Hallo alles! Wie gehts?

Yes...I´m definitely in Germany right now and everything is amazing. The land here is absolutely stunning and I couldn´t be happier to be in any particular place. The land is filled with rolling green hills, beautiful trees reaching toward the skyline, and crysaline lakes with swans drifting in the middle. The towns consist of ancient, steep-roofed buildings built into the hills, lush parks with inviting benches, and cobblestone streets where you can always find children playing and kicking around soccer balls. The feeling in the air here is nothing less than calm and romantic. I´m in love with the area.

Working with the kids is absolutely amazing! I have found some really deep connections with some of them, despite our inability to speak the same language. I think that´s part of what makes the whole experience so magical though: you realize how unimportant words are and how powerful the human heart is, no matter what language you speak.

At the same time, I miss several people from both California and Michigan. I realize that everyday of my life brings me more and more places to call home because I will always be lucky enough to be missing someone.

Hugs and kisses to all of my loved ones who I cannot be with right now. You know who you are, and I just can´t wait until I get to see you again!

Until then...

Aufwiedersehen,

Chey ;)

It's been such a while since I've updated, so I apologize for that, but things have just been absolutely crazy!

I auditioned for a show a few weeks back for a show, opening for Bernadette Peters, and I made it. We did that show at the Arrowhead Pond (where the Mighty Ducks play) for an audience of 5,000 people, so that was an awesome experience. We also got to open and talk with Brian Stokes Mitchell, who played Trevor on "The Fresh Prince of Belair" for years. He was an amazing person inside and out.

Yesterday we had our show with the Overture "at risk" kids we've been working with for the past 3 months. That show went amazingly well and it was so touching to see how the kids had changed entirely from the first day we walked in to work with them until now. Mom also flew out for that show, and is going to be out here until the end of this week, so it's been really nice to see her as well.

The BIG news is that in a few weeks, I'm leaving to spend 2 months in Germany and then 2 more months in Japan for the summer. I leave late April and won't get back until late August. I'll be touring those countries doing an Outreach Tour, working with the kids and performing with them. It should be absolutely wonderful and an experience of a lifetime. So...unfortunately I won't be seeing any of you this summer, but hopefully I'll have a wonderful trip with a lot of stories when I get back.

I already miss Anders, and I haven't even left yet...

Here are those Canada pictures I promised I'd post.

 

( Feedback is good...so feel free! )

Farewell to all you friends of mine from Michigan. I leave to go back home to California tomorrow morning. It was wonderful seeing those of you that I could, and I'm sorry to those I didn't get to touch base with. Things were crazy and went fast, and about a week of my time was unfortunately and unexpectedly taken up by the flu (twice!). I'll miss you guys again, but I must say that I'm glad to be going back as well. Things are just the way I want them to be for me out there, and I'm anxious to return to the hustle and bustle of that lifestyle. Life in general is wonderful.

Okay...so I'm about to freak out because my boyfriend pretty much just drove into the country to see me for the night without telling me and he just showed up at my doorstep. So...needless to say I have to go, but I love you guys!

Ahh...how lucky am I?!?!

So I'm definitely in a relationship again, and it feels fabulous! Finally...a wonderful, healthy, fair, and respectful relationship with someone who leaves me in awe! My trip to Canada confirmed so many things for me, and for the first time in a long time, I feel so fulfilled and unstuck! Gosh...he's just so amazing and it was a quality trip for more than one reason! I got to spend wonderful time and make new memories with my best friend. I got to be around him in his own home and meet his friends. I got to be around the most sweet and hospitable family in the entire world, and it was all just refreshing and uplifting!

I'll have pictures coming soon hopefully...my camera died, but other people took some snapshots, so I'll post them as soon as I get them.

New dye and haircut too! Fun times!

It's been really wonderful and relaxing being back home for a bit, and I'm not ready to go back to my new life yet, but I've discovered some things since I've been here. I'm a lot more appreciative for both my life-long friends here in Michigan, and am really grateful too, for the wonderful ones I have made in California. I find that I just fit in so much better in general out there with the people I've become close to. Being back here reminds me of the shit I surrounded myself with for too long, and I'm thrown back into a lot of the high school bullshit that I find myself so glad to be away from these days.

