Vacation

I'm leaving in the morning, so this will be my last post for just over a week. Don't worry, I'll journal while I'm gone and blog all about it when I get back!

Deranged

When I was in college one of my professors (who quite frankly should have known better) told us that in real life no one ever burst spontaneously into song. At that moment I felt like my whole life was a farce. It's nice, after all these years, to finally have a second opinion.

"Everything always works out in musicals. In the real world, nothing ever works out and the only people who burst into song are the hopelessly deranged."

So now I'm a real person, I'm just hopelessly deranged.

Yesterday I got to see "The Drowsy Chaperone". My brother Seth gave me this music, well it feels like ages ago, and I have loved it ever since. I know it's full of stereotypes. I know the lyrics are wretched (oh monkey, monkey, monkey...you broke my heart in two!). I didn't know the acting would be so over the top, or that some of the dialogue would be quite so racy.

I don't care.

I loved it! I laughed through the entire show. And it's getting harder to find a really good laugh. I thought Jonathon Crombie was fantastic. He was so engaging, I managed to forgot that he was Gilbert Blythe. I was so excited to see a tap number. So many new shows don't tap anymore, and part of me thinks it's becoming a lost art. It's all hiphop, modern and jazz. I loved the lyrics. I can't begin to think how much imagination it would take to come up with:

I put a monkey on a pedestal
And tried to make that monkey stay
And he did, for a time
But he needed to climb
And with other monkeys play
Far away.

If you haven't guessed, I had a great time yesterday. And I think that if you ever get the chance to see "The Drowsy Chaperone" you should take it. After all, we should all burst into song like the hopelessly deranged once in a while. It's good for the soul.

Curious

Civil War was depressing.

Annie Get Your Gun and Bye Bye Birdie were fun.

The Curious Savage was meaningful.

David and I went to see "The Curious Savage" at Hale Centre Theatre last night. I laughed, I cried (remember I'm a wuss!), I sighed and I laughed some more. This play is beautifully written and superbly acted. There are so many morals to take away from it, but I didn't once feel as if I was being hammered with it (i.e. Civil War). I felt as if the morals were gently placed on a table in front of me for me to ponder over and decide which one I liked the best.

Right now it's: Everyone is beautiful.

It very easily could have been: Everyone deserves respect.

Or even: Learn to listen, people are saying "I love you" all the time.

Or maybe: Greed will leave you with nothing.

*spoiler alert*
There's a moment at the end of the show when Mrs. Paddy speaks, really speaks, for the first time. Mrs. Paddy is played by one of my best friends, JaNae Cottam, and it's performed so beautifully. She struggles, she repeats what she always says, she wraps her mind and heart around it, and she says "I love you". I cried. I don't know that there were many dry eyes in the theatre at that moment.

I was very fortunate to have had the opportunity to perform in "Man of La Mancha" a while ago (it's been 1 1/2 years! Wow!). Being a part of that show changed my life. It changed how I see the world around me and the people in it. I think this is a show with the same kind of opportunity. In a couple of months I'll look back on what I saw last night, and I might ponder it for a little while and realize that I learned something new.

Odds and Ends

an end

Bye Bye Birdie closed last night and I must say, "If you didn't see it you really missed a great show!" I know it was community theatre, I know we had a limited budget for sets (and a bunch of problems with them), I realize we worked with people who in some cases had little or no experience, but in the end, none of that mattered. The show was fun. And the audience enjoyed themselves. Yes, I would say it was totally worth more than the cost of the ticket, which was very reasonable at $5.

an odd

I saw an old college friend of mine at the show last night. To give a little bit of perspective, I must say that I haven't seen Nancy in 14 years. My last couple of years of college we did a lot together, including a trip to California. She introduced me to "The Reluctant Debutante" (a must-see movie if you are a Rex Harrison or Sandra Dee fan...or just like old movies). We spent hours talking and singing (we were both music majors). She was invited to my wedding ceremony, not just the reception.

She looked great! She must have lost 100 - 150 lbs. And she looked happy! And I think that's more important than the weight loss. But she told me lots of people didn't even recognize her after her drop in pounds. How could they not? She's still Nancy. I haven't seen her in a long time (see above) and I recognized her immediately. Go figure.

an end

One of my dearest friends got engaged last night!!!!!!!!!! It's an end to her singledom (was that a bit of a stretch?). I'm so excited for her, the guy is great, and since she is great, too, I figure they can be lucky to have found each other. Did that make any sense at all? Too bad. I know what I'm trying to say.

an odd

Functioning on four hours of sleep is fun. Just kidding... Especially since whatever I'm allergic to seems to pollinate in the morning.

an odd

I'm so excited to be getting ready for my vacation. Since I have tickets to see "The Drowsy Chaperon" on Saturday (matinee) and Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest, today is my day to pack for myself, the kids, and the family (yes those are different things). I also have to go to the store and take a nap. Watering the lawn isn't a bad idea either...

an end

When I told my daughter Ella (she's four) that last night was the last time she'd get to perform in Bye Bye Birdie she told me, "No. I'm not finished yet."

