Thursday morning, I woke up with Ed, reminiscing about my Halloween evening on set.  I had long list of things to get done and started in on the bills, banking, and laundry.  The Glendale library was claiming I hadn't returned a book, that I brought back two weeks before, so I had to call them and straighten that out.  It had been three months and I still had not been refunded for the day camp Zyla was supposed to attend last summer that had been cancelled.  They had told me a month ago, my claim was being processed, and still had no new information for me.  My tire had a slow leak so I took it down the street to be fixed.  Zyla finally woke up around 11am.  She had the day off for the Holy Day of Obligation All Saints Day.  We went to the library to return her last monthly book report book and get her next one.  Errands, errands, busy, busy, I finally fed her lunch and feeling exhausted fell asleep for a nap.  I woke an hour later finding out I was booked on Whitney for the following day and needed to find some food to pack for Zyla's lunch Friday.  Dropped her at gymnastics before Ed came home, then started dinner.  Some movies from Netflix had arrived.  After picking up Zyla from gym, we all sat together to watch Katy Perry: Part of Me.  I loved her colorful whimsical show and hearing her childhood history, oddly similar to mine.  I related to the strict Protestant upbringing, not being allowed to listen to secular music, or watch Smurfs.  I really felt for her, loosing her husband as a newlywed, during such a challenging world tour.  Katy is an amazing girl and I am a big fan of her music.  After putting Zyla to bed, Ed and I watched Rise: Blood Hunter.  I was surprised by the low budget feel of the film considering it had A-List name actors in it.  It got confusing and after 45 minutes I was too tired to finish and went to bed. 

Friday morning I was up at 5am getting ready for set.  Dropped Zyla at school on my way into the stages.  Alex, Brian and Matt were called in as well.  I was really surprised considering we had read the script Wednesday night and there were only two girl guest stars and I had thought they were both coming in.  It turned out neither guest star was coming in until the following week.  One was June Diane Raphael who played Chris/Alex ex-girlfriend Chloe in season 1.  But since June was not available, Mary Grill came in to block out all of her scenes and act out everything with 1^st team.  Mary had acted a few weeks ago doing a small role in an airplane scene on our show.  She was just going to be working for the network run thrus, then June would be on set for cameras on Tuesday.  It was my job to stand in for the character Chloe as I had done 1^st season and I had to write down all the blocking because I would need to teach June what was expected come Tuesday!  I was also told that since our other guest star Hope Solo, playing herself would not be available until Monday and I would be performing her lines with 1^st team.  Since she had 5 lines I was not holding my breath on whether I would actually act because usually if it's more than a line or two, one of the other principle actors on the show fills in.  And since Mary was there, I thought maybe she might do it.  But when we finally got around to doing that scene, I was requested to come act out Hope's part.  I was completely comfortable acting with Whitney and Chris.  Our guest star director David Trainer who I remembered from season 1 was easy to work with.  I memorized the lines and performed them off script for the network run thru.  Afterward we were not needed for lighting and wrapped out.  Joe, our 1^st AD, signed me out saying he was going to give me a little more than the typical pay bump for performing what he called ‘real acting'.  I was pleasantly surprised.  Kids Management texted for Zyla to work Justified.  Again I did not call in for her to be booked on the job.  I was happy they kept texting, but she was busy with school, which was more important at this time.  Friday night Dino's pizza and more Halloween week spooky time commenced.  Ed and I finished watching Rise: Blood Hunter.  The movie did get better the more we watched.  Ed was pleasantly surprised by the guest appearance of Marilyn Manson playing the bartender half way through the movie.  The moon was waning as I read aloud from Carmilla to Ed while Zyla ran off to play with her friend. 

Saturday, I woke early, excited for Megan's house party that evening.  I loved celebrating Havdalah with her and Liam.  The day was mellow, I took a nap in the afternoon, then woke to get ready for the party.  She had cooked the tasty rice with the Israeli spices and lamb.  Everything was exquisitely delicious.  We enjoyed some karaoke time before heading out to the Jacuzzi.  The weather was perfect at 10pm for a soak.  It was the night of the Daylight Savings and we were gaining an hour.  I suggested we change the clock back outside at the pool to stay another hour, but the security showed up, being very strict insisting we take the party back inside.  For some reason I got a little turned around on our way back to the freeway but managed to get us home by 2am.  Thank you Megan for a wonderful evening of songs, candles and prayers.  Eiliyahu HaNavi, Eiliyahu has-tishbi...

