Birthday fun and more

The last week has seemed so much longer than a week. I can't believe it was only last weekend that I was in Point with Ben for his birthday. Each time we leave it each other, it seems to get harder and harder. I suppose we will get used to it. And, really, compared to this summer when we were 10 hours apart for 3 months and I had almost no cell phone reception, I think we can survive being 2 hours away with the option of texting or calling basically whenever we want. And...we do a lot of that. Everyday we talk on the phone at least once, even if it is only for 15 minutes when Ben is driving from his day job to his karaoke job. And we text a lot too. Good thing I have unlimited text! :) We are doing really well though. Making it through our own way.

Anyway, last weekend I went to Point to celebrate his birthday. He worked everday, so I only really got to see him in the evening. But oh well- such is life. I loved getting to spend time with him. He had to work karaoke the night of his birthday, so I ended up spending Friday evening at Pete's Sportsbar and ended up having a pretty good time, except when I got pretty tired toward the end of the night. The next day, I was able to give him his birthday presents- all beer themed! Now, I'm not trying to promote alcoholism or anything, but Ben just really likes beer! It included a Point Brewery t-shirt, a special beer glass I saw him eyeing in Nebraska, and a growler of an O'so Brewery beer which is the brewery about 5 minutes from his apartment that he can have refilled with a new beer whenever he goes. I consider myself a pretty cool girlfriend for this idea. Then his friends delivered Ben's new (new to him anyway, it is actually kind of old) couch and took the other one. It is a longer and comfier couch and that also meant his futon was banished to the garage. It's L shaped and takes up a good portion of the living room. We were also able to go out for dinner to the Amber Grill thanks to a little extra money from my mom for the occasion. It was nice, because we very rarely get to go out to dinner, especially to a nicer place like Amber Grill. So we quite enjoyed that. When dinner was over, we discussed what we should do for the rest of our evening. We decided to go back to his apartment and watch a movie with some popcorn. We needed to go get more popcorn from a grocery store, so I made a suggestion that we should get some apple cider and heat it up on the stove. Ben agreed that this was a good idea so we set off to get some cider and popcorn! We then heat it up and enjoyed the movie Step Brothers with our hot cider and buttery popcorn. We also had some wonderful chats as we lay on the couch- Me on one part of the L, Ben on the opposite part of the L, and sharing a pillow that sat in the corner where both L's met. It was kind of adorable. We both ended up falling asleep sometime in the middle of the movie. It was just so comfy and warm with the cider, that we ended up falling asleep and waking up at the end of the movie! Kind of funny; definitely adorable. Sunday was spent relaxing and soul searching about my housing choices. When Ben got done with work, we were back at his place and he surprised me with...MORE CIDER! So we drank that while watching The Office. Then we ordered some Chinese food for dinner. After dinner, it was time for me to hit the road back to Madison. So we said goodbye for now.

I ended up choosing the house with the art teacher- Elizabeth. It was a good choice, and I was able to negotiate for a little cheaper rent. I signed a lease and moved in Saturday afternoon! No furniture, so I am sleeping on an air mattress for the time being and my stuff is pretty much just pushed to the walls. I unpacked most of my clothes as I do have a closet and a little linen closet in my room. I also unpacked some happy things I can look at and remember that I am loved and blessed. Like all my picture frames, my jewelry boxes, and some odds and ends from Ben, Catherine, and others. I knew for sure I was in the right place when I walked into my room and there was a vase with some pretty flowers from Elzabeth and a card that read "Welcome to your new home." She really does seem super nice and I hope it continues to go well. Although, I will say that being in such an empty room makes me miss people even more. But that's okay. I have already talked out a few of my bedding options with Ben and we are gonna figure something out for me.

Oh yes- Also, I got cast in a show here in Madison! It will be with the Four Seasons Theatre. I will be in the Ensemble for She Loves Me. We start rehearsals at the end of the month! Yay! I also got invited to second callbacks for Avenue Q, which will take place sometime in the next two weeks.

The last week kind of swung between being busy and slow. I went to a few trainings which were okay. I am getting to know my coworkers a little better which is nice. I have started tutoring (FINALLY!) and I have also started planning one of my service learning projects! AACE (the afterschool program) starts tomorrow. We are all nervous. We are a bit understaffed, so hopefully it will run smoothly despite that fact. I am excited that things will start to pick up soon, though. I don't like being bored and I work better when things go at a faster pace. Oh...and....this might be a little awkward but...I DON'T CARE! I am proud of this- I posed for a figure art class....nude. Yup. My first fully nude public appearance. It was four hours of posing. We would do it in increments. 20 minutes and then a five minute break over and over again except in the middle where I got a 20 minute break. Honestly- it was an amazing experience and I am very proud of myself for officially overcoming one aspect of being a performer. There were some really amazing artists there. Some of them did drawings either with charcoal or pencil and some did paintings either with oils or water color. I was amazed at their work. Some chose to do full body, but some decided to do portaits either from the wasit up or just the shoulders up. One guy did one full body and TWO portaits. They really liked me as a model. Said my lines and angles were fascinating, really unique, and beautiful. One girl, who was from Russia, said I was beautiful and that it was an honor to paint me. She did an AMAZING oil painting of me. An Asian woman did an amazing drawing of me that made me look like I was made of glass or porcelein or something. The guy who did three drawings of me said he was excited at having such an interested, good model. The lead guy of the studio said I made a great model for art because of my fascinating features. My favorite was this man who did a gorgeous water color painting of me. He and the Russian girl not only captured my features, but also seemed to capture my "essence" and personality. They were all super friendly, thanked me a lot, and talked to me about my life, why I was in Madison, what I do, and THEATRE! Really, I loved the experience even though I was really tired after having to hold that same pose for 4 hours. But it was an easy $50 with fabulous people and an enlightening experience. I wish I could tell 13 year old Johanna, 16 year old Johanna, and even 21 year old Johanna that her features are beautiful and that people would be honored to paint her one day. This experience not only built up my confidence, but also made me feel like an artist again myself. I told them I would do it again whenever they need me. :)

Sorry if that was awkward for any of you (particularly if you are a family member). Just know, that I am safe and had an amazing time!

Things I have done in my new house:
Pet the dog a lot (her name is Mai Yia and she is a grey miniature poodle)
Watched Princess Bride
Watched Mulan
Cooked
Slept on my air mattress
Talked to Elzabeth
Listened to and watched the rain pour outside (it has rained allllll weekend!)
Listened to Mumford and Sons and other lovely musical artists
Looked up lots of furniture options
Talked to Ben...a lot.
Decided to wear hats...like....constantly...like....I think I have spent about 2 hours tops without a hat on since moving in here

Next blog....um.....I don't know. I am thinking of maybe doing a video blog (vlog)? I dunno....we'll see.