I think I've created a diva.

Winnie the Pooh

"Be stronger than you seem, braver than you believe, and smarter than you think."

Christopher Robin
from Pooh's Grand Adventure

short

My family is leaving for South Dakota (Where's your reservation?) in 5 days.

Things I have to do before then:
1. Clean the house
2. Finish the laundry
3. Check the air mattress
4. Fix my blouses
5. Buy Sarah a swimsuit
6. Teach lessons
7. Replenish the campbox
8. Pack for myself and Ella
9. Make a list for Kristen (who is going to be staying at my house)
10. Finish Bye Bye Birdie
11. Have lunch with Kate, Tammy and Laren
12. Check out things to do in So. Dak.
13. Balance my checking account
14. Go crazy

This is a long list. I think I'd better get started right away. But, I may already be crazy, so that's one thing down.

p.s. I'll be old-fashioned blogging while on the trip...I'll write a post about it when I get back!

uhmgcrtklhjfdruom

I really don't feel well this morning. Too bad I've got a full day ahead of me. I hate it when I just want to stay in bed and I can't.

Yum and yawn

Do you know what happens when instead of coming home after Sterling Singers and going to bed you make delicious brownies instead?

Apparently, you don't get to sleep until after midnight, and since lessons start at 8:30 in the morning and your husband has to be to work by 8:00 you get up at 6:30 and then you know what?

You're tired.

Very, very tired.

But you have delicious brownies for breakfast.

Delicious brownie recipe: Start with a brownie mix, any brownie mix (we used Betty Crocker). Melt 2 TBS butter (we actually used real butter this time) in a skillet, add a handful or so of pecans, cook for a short (very short...I mean it!) time then add brown sugar. I don't know how much, it depends on how sweet you want your pecans. Saute' this mixture for just a minute or so. Remove from heat. Mix brownies. Top with pecans. Bake as directed. While brownies are baking, melt 1 pkg caramels with 1/4 cup milk over med low heat. When brownies are baked, drizzle caramel over the top. Let cool for a little while.

Ant Problem

I have an any problem in my family room.

This is really no big surprise to me, it happens every summer, when things warm up outside and the kids start vacation, therefore spending a lot of time eating downstairs, even when I try to get to just not, or at least clean up after themselves.

Here's how I dealt with it this morning.

1. vacuum up the pests that made it into the house.
2. make a mixture of ground red pepper, ground cloves and bay leaves (broken into tiny pieces).
3. vacuum again to catch any ants that were missed the first time.
4. find the ants entrance into your home.
5. spread the spice mixture across and around this entrance (it doesn't have to be a huge amount, these are tiny creatures).
6. find their mound...if it's close to your home (mine was right behind my glass door) pour boiling water on it.

I did this a couple of summers ago (I got the idea from a book I was reading...a novel actually, where the lead character keeps seeing ghosts) and I had no further problem with ants that summer. I would refresh the pepper and cloves mixture every so often (I kept a bunch of it ready), but all in all, no ant problem that summer.

Too bad annoying people aren't so easily taken care of.

Council

I was thinking about the Arts Council again yesterday (it's been on my mind a lot these last couple of weeks, probably something to do with Bye Bye Birdie opening last night) and I realized something.

Taylorsville Days is an important event.

Yes, I fully acknowledge that we need to be involved with Days. I've never fully understood how the majority of the Arts Council ended up on the Days commitee, not as regular citizens, but representing the Arts Council. It seemed so strange to me. In fact, it still seems strange to me. However, it has been drilled into me that this is our biggest fund raiser for the year and we need to put all of our effort into it.

However, I think that certain members of the Council have gotten so involved in the fund raiser that they neglect the events that we are raising funds for, like the shows. And I wonder, why can't they put as much creative energy into making our events wonderful as they do into working on the fund raiser? It feels a little stilted. As if the money itself has become an end and not a means to an end.

The point here is: go see Bye Bye Birdie! It's a fabulous production with a great staff and it deserves to be seen by as many people as possible!

Eureka

When Crystal and I stayed at her parents house before the bike event, we watched the pilot episode of a series called "Eureka". It's a sci-fi channel show, and since I don't have cable or satellite or anything but an antenna on the roof, I had never seen it before.

Since that time, I've rented the first season from netflix (a great deal for movie watchers!) and gotten my kids addicted to it. They don't like it as much as Doctor Who, but they still think it's pretty cool.

In fact, they got bored yesterday and watched four episodes. And last night while the rest of the family was at final rehearsal, Ben and I watched those same four episodes.

