And then, there's a bearded fetus.

Jameson had to be up at 7:30 for a morning rehearsal, so I was up too. I worked on OKC Foodie Finds, had breakfast, and packed a dinner for Candlelight tonight. Someone had crammed a bunch of their trash into our trash can (which blows my mind as ours was already overflowing-full and there were plenty of empty cans around) so I had to be an equal a$$hole and take their trash out, moving it to one of the empty ones. I hate to do that but don't want to be stuck with trash due to someone else's Christmas selfishness (the trash collectors sometimes won't take bins that are overflowing.)

I saw via website that the DMV now has my title, so I called two dealerships to express interest in selling my car and got a digital offer from CARMAX which I want to bring to their location along with the car and see if they'll honor it. The digital offer is $8000, but I have a feeling that will drop immediately upon seeing the car.

Next was scrubbing the shower, my least favorite chore, followed by some practice on bass trombone, then lunch. After lunch a quick jaunt to the car wash to have the car look as nice as possible and to get all of my belongings out. By the time I got home Jameson was back and eating lunch. We would ride the Brightline train to Fort Lauderdale tomorrow. It's 3 hours down and 3 back for a total of 6 hours, and we'd just discovered that our seats are facing backwards both ways. I was dismayed enough that Jameson kindly called their hotline to try and have our seats changed, but since we got cheap-o ones we can't change them. I'm trying to be optimistic and cheerful, but tbh six hours facing backwards in motion sounds like it's not going to go well for me (or him, he gets motion sick easily too. I'm actually a little surprised that he didn't check this detail.) With this in mind I packed us ginger candies, motion sickness bracelets, snacks, and dramamine for tomorrow.

A few hours later Jameson went for his massage and I got ready for Candlelight. Went over and warmed up, and the usual three shows without a hitch. My Main Street Phil friends Chris (bass trombone) and Will (tuba) were there, so we got to catch up and that was really nice :) The narrator was Luke Smallbone of the contemporary Christian band For King & Country. This is his first year doing Candlelight, and I thought he did a good job. It might have been his last night as well, because afterward he stood by the stage door and shook all of our hands as we left. Seems like a nice guy!

When I got back home Jameson and I packed a little bag of snacks for our Brightline trip tomorrow. We are going to see our friend Lea perform the lead in Frozen. It's gonna be a long and fun day!

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SATURDAY

Up way too early, but I like to try and have coffee in my body and through me well before travel :) We drove to the airport...but for the train!

The BrightLine station is located in Terminal C, which is where international flights come in. The station is soooo new, they opened it a few years ago but only so the thing could be earning money for them, meaning lots of stuff is still under construction. Thing Number One, the parking garage, which was CLOSED :( We had to park way out in the overflow lot and take a shuttle back to the terminal.

At the terminal there was a very long line at security. Jameson has ridden the train before and said he hasn't seen it like this, and others in line were commenting the same. Must be the holidays. Most people had small carry-ons and looked like they might be catching cruise ships.


We were only minutes from boarding and the train leaves RIGHT on time, so we were worried we might miss it, but luckily the line moved fast. Still, we and everyone around us had to jog quick-like-a-bunny to make it!


As mentioned earlier, Jameson had booked us economy seats that were facing backward. It was similar to plane seating but with more leg room, nicer windows, and nicer tray tables!


I was immediately taken up in the novelty of the experience and was looking all around, but as soon as the first little jolt told us we were moving I knew I'd have to be cautious to avoid motion sickness for this long ride. So I tried looking around for a while, but within 15 minutes Jameson cursed quietly under his breath and said he felt motion sick already. He got up to walk around (which it's lovely that you can do on the train) and I tried turning sideways but it was uncomfortable, so instead I put the tray table down, closed my eyes and put my head down for a while (I saw some other passengers doing this as well.)

This turned out to be the right choice as it allowed my body to get used to the motion of the train without the interference of my eyes. When Jameson got back I got up to explore. Immediately, the vestibule gave me a wave of nostalgia for my time spent living on the circus train. Such a bittersweet feeling, of a home and a lifestyle that no longer exists. (CLICK HERE for a short Brightline vestibule video.)

(also, isn't it ironic that both Jameson and I lived on a moving train for 5-6 years, and yet we still get motion sick!! But you can't help your genetics I suppose. I had to be careful about reading and such on the circus train, too.)

Next I checked out the bathrooms, which Jameson had told me were nice. They are! They're big and clean and touch-free! For context, our toilets on the circus train were capsule-sized (I am an average-petite woman and MY elbows could touch both walls), stinky, gross, and had a janky foot pedal to flush the toilets that you had to mash multiple times to get results.

Brightline toilets:


Circus toilet circa 2013. Photo taken from the hallway as there's absolutely no room to take one IN the stall. And yes that is a random bystander taking a picture of our train as I'm in the bathroom. Don't worry there's a shade you can pull down.


Walking around made me feel MUCH better, and afterward I was able to continue facing backward and look out the window without issue (still had to avoid looking at my phone though.)


Poor Jameson did feel better, but had to sit on the aisle so he could turn sideways. We ate the Biscoff I'd packed and a ginger candy each, and some other small snacks, and we made it just fine with no further issue. At the Fort Laud terminal we bought premade sandwiches and scarfed 'em down, then quick-walked to the theater. As we walked up to the front I realized that I recognized this one: The Broward Center, where I'd performed with Tootsie in 2022!

