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On the health front 1997 hasn't been too good to Jodie so far, she's suffered recurring bouts of that serious flu bug that laid so many people low this year. The worst bout came on her 15th birthday (January 19th), when intead of celebrating with her friends and family, Jodes was actually taken to the emergency room! Hardly the ideal way to spend your special day, as she recalls:

"I spent my birthday in the ER (the real one, not the TV show!) getting shots, they even hooked me up to an iv because I was so dehydrated, it was horrible. I had an i.v. and I was hyperventilating and everything. It was a shame because my aunt and uncle had come into town from Arizona but when I wasn't in hospital I was up in my room trying not to let them catch the bug, it was a real bummer! However, thankfully I got better".

The good news is that she did manage to recover enough by the day after her birthday to indulge in one particular birthday treat - the cake:

"My mom made my favorite kind, it's a yellow cake with chocolate frosting, and although I wasn't exactly in a party mood because of being sick, my best friend and my boyfriend came over so it wasn't too bad."

As if missing out on the birthday celebrations wasn't bad enough, Jodes has also been having more of her recurring sinus problems (she gets really bad allergies) and unfortunately her latest attacks came during a production of the musical 'Oliver' which she was doing at her school.

"Can you imagine, she says, I was playing the Artful Dodger and had a couple of songs to sing in the middle of this allergy attack- not the best of timing."

Well the good news is that since the Artful Dodger was a renowned pickpocket who used to steal silk handkerchiefs- at least there was plenty of material on hand for blowing her nose!!!!

FROM TRAGIC TO MAGIC

However, this year hasn't been all bad so far. After struggling through the flu bug and her performance as the sneezing, sorry , Artful Dodger, Jodes has also found time to learn a couple of new tricks - literally!

Jodie recently filmed a guest spot on a magic show which was shown in May on ABC's T.G.I.F. line up . She says the whole thing was great fun to do because she wasn't just there to be sawn in half or whatever, she actually had to learn how to do two magic tricks of her own!

"I learned two tricks, one which involved sand - which I then put into water and then took it out again and it was still dry! And the other trick involved a knitting needle and a mirror and I had to pierce the mirror with a knitting needle - it was fun."

So, I hear you ask, did she know how to do these things before the show? Not at all, but thankfully she's a quick learner:

"I had two rehearsals of about two hours each. I'd never really done anything like that before so it was challenging but challenging in a fun way. They had a few magicians there teaching all of the guests how to do a couple of tricks each so it was interesting too."

Of course while she's not a member of the magic circle just yet at least Jodes now has a new party trick - the secrets of which she's not prepared to reveal to just anyone - I asked her but she's not telling - see if you have any better luck than me next time she comes on-line.

The whole experience was a fun one by the sounds of it because as well as Jodie there were a number of other celebrities there including: Jonathan Lipnicki -the little boy in "Jerry Maguire", Michael Fishman from "Roseanne" and Ben Savage among others. Let Jodie know if you enjoyed the show

In addition to the magic special, Jodie's also been on her travels most recently to Louisville in Kentucky. She did a personal appearance down there where she signed autographs and posed for photographs with the fans that came out to see her. Unfortunately because she was really busy at school just now, she couldn't stay too long and have a look around Louisville. She flew in on a Saturday and had to leave again on Sunday to be back in time for school on Monday - but she enjoyed the trip and meeting some new friends - maybe you were one of them, if not don't worry 'cos I'm sure there'll be other opportunities soon. As Jodie says "I love to travel so I look forward to those sort of things".

And, of course, as soon as there are other trips planned you know just where to come to find out about them first - right here on Celebrity Sightings!

In between all of the excitement we've just told you about - Jodes has also been out doing a few auditions (where do you find the time to get sick, do a TV special, go to Kentucky and keep up your school work?) but as yet there are no firm plans for any new shows other than specials - but as we know not every project is the right one and we're sure that it won't be long before we see our friend back in a new role on TV - and where will you hear about it? Yes, OK I think you've got the picture - it'll be on Jodie's official site right here at Celeb Sightings.

Well that's about all we've got room for at the moment but I think you'll agree Jodes has managed to do pretty well in between bouts of flu and school work and as soon as there's something else to report we'll bring you the scoop right here.

Meanwhile Jodie sends her best wishes to everyone else on the site and looks forward to hearing from you anytime you like- yes you know where!

So keep coming back y'all, bye for now!