Fiji

So, still trying to work on this quick catch-up so I can finally live in the present time with this blog. I know I'll get there soon.
My last couple of months were filled with fun vacations. Late November was spent flying to Australia for the first time. I stopped in Fiji, first and with my extended layover, was able to grab a beautiful tour of the land. This only made me want to go back and spend more time there. I had no idea that they had such great surfing. Something to keep in the back of my head for next time.

Vegas, Baby

I managed to escape to Las Vegas TWO more times before the year ended. The first time was to visit my dear friend, Natalie, who was visiting from Italy. Her family lives in Vegas and I thought such a small drive to see such a good friend. Natalie was pregnant (she has since had a baby girl) and so it wasn't a trip that Hangover movies are made out of. It was a nice and relaxing time spent with a good friend.
The second trip was in October and spent with my dear friend, Memphis Melissa and her sister. That trip was more of an all out party. We hit Pure Nightclub, where Sean Paul invited us to hang in the ultra-exclusive VIP corner of the club and shoot $1,300 shots of tequila. It was quite the adventure, even if it only lasted three days.

The Creative Arts Emmys

I was also nominated twice for Emmys for my work on "The Office" and "30 Rock." I ended up losing to "Lost," but still had a blast partying the night away at the ball and then heading to the The Edison in downtown LA for more partying. It's not too bad to lose when you are doing it with a cool group of friends.

After Emmy-madness, I celebrated a birthday with about 50 friends at The Association. A very cool and fun no-name on the bar kind of place in downtown LA.

I am Back... For Real!

After taking a six-month leave of absence from my blog, I am now officially back! Sounds so official. I don't really have a specific reasoning behind the hiatus, other than I just needed a break. Almost like I was doing too much to keep up with. So, I'm going to give my readers a very quick update on what's been going on in a series of entries. Buckle up and take a ride with me.

Starting with: September. I went to the Annual Daytime Emmys and had a blast partying with my "Days of our Lives" crew.

Academy Celebration

As many of you know, from reading my blog, that I was nominated twice at this year's Creative Arts Emmys for my work on The Office and 30 Rock websites. It was a true honor to be nominated. Earlier in the week, I was invited with my dot com team to attend a Grey Goose-sponsored cocktail hour to help celebrate the achievement in just being nominated. That was fun and very generous of the Academy of Television and Arts to hold an event in our honor for just being nominated. Not to mention it was very fun to celebrate with my coworkers and talk to other people who work in my field.

Catching-Up Fast

The title of my blog post is meant to have two meanings. One, being that I know I've been a bit MIA on this blog, I guess just one of the downfalls to having so much to do for the month of September. The second, I wanted to write about a fabulous visit with a friend from news days in Southern Oregon, Natalie. Natalie moved to Italy shortly after she got married a few years ago. She now lives in Naples, but was visiting her parents in Las Vegas. That, being a short drive for me, was a no-brainer of a trip. Any chance to catch up with a good friend.
The visit was lovely. Natalie hadn't changed a bit. She was just as beautiful inside and out, only difference being she was three-months pregnant. So, it was wonderful having a three-day weekend with catching up without all the craziness that some trips in Vegas have turned into. The next day, her friend from school joined us at the suite we were staying in. It was great having a girls' weekend. Natalie's friend, Lindsay, taught me how to play craps and roulette and Natalie won big at the slots. Of course, the girl who doesn't gamble wins big. Always the case. She was sweet enough to take us all out to an awesome dinner inside the Wynn Casino that was delicious. I left on Sunday night, feeling so happy that I made the trip and feeling so blessed to have had stayed in touch with Natalie after these years with her abroad. It's great to have good friends!

Daytime Emmys!

I know it's been a couple of weeks since my last post and I should have done this one earlier, but, hey, I was busy. As you can read from my title, I am blogging about one of my favorite perks about work, award season! I love this time of year because you have an excuse to get dolled up and party. This year's Daytime Emmy ceremony was special because "Days of our Lives" earned a record 13 nominations, including Best Drama. The ceremony took place in downtown LA in 103 degree heat. But, regardless, the red carpet was a lot of fun. I found myself walking it with Elmo! Very surreal experience. Once inside The Orpheum Theatre, we were able to watch history take place as Sesame Street accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award and the audience was encouraged to stand-up and sing with Big Bird, Oscar, Elmo and all the others. So much fun. After the cocktail ceremony and banquet dinner, the NBC crew headed to downtown's Broadway Bar, where we were hosting our party. That went on until closing time and we all had reason to celebrate. We might have not won Outstanding Drama, but Darin Brooks won Outstanding Younger Actor and Tamara Braun won Outstanding Supporting Actress for our show. Gave us good reason to toast a round of drinks or two and commend the cast and crew on what a wonderful job every has done this season.