Lea's show was in a smaller adjacent theater, but still respectably large. We enjoyed finding her photo in the program and admiring the staging :)


The show was wonderful! Very well done, especially Olaf's puppetry and Lea's quick change during "Let It Go." Believe it or not, Disney Producer Jameson has never seen Frozen!!! I kinda wish he'd known the source material, but this also meant that I got to watch him be surprised by the two biggest plot twists (highlight white text for spoiler: A character who spends the whole movie being a good guy very suddenly becomes the villain; the "act of true love," which everyone expects to be a kiss from Anna's "prince," turns out to be an act of love between sisters/sisterly love.) Lea's singing and acting were fantastic, we were very proud for her! And the rest of the cast was exceptional too, the ensemble singing was very impressive and Anna was vocally incredible.

Afterward we met Lea in the lobby where she was taking photos with misc little girls wearing Elsa or Anna dresses :) We walked to a nearby taco place and ate while catching up and talking about nerdy musician, theater kid, and Disney stuff.


My chicken al pastor tacos were not exceptional, but they LOOKED pretty.


We got to spend a good hour with Lea, which is great because she's got a lot going on. She's recently started her own band and she and Jameson talked back and forth about promotional tactics and industry connections and rehearsal spots. I mostly listened but chimed in occasionally, and got Lea to myself for a bit while Jameson went to the bathroom so we got to catch up just-us as well. Too soon it was time for us to head back to the station. We hugged goodbye and congratulated Lea on her starring role and awesome performance.

While walking off his motion sickness, Jameson had apparently been annoyed enough about it to book us the PREMIUM tickets for the ride back! Therefore we got to wait in a bougie lounge with snacks and flavored water while we waited for the boarding call (we were too full from tacos to take advantage.) Our seating was QUITE different, with loads of legroom, a table...and of course, facing forward this time :P


Premium Brightline tickets come with snacks, complementary beverages, and a full meal! I enjoyed a hummus cup while Jameson had salami and cheese and a ginger-and-Jack. This time *I* was the one to feel motion sick because I kept looking at my phone, but I am very used to this happening--story of my whole travel-based life really!--and knew how to handle it. I can enjoy my phone/the view for about 45 minutes at a time, then have to take a break where I stare into space or put my head down for 15 minutes, then my body calms down and I get another 30-40 minutes of freedom from nausea. Wash rinse repeat. It's annoying, but at least I can still interact and have fun this way.

Dinner was holiday-themed with thick-cut turkey, butternut squash, a "holiday slaw," and a mini pecan pie for dessert. I wasn't hungry enough for this but Jameson enjoyed it. Instead I had an apple and ate his squash for him.


We reminisced about the circus on this ride, the motion of the train and how it reminded us of home. Chatted about our busy week ahead...all the stuff we normally talk about. I love how, even when we run out of things to say, we can sit in silence and be totally comfortable with each other. Jameson's the best :)

Soon enough we were back at the airport, riding a shuttle to the distant overflow lot and driving home. I was very happy to have ridden the Brightline and for experiencing both the economy and premium seating...I think both were excellent, and would be happy to ride either way again. Front-facing seats, of course!

We got home around 10 I think, and were too tired for anything but to clean up and get to bed. I was surprised with a package at the door from my brother Jonah. It was my Christmas present: A 1996 signed poster from the first national tour of Beauty and the Beast!!! Amazing!!! I will have to get it framed!

(now I feel like an even sh*ttier sister for sending him a gift card. boooooo)

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SUNDAY

Jameson was able to sleep in, but I was up at 7 because I wanted to hit Whole Paycheck and be home before lunch (It's an 80-minute drive round trip.) I needed a few very specific ingredients for the special The Office chili I was making, plus Whole Paycheck's cornbread mix is THE BEST so I wanted that too. The trip was successful and judging by the stop-and-go traffic that I saw on my way back, I'd beaten the Sunday morning theme park rush.

Back home Jameson had just finished breakfast and was leaving to do a Publix run. Meanwhile I broke down our cardboard boxes from Christmas, swept out the garage, and was going to practice trombone but our neighbor appeared with a huge plate of lemon bars for us! I accepted them with thanks but also unconcealed exasperation. This is the THIRD plate of sweet treats this neighbor has brought over, and it is too much. Half of these will end up in the trash along with all of the stale cookies that we couldn't eat. I hate wasting food. 

I practiced bass a little right before lunch, and after lunch helped Jameson fold his laundry before doing my own. Packed a few things in my suitcase but didn't go too crazy just yet. Got the chili going around 4pm so it could simmer on the stove for a full hour, and made the cornbread. It was a lovely recipe and very flavorful, even though it was 78°F (25.5°C) outside which is NOT chili weather! The rest of our evening was quiet.

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Monday: I'm visiting a car dealership and CARMAX to get an in-person estimate and to find out if I'll be able to sell my car before this layoff ends. Nothing else planned for the day so I hope to practice and make an ingredients list for New Years Day eats.

Tuesday: My final Candlelight performance in the evening. During the day I'll probably do some cleaning and practicing. A walk would be nice too.