Sunday everyone was exhausted but as usual I could not sleep in, my body naturally waking at 7am.  The Glendale library had some books in I had put on hold almost 6 months ago.  I had to go get them even though I had so many from Beverly Hills.  Megan had thoughtfully sent us home with left overs which we enjoyed for lunch.  Zyla wanted all the cheesecake, but I made sure I got some too.  Since we have no running TV signal in our house, Zyla had not heard about the Hurricane Sandie that hit NY/NJ the previous Halloween week.  I told her about it and showed her before and after pictures online of the devastation.  We prayed for all victims of the Hurricane, especially those who lost their homes, jobs, and lives through the tragedy.  Zyla's school flag football team was having their championship game across the street from our house at the local park.  We walked over around 2pm to cheer them on to victory!  Ed had to work at his school, which was having an open house recruiting parents of 8^th graders with sons interested in attending next year.  I started grilling up the steaks and sautéing the onions and garlic as Ed arrived back home for the evening.  Shanna had made me a mix CD of popular songs from Glee season 3 that Zyla and I started dancing to.  After Zyla went to bed, Ed and I watched Gardens of the Night on Netflix instant.  Ed told me I had found the saddest love story ever.  It was a really depressing movie, but a very real look at what happens to some abducted children and the human trafficking that occurs.  I wanted to see it for John Malkovich but he really wasn't in the movie that much.  On that dark note we went to sleep. 

Monday, back to Whitney!  I dropped Zyla at school on my way to set.  Arrived at the parking structure the same time as Megan and we walked to the stages together.  The day was super easy.  Since I had seen all the blocking Friday, I took quick notes again on subtle changes that were made.  Todd asked me to give Hope Solo the notes for her cross in the bar scene, but the director David said he would do it.  He changed his mind a number of times trying things out with her on how exactly he wanted her to cross over, I just watched and took notes.  The lighting crew needed us for a bit, then we were released early since the run thru had been at noon.  I was able to go home for half hour before picking up Zyla from school.  After helping her with math homework, we all headed to Granada for dinner before watching a Glee episode.  My new belly ring came in the mail.  My old belly ring I had worn for over a decade had broken.  I had lost my cross charm and had to order a new ring online.  The new one had a pretty gemstone flower on one end of the spiral, silver ball on the other.  Ed posted on his Facebook that I had voted for Roseanne Barr for President and wondered if anyone else had.  He got quite a lot of comments and likes.  I voted for her because I love Roseanne, I love peace and freedom and I think we deserve a woman in the White House who can make us laugh.  I usually end up voting for underdogs.  After getting Zyla to bed, Ed and I watched Psycho Beach Party with Lauren Ambrose.  Alex had suggested it and I couldn't believe I had never seen this spoof type 60's horror movie before.  Lauren was very funny playing with her comedic take on a multiple personality disorder.  I finished reading aloud to Ed the remainder of the Carmilla story before we hit the lights for bed.

Tuesday I had a late morning call time to set, so I was able to take Zyla to school then come home to finish getting ready.  Election Day was under way, everyone out voting.  Set was busy busy.  Alex and I reminisced about all the funny moments in Psycho Beach Party, laughing on set.  I was standing in for three women so I worked almost every scene blocking them out for camera.  Lots of yummy food was provided all day, including lasagna, a French fries truck, almond chicken, tri tip steak.  On our walk away lunch I went to relax in my car and started reading Wild by Cheryl Strayed.  I was excited to hear about her amazing hike through the Pacific Crest Trail that travels up the state of California and through Oregon and Washington state.  We wrapped out by 7:15pm.  I got home to help Zyla with math homework, and set her up for Mock Trial.  She was going to the courthouse tomorrow to observe the Prosecution Attorneys with the witnesses.  Her turn to perform for the Defense would be in two weeks.  After getting her to bed, Ed and I started watching Hysteria.  I love Maggie Gyllenhaal and found the movie, based on a true story very interesting.  I had no idea that the women of London in late 1800's were paying to be masturbated as a medical treatment by doctors for their mental unhappiness!  It was funny to think if that was still going on in this day and age.  I loved when the doctor's hand cramped up, hindering his performance to please the ladies inadvertently dawning the invention of the vibrator.  I fell asleep and had a dream that Roseanne Barr won the presidency!  She was dressed in a green sequined gown that reminded me of The Little Mermaid.  Zyla had a dream I was a presidential candidate and she was visiting the White House were she would live if I won.  Ed had a dream he was hanging with the Obama's.  I woke up to find out Obama had won his four more years.

