, friends! Enjoy the romance!) But along the way, while slinging beers in that "Happy Ending Bar" (Yup. That's what it's called.), I was unaware that I was about to meet the man that would become my fairy tale 'happy ending' as I served him coffee, got all gooey over his Australian accent and charm, and tried not to bother him too much while he watched his soccer match. He gets really into his game. 

That night, we went on our first date at a little thai restaurant nearby. We talked the hours away and kept each other on our toes, but alas, it was eventually time to say goodnight. We totally kissed on the first date.

Fast forward exactly 7 months later, Canada Day at home in Toronto. My man is on his knee, cutely fumbling with the ring box as I give him a resounding YES to his proposal! Bliss...

Snap back to LA with wedding planning in the works and a date locked in, the next phase of life and love begins...and I'm going to love every minute of it!

Oh ya. And we'll make beautiful Can-Oz-Ican babies. And this guy'll tell the world.

2012 Round Up! From Sunset Groping to LA Unicorns...

     Sitting in a tiny office, in an old barn that's been turned into a movie set, that is on a ridiculously incredible pistachio tree farm in the calm, beautiful, clear skied middle of nowhere, just a ways outside of Fresno, California...

     ...I'm reflecting on 2012 and on the epic changes that have happened in my life since the beginning of the year.  After a rough start, I took time away in February to travel and explore Los Angeles, and immediately knew that it was time for a change.  I packed my bags, drugged my cat for carry on, said farewell to my beloved New York and headed West...

                                                            *****

     It's been a couple of weeks since I began this post, and even in that short amount of time, life has continue to surprise me with blessed gifts!  As I continue to reflect on this past year, I realize that it has been a time of major growth.  I think it's safe to assume this to be true not only for myself, but for many people that I've had the fortune to share my time and experiences with over the last twelve months.  2012 has been a year like no other I can quite recall.  I've been fortunate enough to have been thrown on to this great roller coaster ride of a year with screams of both excitement and fear, and have come out the other side a better, truer, stronger version of myself.  And, with a sort of faith, hope, knowledge and patience (ok, the patience I'm still working on) that I had been lacking prior to this point.  In this 2012 round up, I've tasted the best and worst, and wouldn't change a single moment of any of it, because it all brought me to THIS exact moment here and now...

     ...this year, I've made new friends to grow, laugh, cry with and learn from, I've watched drug addled Los Angelenos getting dressed on the sidewalk, I've been working with a team of brilliant producers to make a movie I wrote a reality, I've been groped by a man on a bicycle drive-by style on Sunset Boulevard,

I got a brilliant manager who is helping me follow my dreams, I'm hitting the stage and screen, I've dated in this city that makes the prospect of love look like the distant fantasy of a child searching for a frickin' unicorn, yet recently and blessedly met a man who lights up my days and leaves me amazed...


And I can say without thinking twice that I couldn't be any more thrilled, any more filled with excitement, to see where these great adventures, memories and lessons of 2012 will lead me in 2013.

     So to all of you who helped me get to this point, thank you.  I love you.  I wish you only the very best in everything this New Year.  So what are you waiting for?  Start fresh.  Start bright.  Start big.  2013 is going to be no-holds-barred, honest to goodness living life the way it is meant to be lived - to it's absolute fullest!!

     My friends, here's to the year that has passed and all it gave us, and here's to the New Year ahead.  Here's to new adventures and taking more risks, to loving fully and giving freely, to dreaming and to achieving.  May you live every day with the exuberance that it deserves, knowing each one is a gift...