Well, my voice chose today to finally give out on me. After a six and a half hour, larynx-crushing rehearsal on Saturday followed by driving an hour and a half each way to the 'burbs for a bachelorette soiree (at which I was very good and only had two glasses of white wine, which is basically water anyway), followed by getting up for church and singing, FOLLOWED by the first concert of the Haydn oratorio, and all of this on a pretty bad head cold, I'm amazed my voice made it this far. I felt fine after the concert last night, albeit a bit exhausted, but my voice still seemed to be in pretty good shape. HOWEVER this morning I woke up a bass. Maybe a bass-baritone. Problem is, Hadyn concert number 2 is tonight, and it's in the Harris Theater in Millenium Park, and I was really really excited for it. So as soon as I got up and realized I had no voice, I first panicked, then began the steps to voice restoration with hopes that in twelve hours I might be with voice. The steps are as follows:
1. No talking, unless ABSOLUTELY necessary. I am VERY good at this one. Once I didn't talk for eight days.
2. Tea. Lots and lots of herbal tea with honey. In this case, I chose the "Stress Reliever" Yogi Tea.
3. Steam. Run scalding hot water in bathroom and stay in it for as long as possible. OR boil a pot of water, put a towel over your head, inhale and repeat.
4. Mucinex. This drug has singlehandedly saved my life on several occasions. I'm hoping today is one of them.
5. Endless HGTV. Design on a Dime, House Hunters...I could watch it all day, really.
I just attempted some light warm ups and it seems that I can now phonate and make sounds above the staff. I'm certain that the cause of this is the mucous from the head cold moving onto my cords, as I can feel the thickness pooled in the back of my throat. Nasty. I also have a fair amount of fluid in my ears and can't hear anything. Sigh. Atleast I'm just in the chorus. This better go away quick because I have to get practicing for my upcoming YAP auditions. UGH the life of a singer.

In other news, I'm on a serious diet after weighing myself at the gym last week and positively freaking out. I haven't weighed this much in a long time. The fact was further driven home when I received my bridesmaids dress for Allison's wedding, for which I was measured three months ago, and it is VERY tight. I got into it, but just barely. So, the diet is on. Nick has taken on the role of being my calorie counter, which is very sweet but a little obnoxious at the same time. He wants to lose a few pounds as well, so it's nice to be able to do it together and hold each other accountable. But man, do I hate dieting. I'm basically cutting out most carbs, and the ones I do consume must be very high in fiber. And as soon as this cold dies down a bit I'll be back at the gym on the treadmill everyday as well. I have one month, and I figure I need to lose about five pounds for the dress to look nice. Wish me luck.

Alright, I'm off to the concert. Pray for a vocal miracle.