Christmas in Philadelphia

'Tis the season.... and this year, I'm really feeling it. Christmas can be tough for those of us in the theater, as our jobs revolve around providing entertainment to the masses and this time of the year the masses sure do want their entertainment. Lots of it. Added matinees and evening shows and shows during snowstorms when the rest of the city is shut down are pretty much our lives.

But for some reason, I'm loving this season. Maybe it's the fact that I'm feeling all settled and content in our cozy apartment, or maybe I'm just over being cynical and exhausted around Christmas time. It's nice to embrace the true spirit of the season-- giving to others and being with those you love.

I really wanted a real Christmas tree this year, but they are so expensive, plus a pain in the ass to get into our apartment, especially without a car. Deb solved this problem by buying a tabletop tree and hauling it home on the handlebars of her bike. Isn't she the bestest?

No Christmas season would be complete without our friend Rob's swanky Christmas party. True to form, everyone was dressed to the nines, the drink fountain was bubbling and we all had a wonderful time:

I don't think anyone likes getting dressed up as much as Amanda and I:

Pretty tree, Rob!

And of course the big news around these parts is the SNOW. Lots and lots of snow got dumped on us yesterday-- in fact, we had more snow yesterday than we had all year last year!

Hyde loves the snow. This is his morning walk, before the real accumulation began:

It's the Walnut Street Theatre's policy to never cancel shows, so we all had to trek to the theater for two shows yesterday. I tried to sweeten the deal by bringing everyone some schmancy hot cocoa. (l-r: Lauren, me, Katie)

On our dinner break, Lauren and I decided to have some fun with the weather. We walked from 9th & Walnut to Washington Square Park, making frequent snow angels. By the time we walked back, our first angels were almost completely gone. Crazy snowy!

Lauren demonstrates her technique:

This is me, making the point that the hardest part of a good snow angel is the dismount:

Twin angels!

Back at the theater, our loopy mood continued. I caught Lauren making shadow puppets during my light check:

After last night's show, I tromped through the snow to our good friends Lindsay & Carrie's house for an ornament decoration party! Carrie baked up some cute shapes and we painted them:


Craft time with Melanie and Dalice!

Today is Carrie's birthday, so naturally we had a cake from Isgro's.

Hyde found his buddy Amanda pretty quickly:

I did some last minute shopping for Mom at Macy's this morning, and stopped to enjoy the Christmas light show:
So this year finds me at peace with this crazy time, trying to find beauty and balance in this hyper season.

Merry Christmas, everyone!