Wednesday Show Night!!!  I got Zyla off to school and headed into set.  I watched the camera refresh commence.  Not much else to do in the darkened audience section.  June Diane Raphael, playing Chris/Alex ex-girlfriend had only come in yesterday to start learning her blocking and lines, but was on her A-game, giving stunner performances that had us all dieing laughing.  Afterward, the DP did not need us so I left to go home for lunch.  Ate some of Ed's delicious left overs from dinner the night before, had a glass of wine, before heading back into set.  A coffee truck had arrived, I went to get my usual Caramel Latte on ice and our 2^nd AD, Todd's double Espresso on ice.  I brought my book Wild and continued reading about Cheryl's adventures on the PCT.  It reminded me of when Hans had done a similar adventure.  He was a casting director at Central, who quit his job and went to the woods for 5 months blogging about it at www.manandmule.com.  I had never really finished reading his story back then and wanted to look it up again when I finished with Cheryl's.  Alex and Megan drew sketches of 2^nd Team and put them up on the wall of the AD office.  For the most part we were pretty mellow, everyone into their own thing.  By 9:15pm we were wrapped out.  I quickly headed home to help Zyla finish her math homework.  She had gotten home late from Mock Trial and was still working.  She fell asleep around 10pm, then Ed and I finished watching Hysteria, the eye-opening period piece I had been telling everyone about on set. 

Thursday it was back to Zyla's school library earning those service hours.  The other mom was a no show and I was left to handle the insanity alone.  Rain softly fell from the sky, cheering me up after the record heat wave that had plagued us the week before.  I called about the Day Camp refund I still hadn't received after 3 months.  I asked for the number to downtown where they were supposedly processing my request.  I was told that I would receive it next week.  I had my doubts they were telling the truth, but let it go for another week again.  Shanna wanted to meet up for lunch so I walked over to meet her at her job a few blocks away from my house.  Ed was working late at school helping a student create a demo video of his tiko drumming for a college application.  I was able to read more of Wild.  Cheryl is a brave girl, who continually inspired me to want to discover the PCT for myself.  After taking Zyla to gym, then getting her to bed, Ed and I started watching Being Flynn.  I love Robert De Niro, his performance was brilliant in this memoir of poet Nick Flynn, played by Paul Dano.

Friday, I took Zyla to school then headed over to Joleen's house in Hollywood to hike Runyon Canyon with her for my first time.  One of the trail heads is a few short blocks from her house, but hiking up to it with the elevation change had me breathless from the start.  Runyon was beautiful, not as I had pictured from the comments left online.  A big grassy area with women doing yoga.  Many, many hikers on the trail.  Joleen promised me we would take the easy way up and the hard way down.  It was a steep assent the first mile.  But the views on our perfect clear day were amazing and worth the climb.  I saw the 3 legged goat, I could see all the way back to the mountains I hike at Stough Canyon, I could see all the way out to the ocean and Catalina.  I could see the Hollywood sign and Griffith Observatory.  We hiked for 4 miles, including a stop at the prayer box.  All in all an amazing work out, which left us famished, so we then walked over to Bossa Nova for lunch and cocktails.  I picked up Zyla from school, fed her lunch, then exhausted laid down for a nap.  When I woke it was time for dinner.  Ed and I finished watching Being Flynn.  I was curious about Nick Flynn's poetry and writings after watching the movie and planned to look him up the next time I went to the library.

Saturday, after taking Zyla to and from gymnastics, we had some sandwiches before heading down to Palos Verdes Peninsula.  We were going to scale down the cliff to the rocky beach below.  Something my sister and I had done often as children with our father.  Debbie and her family met us at the top.  It was a windy day, very chilly, with a clear bright view of the ocean before us.  My upper back was hurting from the hike at Runyon yesterday, but I did not let that stop me from the agenda at hand.  Hiking down is always easiest and we made it to the beach and started walking north.  The last time we had been down her over a year ago, we had left painted rocks in memory of my dad.  As children we used to walk all the way to a sunken ship called the Dominator.  As adults we never had.  Today was no different.  We walked until we found a wooden structure, homeless type shelter and camped out to take pictures and enjoy the beauty of the moment.  We collected beautiful big twisted shells along the way and I found a striped orange and brown feather.  Packing our treasures in my backpack, we headed back the way we had come.  Going up was challenging and I spent most of my time on my hands and knees as the wild wind was whipping my body and movement of the backpack sometimes throwing me off balance.  I became one with the cliff wall and crawled my way back up to the top.  We celebrated our success with dinner at Tammie's Corner House Café in Hermosa Beach.  Afterward, we took a walk down The Strand into what looked like a huge storm brewing.  I saw lights out on the horizon that looked like falling meteors.  It reminded me of the apocalyptic dream I had earlier this year.  The wind became fiercer and Zyla was freezing to death so we headed back.  But not before she took a quick swing on the swings in the sand.  The sand was being blown up from the ocean and made smooth.  It looked like something was alive beneath it like the movie Tremors.  Everyone agreed it was time for Starbucks.  I got a holiday Eggnog Latte which was so good.  Back at Debbie house, we watched Ed's new Halloween video on youtube with his new character creation Akathist the Exorcist.  After many laughs it was time to head home.  A new Netflix disk awaited us.  Ed and I watched Virginia, a movie starring Jennifer Connelly whom I love.  She did an amazing job along with Ed Harris, Emma Roberts and Harrison Gilbertson.