For the first time...ever...I went out to California and felt like I truly belonged for once! I got into a group of friends that only wants the best for one another and never brings up bullshit things to argue about or create drama over. In going out there, I've felt what it's like to be respected and appreciated for who I am without any expectations or consistent lies being thrown in my face. Their compliments and promises are genuine, and come from the heart. In thinking back to my life for the past 2 years, heart is something I can't recall feeling a lot from others. I of course will always adore and feel completely grateful for my life-long friends out here like Lauryn, Godar, Lee, Casey, Kendra, and so on, but I find myself also yearning for the company of my new friends out in California, like Anders, James, Sarah, and Joey!

I guess I'm just tortured or bothered by memories of the past out here and feel as if, now that I've seen how things can be better, why I put up with and allowed myself to get caught into the meaningless shit for so long while I was here. I feel torn by the 2 different lives, yet am so grateful to have something to look forward to no matter where I go. How many people can say they have that?! As much as I feel crappy to see how I wasted some of my past, I feel so thankful to have a wonderful future ahead of me, filled with those who I simply adore!

Hey y'all! I'm home for the holidays! That's all for now...

Things are feeling really good tonight.  I've been having some hassles lately, but tonight I'm just feeling grateful and happy for those who help me through those daily irritations.  I adore my friends...both the ones out here and the ones back home!  There are certain people who just deal with my bullshit and understand that the mood will soon pass, yet they never pass judgement over me and they still love me...even with my flaws.  This is my best friend out here (Anders), who deals with me and my crap every day without thinking twice about it.  He's pretty amazing if I do say so myself!  Just last night he told me that, "It's important to be with a friend during the laughs, but a true friend is always around during the tears".  He brings a lot of smiles to my face, and wipes a lot of tears from my cheeks!  Last night he locked me out of my room for a little bit, and when he let me back in, he had put up a ton of white twinkle lights all over my bedroom because he knew that I wanted it to feel more Christmas-y.  He had gone out and bought them earlier that day, and then surprised me with them.  He does little things like that for me all the time...things that are so small but mean so much to me, because I know that he simply went out of his way to please me.  I've never met a guy that treats me (and my family) with the respect that he shows me day in and day out.  I'm so grateful to have gained him as one of my best friends out here and I'll miss him during my visit home!  After all...he is my favorite Canadian!  ;)

Today we had a 14 hour rehearsal! We were at the warehouse working our butts off from 8am to 11pm! Came out of our first dress rehearsal with yet another jammed finger (figures) and a slightly flared up rib that I have out of place, yet I'm still in the best mood ever! I frickin' love it out here and wouldn't change it for the world. I definitely have some holes in my life right now, but overall, I'm the happiest I've been in a LONG time! Another long-ass rehearsal tomorrow...I'm so excited!

I took some more pictures today because I realized that I haven't taken any pictures of the atmosphere here yet.  These pictures were taken off my balcony.

       

  

Love you guys, and I'll be seeing you all so soon!

 

I got my flight changed today! Instead of coming home on December 17th like I was supposed to, I'm now coming home on December 13! That means I fly home exactly 1 month from tomorrow, and it also means I get a full 3 freakin' weeks of home time! Is anyone else as excited about this as I am?!

I feel like there are so many things I have to look forward to right now! Mom comes out to visit me in 10 days, and I absolutely cannot wait to see her! Our big show that we've been working towards for 3 months now is coming up in less than 2 weeks, and I couldn't be more excited and anxious for it, yet I'll be sad to see what I've known for 3 months now come to an end on that night. Then we work towards the Christmas show for 2 weeks after that, and perform that. Then I come home for a big freakin' visit! Hurray for an exciting, eventful life!

Okay...so a bunch of people said they couldn't see my pictures from my last entry, so I'm putting in another link to see if you guys can see them that way. Let me know if it works!

Click here for pictures!

Hey guys! Here's my picture update I was promising you. Check it out!

