Linking up with Kelly (new host of 7QT!)

1. So who else watched Peter Pan last night? As a lifelong fan of the musical, I thought it was nicely done for a live TV broadcast. When I was about three, for a long time if I was asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I answered, “Mary Martin Peter Pan.”

Maybe it was telling that I said I wanted to be Peter Pan when I grew up, since Peter, of course, never grows up. But I was more specific—I think maybe I wanted to actually be Mary Martin? Or maybe just play Peter Pan like she did? Who knows.

2. What musical would you like to see NBC do next year (assuming this becomes a tradition)? The obvious choices have already been done. I love Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, but it’s just finishing a Broadway run, and there was a 1997 ABC version with Brandy. The Music Man could be good, although that also had a 2003 ABC version with Matthew Broderick. There’s an Annie movie coming out soon, so that’s out. Oklahoma? The King and I? Fiddler on the Roof? The Wizard of Oz?

3. So I did see Once on Broadway last month, and it was fantastic. The soundtrack has accompanied me on my walks through the city for the past few weeks. It sounds more like a Mumford and Sons album than a typical Broadway soundtrack; I love both genres, so it’s a win-win. Here’s one of my favorites:

4. One morning a few weeks ago, I had some time to kill before I had to be at work, so I sat down on a bench in Washington Square Park to drink my coffee. After a few minutes, I took a granola bar out from my purse, and within three seconds of opening that wrapper, two squirrels jumped up and perched right next to me on the bench. They just stared at me and slowly made little movements to come closer. I got up and left; I can’t deal with critters. Especially ones that gang up on me with a crazed look in their eyes.

5. Wednesday was a great night for college basketball in my house. My parents both went to big basketball schools, so I grew up watching Villanova and St. Joe’s in March Madness. As a Notre Dame alum, I inevitably got sucked into football in college, but watching and understanding basketball comes more naturally to me. (I take my bracket very seriously.) Anyway, on Wednesday St. Joe’s beat Temple by just 2 points at home, then ND beat #19 Michigan State by one point in overtime, and finally Villanova beat local rival La Salle. This weekend Villanova and St. Joe’s play each other, which will make us a house divided.

6. Given the enormous popularity of Frozen, this doesn’t come as a huge surprise to me, but Disneyland announced today (Walt’s birthday, by the way) that they’ll be adding Frozen attractions to the parks. Having been there for the debut of Merida (from Brave) as well as the debut of Elsa and Anna, I can say that the Frozen-mania went far beyond the regular levels of princess hysteria, beyond what even Disney anticipated. People waited in line for eight hours to meet Elsa and Anna. Eight. Hours. And they had their children in line with them! The princess dresses were backordered, and stores within the park limited the number of items of Frozen merchandise you could purchase. Thankfully now a saner Fastpass-style queue system has been put in place so the waits aren’t so long.

7. We had a white Thanksgiving, and I enjoyed the snow because I didn’t have to leave my house for two days straight. The snow was bad enough that I worked from home on Wednesday and watched the flurries pile up in my backyard—a perfect snow day. I was glad I wasn’t traveling, though, and I hope everybody who did stayed safe!