Sunday was a slow relaxing day.  I ran some errands, got groceries.  We went to the 11:30am Mass, then came home for lunch.  Afterward I took a nap while Ed and Zyla went for haircuts.  In the evening we dined at Mimi's then Ed and I finished our movie Virginia.  Debbie and Paul had spoken so much about The Walking Dead, we decided to give it another go.  We had watched one episode, but found it so depressing had given up.  After episode two I was still not excited about the show.  It gave me a lot of anxiety, the characters are in constant fear and trepidation about their situation, it feels as if there is never a reprieve.  The show exhausted me, we decided to watch a comedy instead, the Roast of David Hasselhoff which was really funny and featured Whitney Cummings roasting the Hoff herself! 

Veteran's Day Monday!  Zyla had it off but not Ed.  He headed into work and I got up to take Zyla to Solstice Canyon in Malibu.  She had not been since our first time last May and had never seen the grotto of the Virgin Mary out by the burnt down abandoned mansion.  I promised her we would take the easy trail both ways and she would get to see all the new discoveries.  I brought layers, but it was surprisingly warm out at Malibu.  We arrived around 9:30am and the parking lot was half full.  At the grotto, we wrote out little prayers, which we left in the bowl before the Virgin.  Zyla played in the waterfall and I took pictures.  I was surprised to find the storage room with the great reverberation where Ed had filmed me last summer singing the Demi Lovato song, all chained closed.  Also one of the random rusted out bathtubs that had sat on the property was gone.  We saw a bunch of cute woodpeckers in the trees as we strolled out of the woods.  As we pulled out of the parking lot at 11:30am, it was entirely full with more cars pulling in.  Zyla and I went for lunch at Thai Room Garden, then I took her to Michael's for her art supplies needed to build a Thanksgiving centerpiece assignment for school.  I was exhausted after our day.  All the hikes from the long weekend wore me out and I declared naptime.  Kids Management texted with more jobs for Zyla that I turned down.  Then Jessica's called saying I was booked to stand in on The Mentalist.  Ed was working late, shooting a demo reel for a friend, so Zyla and I had left overs for dinner and enjoyed an episode of Glee that was a tribute to Whitney Huston.  Zyla went to bed while I read more of Cheryl's adventures on the PCT.

My call time for The Mentalist was mid afternoon, so after dropping Zyla at school, I went home to shower and read more of Wild.  I decided to take a little nap, not knowing how late I would go that evening on set.  I woke around 11:30am, finished doing my make up and made a little sandwich for lunch.  I had been told to come to set having eaten lunch.  Then Central called saying the show was ahead of schedule and needed me to come in immediately.  They were shooting on location in Simi Valley at the Hummingbird Nest Ranch.  I quickly gathered my things and headed out the door with my sandwich.  I tried to finish eating it on the drive over.  I arrived at crew parking, a dirt patch off the 118 freeway.  I told security that I had been rushed to set, but no van showed up for 15 min.  He then told me that they were at lunch and he had no way of contacting them to let them know I was here.  I knew I would not be getting lunch so I went back to my car to finish my sandwich.  The bread had started toasting in the sun beating through the front windshield.  I called Central to let them know I had arrived at the crew parking and that the security could not reach transpo to come get me.  Everything was resolved, a van barreling down the hill to get me and bring me to base camp.  No one was in the production trailer and some PA told me to just go to set.  I asked who I was standing in for and if I needed color cover.  She said wardrobe was sleeping on the lunch break, to just hop in a van to set.  I rode to set and arrived at this amazing mansion ranch house.  The Set PA Graham greeted me and walked me straight into set where the 2nd AD was covering for me as lighting with crew had already started for the scene.  I hadn't seen the rehearsal, but it didn't really matter, my girl, Penny Moore, playing Donna Thorland was just sitting in a circle wrap type session of an upscale rehab center scene.  After the first set up, I went to put my stuff down and relax.  All the regular stand ins Diane, Sean, and Conor were there that I remembered working with on previous episodes.  They said hi to me.  I ran into Joyce who was as surprised to see me there as I was her.  She had moved to the wardrobe department of The Mentalist!  I had not seen her since CSI:NY when she had been doing wardrobe there and took my picture of me playing Louise Perry dead on the gurney!  We went way back to 1996 when we worked together on the Milo Minara Click series.  She was excited to see me.  She had started doing stand up and invited me to her show.  The rest of the day went easily.  I enjoyed scouting out the amazing landscape of the property.  Around 6pm pizza was brought in.  One slice tied me over until I was wrapped at 7pm and headed home for the steak dinner Ed had made.  I was recalled back to The Mentalist for the next day to stand in for another guest star girl, Mary Lynn Rajskub, playing Susie Hamblin.  The HBO mini series Mildred Pierce, starring Kate Winslet had arrived.  Ed and I watched the first two segments after putting Zyla to bed.  It was really depressing, based on the Depression Era, a mother who's husband leaves her for another woman, struggles to support her two children during a time when jobs are scarce. 