 

( The picture explosion... )

Hey everybody! How the hell are y'all doing?! No really...I wanna know, so reply and fill me in! I'm feeling REALLY GOOD today, for whatever reason! Things are changing, shifting in some way for me, and I can't predict the future, but I'm feeling confident that, though it may not turn out as I see it, it will turn out just the way it's supposed to. It should be interesting to see where life takes me and what it brings into my world.

Something about today feels so soothing though. The air outside is PERFECT, and everything just feels...just the way it should! I miss you guys, but in less than 2 months, I get to come home for a visit! I'm really excited! Hopefully I'll be able to put some pictures from Cali in my next entry. That's my goal, so that you guys can see what's going on with me. Love you! ;)

Why is life so damn hard?! I adore EVERYTHING about what I'm doing out here, yet I still feel empty in some areas. So stuck! I want to move on so badly, and I'm doing a damn good job so far, but sometimes I just get reeled back in, and realize that there's no way in hell I'm prepared for someone new. What was I thinking? I think I'm going to be single for a while, as much as I hate it, because I just can't bring myself to move on yet! Why was I forced to have to go through this?! I don't deserve to be so stuck...

I met a guy tonight! A cute, sentimental, driven, talented guy with a smile that took my breath away! I did something totally spontaneous and unlike me, and I'm so proud! It actually turned out somewhat like one of the those cute things you'd see in a movie, which is fun! I think I have a crush...I kind of forgot what one feels like, but I'm pretty confident that that's what I'm feeling! Haha...how exciting to feel that again!

THE END...for now! :D

Life truly is blissful! It's this incredible ride that has it's severe ups and downs, but the journey to self-discovery is simply amazing! People can surprise you, for both the good and the bad, and I find myself never ceasing to be amazed. Do you ever feel as if you could just fall to your knees, palms and head lifted to the sky, eyes shut, just surrendering to the world as you know it? Not collapsing over failure or defeat, but simply to feel the relief and ease of total surrender...to draw with each breath a new understanding...a new inspiration. I live for moments like these!

Go see Elizabethtown! It's an incredible movie, and I'm sure that you too will find yourself in a pensive state afterwards! It really touched my heart and rang true to my life on so many levels! Go see it...I hope you appreciate it the way I did!

So last night, 5 car fulls of us decided to take a trip out to Hollywood at like 11 o'clock last night. We got dolled up, hopped in our cars, and went for the ride. We walked around Hollywood Blvd. for quite some time, looking at all the stars on the sidewalk with the famous peoples' names in them. It still baffles me that I can now just go to Hollywood, or L.A., or Laguna on a whim if I feel like it! So weird, but really sweet all at the same time! While in Hollywood, we also walked by the Kodak theatre, which is where the first season of American Idol was set! Man...that made me excited!

After that, we decided to go give the good ol' Rodeo Dr. a visit. That's where the movie "Pretty Woman" was set, so that too was very exciting! Fun stuff.

A damper was kind of put on the night later because there's been a certain group of men around the apartment complexes lately who are breaking in a stealing things. There were spottings of them last night, and a friend of mine was in her apartment, looked out the window, and he was just sitting with his face in teh window staring at her. They of course called the police and everyone was pretty freaked out last night. I definitely had my pepper spray ready for action, just in case. Blah...I hate having to worry about walking in my own front door!

I finally decided to cut him from every aspect of my life! Tonight was the last straw and I'm finally feeling okay with the fact that I don't ever have to talk to him again if I don't want to. I don't know if he'll even remember all of the horrible things that he said to me tonight come morning, but I guess it really doesn't matter to me one way or the other!

Just when you hit these lows, someone always seems to come about to help you pick yourself back up. I heard the voice of someone from my past for the first time in 2 years tonight, and it was so healing for me. Sounds corny, but I have missed talking to him for a long time now, and it's so nice to feel his inspiration! Wish timing and distance could be better for our situations at this point, but even though it's not, I still love his attitude, support, and genuine care for my well-being. I feel like we've both grown so much in life since the last time we were together...it's refreshing!

Gosh...I want to fall in love again so bad! Only this time, I want it to be with someone who respects me and loves me more than he knew possible! I can't wait to find that kind of passion!