Lydia's Journey BEYOND Hollywood

I've been on many stages in my life.  Small black box theater spaces, huge stages that I shared with the San Antonio Symphany, and even stages that weren't really stages.  I've even been through many stages myself - from the awkward kid who didn't know who she wanted to be, to the professional actress struggling with what to do next.  To the woman who is now a mommy.  Out of ALL those stages - I love the stage that my kids are in now the most.  :) Ivy will be a year in a month.  And Nic will be 18 months.  And as much as I loved holding my newborns in my arms, I remember thinking, um...when does this begin to be FUN?  Yes, having (almost) two toddlers definitely has its TOUGH moments (tantrums anyone??), but watching them learn and discover things is priceless.  Hearing them "talk" to each other is surreal!  They may understand each other, but it sounds like babble to me and their dad. Ivy slept a lot when she was a newborn, and didn't interact all tha

We are coming up on two years back in Austin.  Two years happens to be the exact time I lived here last time. It was right after graduating college.  I came to Austin because I wanted to start a professional career as an actress, but I wasn't ready to make the move to Hollywood just yet.  I accomplished a lot in those 2 short years.  I secured my first agent, used professional headshots, worked on film for the first time, and even booked lead roles in independent feature films.  In those 2 short years, I grew up a lot, as a person and an actor, and I was ready to fully go after my dream.  I knew that meant having to go back to square one, humbling myself, and working as an extra for a year and a half before booking my first speaking role on TV. For my 10 years in LA, I've thought about moving back to Austin several times.  At every anniversary, I would reminisce about my short time in Austin and how much I loved living there, the great people I met in my short time, and the a

Well, now I get why people elope!  Wedding planning is my worst nightmare.  I've never been much of a party planner or decorator, and trying to come up with a "theme" much less a small guest list has all been a challenge!  Luckily, we decided on a very small beach wedding with just close friends and immediate family.  I found a photographer, caterer, and maybe even a dress.  So things are moving along nicely.  Still have 8 more months to go.  Nice... I started jogging last week.  OMG - I can't believe how easy this used to be for me.  Now it is the hardest part of my day - and that's saying a lot if you've ever seen Nic throw a fit.  I haven't made it part of EVERY day, I'm just glad I've been able to do it a few times already.  My body definitely feels the pain afterwards.  But I know the more I do it, the better I'll feel - and the easier it will get.  It's the third week of January so my hardcore regimen has started to slack.  The first

Well, actually, it's Day two.  Day two of the new year, and day two of my new diet and fitness overhaul.  Day one of working out though.  Thanks to a very bad stomach ache the first of the year, I followed my healthy eating diet, but I couldn't workout until today.  So Day one of back on the saddle. What's weird was, I've lost 100 pounds before.  I did it once, I can do it again, right??  It's not like I'm trying to lose the whole 100 again, but I'm trying to get my butt back into shape.  I'm not even shooting for my skinniest.  Just my happy weight.  To go with my happy date.  :)  We finally set a date to get married - September 7, 2013.  So I have 8 months to drop pounds.  Eight months to get back into fighting weight.  Ugh. The thing is, it's like I forgot HOW I did it!  It WAS many years ago...and I was so much younger.  My metabolism was way faster...yadda yadda yadda...  I know I can do it again.  I just have to remember what worked. If I ca