I woke up Wednesday morning, getting Zyla ready for school and dropping her off before coming home to get ready for set.  My call time had changed three times already getting later and later.  I had to be to the stages of Warner Brothers by 11am.  I showered, ate and headed out by 10am.  I arrived early and found no one in the wardrobe trailer so headed into stage 9.  It was so dark, I almost stumbled into someone in the dark.  I found Graham and he took me to the box with my voucher and sides.  Breakfast was still being served, so I grabbed some food and settled in to wait.  They were still on the first scene, and I was in all the rest of the scenes that day.  A few hours later, my scene was up.  The 2^nd AD wasn't sure why I was brought in since I was standing in for a black haired girl.  She asked if I had a dark baseball cap.  I said no, but I was wearing a black hoodie sweatshirt, so she said to ask the DP if he needed me to pull it on.  He did not seem to mind my blonde hair for the first few set ups, but later in the day, a glow of light was around my hair and the 2^nd AD asked me to pull up the hoodie.  I wore it that way the rest of the time I was on set.  Tom, the DP said it freaked him out.  The other stand ins said I looked funny, like a homeless, or gansta, or alien.  Tom asked what was up with the hoodie, I said, don't you like my beautiful black hair?  Mary who I was standing in for looked so familiar, but I couldn't quite place what I had seen her in before.  At lunch, some Mexican food was catered in even though it was walk away lunch.  I went to visit my friend Jason, prop master extraordinaire, who was working two stages down from me on a Nickelodeon show.  Then I met up with Joyce to hang out and reminisce about our Milo Minara days.  Kids Management texted for Zyla to be on the Disney show Jessie.  I knew it was her favorite so I called in and got her booked on the show.  I was excited to tell her and called the school to make sure she brought homework for set school.  Unfortunately 2 hours later Kids Management called to say she had to be pulled off the call.  Production had changed their mind about the age range of kids and no longer wanted 10-16 year olds, but instead just 13-16 year olds, or at least in 7^th grade.  So close!  They booked her on Deadtime Stories instead.  A new Nickelodeon show starring the Disney actress Jennifer Stone.  Zyla was still excited to be going to set and hoped Jennifer remembered her from when she had met her on Wizards.  My day went fast and I was out at a straight 8.  Sarah, the 2^nd AD asked if I was coming back tomorrow for a blonde actress, but unfortunately I had to say no.  I loved working The Mentalist and hoped to return on my next hiatus.  I got home and helped Zyla pack her set bag for the following day.  She had a mid morning call time on location in Sylmar.  I had to cancel a bunch of things I had already schedule on Thursday, like library at her school, meeting my friend Lining for tea, Zyla's gymnastics class.  I finally relaxed with a glass of wine and watched part 3 of Mildred Pierce with Ed before crashing out for the evening.

Thursday, I woke early and made Zyla a big breakfast before we headed off to set.  We got there quickly as there was no traffic going north to Sylmar and arrived at Concordia School about an hour ahead of her call time.  We were told to sit at the catering tables in the parking lot beside the catering truck that had finished cleaning up the breakfast for the crew call of 7am.  Zyla looked at her new magazine Teen Vogue, while I sat watching everyone arrive.  A cute little girl in a skimpy ballerina cowboy outfit came by and smiled at Zyla.  I told her I liked her outfit.  At Zyla's 9:30am call time we were finally checked in and walked to wardrobe.  Zyla was told to change her shirt.  Everyone was asked to change something.  Afterwards the children were taken inside the school to an empty science classroom to do their set schoolwork.  Regular school was in session on the location so we had to be quiet.  The parents were asked to stay outside at the catering tables.  The weather was very overcast and looked like it might rain.  I relaxed at the tables reading Wild, when it started to drizzle a bit and I went to get my umbrella from the car.  I thought that tents would be erected over the tables since we would be later having lunch there and went to sit on a low cement wall under my umbrella, reading about Cheryl's adventures in the woods, trying to stay dry in a driving rain in Oregon.  The rain let up and no tent was put up over the tables.  Eventually the wall started hurting my spine and I went to my car to get my set chair.  During a break a bunch of Concordia kids came outside and kept walking around the parking lot checking out the Nickelodeon production that had infiltrated their school for the day.  I finished reading Wild and loved Cheryl so much and was excited about the adventure she had been on.  I wanted to go to Oregon and see the Obsidian Falls and hike to the Bagby Hot Springs in Mount Hood National Forest.  Lunch was served around 12:30pm and Zyla came out of set school and we lined up to eat.  Afterwards, she had made friends with the cute girl from the morning, Kirra, who was playing Mary-Margaret, a principal part on the show, twirling a baton in a talent show.  Zyla was invited back to her private room.  She was having a bit of a party in there with other children, so I said Zyla could go.  After lunch, Zyla needed to return to set school to finish 20 more minutes, then she rejoined the party in Kirra's room.  Finally the kids were brought into set around the time most of the kids who really went to school at Concordia were exiting for the day.  The catering tables were packed up so the adults had nowhere to sit if they had not brought a set chair.  Eventually some picnic tables at the far end of the school became the new holding, but when it got really cold around 4:30pm, we all moved inside to the toasty science room until wrap at 5:15pm.  Zyla collected the phone numbers of all her new set friends and with hugs good-bye we set off for home.  We stopped at Panda Express for some dinner, then I helped her finish up some homework she couldn't figure out at set school.  Once I had her in the shower, it was time to chill with some wine and wait for Ed to get home from his playdate with his new FB friend from France who had come to town.  I was excited to watch the season premier of Whitney I had missed the night before.  It was incredibly funny, my entire family was laughing.  I loved the alternate lines the network picked for the final product.  I was disappointed when the ratings came out saying it had not done as well as the premier last year.  I fault the network for not advertising it as much as it did last year.  There were still no posters or billboards up about the show anywhere.  Ed and I watched another episode of Mildred Pierce before going to bed.  It skipped 4 years into the future and Evan Rachel Wood was now playing the grown up Kate/Midred's daughter.  I love Evan!

Friday morning, I was not needed at Whitney for any guest stars.  I dropped Zyla to school then went for a hike in the misty moody weather up at Stough.  I prayed my rosary up to the first look out.  I got a text from Lining saying I should come over for tea.  I had not seen her in forever!  She had moved to a new place in Sherman Oaks.  I went home for a quick shower, then over to visit with her.  Afterward, I picked up Zyla from school, took her to lunch, then laid down for a quick nap.  Thankfully she did not have too much work to make up from the day she had missed of school.  An hour later she woke me to take her back to school for a movie shoot she was doing with some high school friends who had just graduated from her school last year.  It was being submitted to a festival through their school and Zyla was playing the younger 6^th grade version of the lead star.  Once that was finished, we headed back home.  She got back to her studies while we waited on Ed to get home with our pizza dinner from Dino's.  Jessica's called with my call time for Monday back on Whitney.  I was looking forward to getting back to my regular set.  We ended the evening watching an episode of Glee, then sent Zyla to bed and finished the Mildred Pierce mini series.  I really loved seeing Evan strut her nude self across the room in front of Kate.  It was painful to watch a mother be betrayed by her daughter.  I wondered if this was all based on a true story, because the character Veda Pierce smokes from the age of 13 on then becomes a great opera singer coloratura?  Seemed far-fetched to me, but soprano Sumi Jo whose voice is used for the singing was sensational.

Saturday was clean the house day.  What a chore.  We spent all day sprucing it up for our Thanksgiving feast we would hold on Thursday with my sister's family.  After an exhausting day of scrubbing, I relaxed with some wine and worked on a collaboration art piece with some sketch drawings Shanna had given me Halloween night of my favorite Tim Burton characters Emily from Corpse Bride and Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas.  I used Zyla's Teen Vogue and my AAA travel magazine Westways to turn it into a collage pop art deco feel.  Big Miracle arrived from Netflix so we all snuggled in to watch Drew Barrymore representing Greenpeace save the whales.  I did not remember this historic fact from the Regan years and was glad Zyla had picked this movie for us to see.

Sunday, we woke early and ate some baked stuffed apples before heading down to Disneyland to enjoy the Christmas decorations.  We got on all our favorite rides, Space Mountain, Star Tours, Matterhorn, Alice in Wonderland, then headed over to Jack's Haunted Christmas Mansion.  Jack and Sally were taking pictures with guests, but by the time we arrived they were heading to a union break.  Ed was able to get a couple of shots of them.  We had lunch in the French Market, then wandered through some New Orleans stores before Zyla ran up Tarzan's Treehouse.  Our last ride was Jungle Cruise before heading home.  I was exhausted, crashing out for naptime the remainder of the afternoon.  Ed grilled up a tasty steak dinner, then uploaded all our Disney photos to FB.  We finished watching Big Miracle.  I was sad to see the baby whale Bam Bam die, but excited it was the Russians icebreaker ship that saved the day, along with the help of the Eskimos ice hole trail.

Monday, woke early, dropped Zyla at school, then headed into Whitney.  I was early so I read for a bit in my car from Sea and Sardinia by D.H. Lawrence.  It was a travel book about his 9-day adventure to Sardinia with his wife.  Headed to the stages, grabbed some food, reconnected with the other stand ins after our what felt like long hiatus.  I guess not everyone had been as busy as me.  The day went smooth.  Rhea was in a lot of scenes in the bar and her apartment.  During rehearsals Rhea said she had read a great book recently called Drinking, A Love Story.  Zoe said she was enjoying reading Be Here Now.  I wanted to check into both stories.  After lunch and the network run thru, we were only needed for a short period of time by the lighting crew before being wrapped out for the day.  Thankfully it was early enough that I met Ed at Zyla's school to escort her down to the Los Angeles Stanley Mosk Courthouse where her Mock Trial competition was being held.  Legal Defense Attorney Zyla won her first case for her client in the courtroom on the 3^rd floor being presided over by Judge A. Cole.  Being new to Mock Trial and the youngest on her Defense Team, she had been nervous, but was very excited about her win.  Ed filmed the entire thing to make a new Zyla's World episode.

Tuesday I had a mid morning call back at Whitney.  I dropped Zyla to school then came home to finish getting ready.  I was happy Andy was directing the current episode, meaning things would go smooth and hopefully we would not have a long show night on Thanksgiving Eve.  Peter Gallagher was back playing Whitney's dad.  He is always a pleasure to watch, giving great comedic timing to everything along with a bit of song.  James, the regular stand in on The Mentalist, was doing BG on our show for the next two days; it was great to see him again.  The pre-shoots took longer than expected and only three were finished of the four before we just moved into camera blocking.  At lunch I went to my car for a nap.  Tried to read some of Sea and Sardinia, but as much as I wanted to, I could not get into it.  Our day finished at 7pm getting me home in time for Ed's tasty dinner.  Helped Zyla with some math homework before sending her to bed.  Ed and I watched Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.  I was pleasantly surprised, enjoying the special effects immensely!  I loved how they tied in history with this fun supernatural twist that captures kids attention. 

Wednesday was show night.  Finished up some camera blocking that we did not get to the day before.  Then sat around during the camera refresh.  I left at lunch to go home.  Ed and Zyla were there already starting their Thanksgiving vacation.  I ate before heading back into set for the night.  A Sprinkles cupcake truck had arrived courtesy of Theresa the writer.  I got the caramel with caramel frosting sprinkled with sea salt.  It was sooooo good.  A coffee truck had arrived courtesy of Whitney meaning I got myself a caramel latte on ice and Todd's double espresso on ice.  The stand ins had a fun evening sitting in the AD office talking horoscopes, rising signs and sex.  We found out about Eric, our PA's, video online called Swag Dragon.  He was very entertaining in it.  Later the cupcake truck was leaving and I was able to grab up two to bring home for Ed and Zyla.  We wrapped out by 9:30pm.

Happy Thanksgiving!  I awoke Thursday morning driving down to Mimi's to pick up our Holiday Feast.  I sat watching Peace, Love and Misunderstanding while Ed worked on some editing and Zyla was on the phone.  What a cute movie.  I loved Jane Fonda.  Her role, her home, her life was so colorful and fun.  Made me want to move to Woodstock, for full moon drum circles and hands on art.  Around 11:30am I put the turkey in the oven.  My sister had called saying they would get to my house about 2pm.  We spent a wonderful afternoon eating delicious foods and laughing.  Later, everyone took part in karaoke, singing songs from all different eras and genres.  Around 10:30pm the party came to an end.  After getting Zyla to bed, Ed and I watched the second episode of Whitney.  It was not really that funny, not as funny as the premier had been.  The ratings had dropped.

Black Friday, I woke early to see if some hiking boots I wanted online were on sale.  No such luck.  That was the end of my shopping experience.  I hate shopping in general, but especially Black Friday.  I spent the day reading The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty.  I loved her previous work and this new release was no exception.  Zyla got her holiday homework done, Ed edited a new music video to his Brown Recluse song.  Ate some holiday left overs, then enjoyed an episode of Glee.  I was excited to see American Horror Story was available on instant, not just disks.  Ed and I started watching this creative show, getting caught up in the story and not going to bed until five episodes were bubbling in my brain.  I fell asleep to dreams of moving into my own weird house in Pasadena. 

Saturday after Zyla got out of gymnastics we packed up the car and headed to Big Bear.  My sister and her family beat us up the mountain by a few minutes and checked into the hotel first.  Zyla and I immediately upon arrival put our bikinis on and went in the Jacuzzi.  The weather was perfect, not too cold to be outside all wet.  Afterwards, we went to the sauna for a steam.  We all ate dinner together in the restaurant that was part of the hotel.  I was happy they had a champagne bottle I liked.  Afterwards, we headed off to the play Oliver.  I love sitting front row.  I was glad we could all sit together and share in this theatrical experience.  There were a number of  roles being done by the understudies, since the principles were out sick.  Everyone agreed that the play was perfectly cast, we could not imagine who would have done it better.  The understudies rocked it!  I especially liked the characters Artful Dodger played by Joshua Hoffman, Fagin played by Dustin Murphy and Oliver played by Timmy Brasher.  I loved hearing the songs I remembered from childhood.  My sister and I used to sing ‘Food, Glorious Food' all the time and my dad liked singing ‘I'd Do Anything' to me.  Back at the hotel we ordered in pizza and talked about the play.  Sunday morning, we had breakfast together, then went for a walk on the bridges with our Starbucks coffees.  Walked around The Village with its holiday spirit in the air, then said good bye to my sister's family.  They headed home, but we took a quick detour to the Alpine Slide before leaving the mountain as well.  We ate the last of our turkey left overs, then enjoyed Men In Black part 2 that had come from Netflix.  I wanted to get Zyla caught up since Men In Black part 3 would be out on DVD the following week. 

Monday, I was happy not to be working so I could get some errands done.  I needed to renew the new release books I had waited forever for from Glendale only to discover they were on hold for someone else and not available for renew.  I had only finished Wild, so I took it back and held onto The Chaperone, promising myself to finish it by weeks end and get it back as well.  Tuesday was another day of no work, so I dropped Zyla to school then went hiking at Stough.  The weather was crisp, chilly as I made my way to the far picnic bench.  I saw a few bunnies and some deer that made me happy.  I spent the rest of the day trying to finish The Chaperone, which I accomplished later that evening.  Laura did an amazing job again, with her research and attention to detail; I loved being drawn into her historical fiction of the 1920's.  Zyla, Ed and I watched a new episode of Switched at Birth that had just been released to Netflix instant.  After putting her to bed, Ed and I watched some more American Horror Story.  I was happy to see Mena Suvari guest starring, love that girl!  And found it funny she was talking about hysteria and pretty much all the history behind it, collating with the movie of same name Ed and I had recently seen.  Wednesday, no work again, on a dreary moody morning.  I returned The Chaperone to Glendale, relaxing afterwards with some wine while watching a French foreign film.  I had put a hold the mail application at the post office a month early for our New Years Eve holiday trip.  Unfortunately they started holding the mail immediately, so I had to go pick up our mail and cancel it.  Dark Shadows was waiting for us from Netflix, which we all enjoyed that evening.  The bold colors of Burton shined in this creative piece starring many of our favorite actors.  Surprisingly no episode of Whitney aired Wednesday night, but her new E! talk show did premier.  Thursday I went to work in Zyla's school library.  It was a dark, rainy day, perfect for being lazy about the house.  I started reading Cyndi Lauper: A Memoir, then had a glass of wine while I watched Arranged with Zoe Lister Jones.  I loved seeing her act in a more serious role than what she played on Whitney.  After picking up Zyla, getting her fed and off to gymnastics, I made dinner for Ed and myself.  Zyla had not had much homework all week, which was a rare treat and I invited her to watch Bright Star but she was not into the historical story of the 19^th Century Romantic poet Keats that I was curious about.  Ed did not seem interested in it either, sticking to his music editing he was always busy with.  Afterwards I watched an American Horror Story with Ed before falling asleep.  Friday ended the week without being needed at Whitney for a guest star.  November had finally come to an end.  I went to renew Zyla's work permit, only to find out the office was closed for its usual morning hours.  I returned later that afternoon after picking up Zyla from school and having lunch.  We went shopping for Christmas decorations then came home and I faxed her renewed permit to Kids Management.  They had called her for a few jobs this week, but I had not responded quickly enough for her to work them.  We all ate Dino's pizza for dinner, then watched an episode of Switched at Birth before I fell asleep for the evening.