Tired of summer reruns? Need something besides "The Amazing Race" and "So You Think You Can Dance" (both great shows, by the way)? Anxious for a little bit of light hearted entertainment?

Try Eureka.

Method of Living

Barter
Sara Teasdale

Life has loveliness to sell,
All beautiful and splendid things,
Blue waves whitened on a cliff,
Soaring fire that sways and sings,
And children's faces looking up
Holding wonder like a cup.

Life has loveliness to sell,
Music like a curve of gold,
Scent of pine trees in the rain,
Eyes that love you, arms that hold,
And for your spirit's still delight,
Holy thoughts that star the night.

Spend all you have for loveliness,
Buy it and never count the cost;
For one white singing hour of peace
Count many a year of strife well lost,
And for a breath of ecstasy
Give all you have been, or could be.

pink, pink, pink

Up Top

So, my hair is pink.

Yep.

I love it!

(Cute picture will be posted later)

Contemplation

I'm wondering what my future with the Taylorsville Arts Council will be.

I'm not certain of anything at this point.

Lazy Butt

I have a million things to do today (trying to do what I was supposed to do and forgot to do yesterday among them), and I'm still sitting at the computer dorking around.

Why is it so hard to get my lazy butt moving this morning?

When I'm not in the show...

1. I sit at home and watch TV with Ben.

2. I have forgotten how to keep my brain turned on.

3. I miss all sorts of appointments.

4. I still have to sew costumes (did you know it takes upwards of an hour to put ruffles on a petticoat?).

5. I hear all the concerns without being able to do anything about them.

6. I'm a little bit jealous.

More Birdie

More Birdie photos...duh. Hugo assures me he isn't stupid. At least that's what he told me on Sunday night at choir practice.
How did Megan get to be so dang cute! Where is all the fairness in this world?
I think it's sad that the Rosengrens are moving right after the show. Shouldn't we have more time to get to know them? And have my boys take piano from her?

I actually got a picture of David this time around that I like. And because the sun is in his eyes, no one will think it's strange that his eyes are closed.
Ella...my darling, my sweet girl, my pretty girl, my smart girl.
Isn't Sarah supposed to turn into a toad pretty soon? I think I'm going to get lucky and she isn't going to be a terrible teenager. Please, please, please...
Wretchel! I love that everyone still uses the nickname from last summers show. Say it again! Wretchel! Again! Wretchel!
Michael, I'm sorry, but you are not so lucky this time as to not have a picture of yourself posted on my blog. Deal with it...LFN

The Dreaded Deed

Well, I'm doing it.

I've been fighting this for several years now and I have lost the battle.

Kate? Are you sitting down? (of course you are, you're at your computer!)








I'm getting a cell phone.

As Promised

Random Bye Bye Birdie pictures...

You've got to be sincere...

Let's settle down..

Ella says, "Take a picture of me and Kristen!"

Megan is adorable!

We're gonna be on Ed Sullivan!

Harvey! What are you doing?

Jason and Amy...together.

Jessie dances, too!

Josh and Ben trying to hide their games.

The Idiot that I am

Forgot that I was supposed to tend my nephews this morning while my brother had rehearsal and his wife had a show.

Two boys at Hale Centre Theatre while the show is running is not a good thing.

It's my fault. I'm sorry.

Silly Flying Hamsters

I just got a new high score 458 ft.

I'm silly...but I'm proud of myself.

Hey yah Hugo!

This is the first in my series of blogs about my families upcoming production, "Bye, Bye Birdie". Being that it's tech (hell) week I imagine there won't be anything else on my mind.

Anyway, here's a short video of my girls singing from the show...Ella took the boys part. All morning she was running around singing this exact bit, but as soon as I got the camera out she got shy. Since when does Ella get shy in front of a camera?

Coming soon...random photos from rehearsal process...

Hands

A friend of mine recently told me that I have beautiful hands when I play piano. Thank You!!! That means a lot to me.

That comment got me looking at people's hand when they play, and you know what? I think I have found the most beautiful hands of all. I even took a video of it to share (and prove my belief).

Isn't she great?! And Rachael, can you believe how fast she can play that song? She's only been practicing that section for about a week.

*proud mama grins* *many, many of them*

Dealer

I babysat Seth and Danna's boys last night. This is not such an unusual occurrence, especially when they are both involved somehow in a show, or two. Danna is stage managing "The Curious Savage" and Seth is in rehearsals for "Big". It's all very show business.

When they returned last night they handed me a DVD+R with a message. "It's a good thing Seth is going to be in a show all summer. You'll get a bunch more."

A bunch more what?

Episodes of Doctor Who Season Four. It's currently playing in the UK, but not yet released over here (probably not until Christmas-time), and my family and I are very much involved with it. James Pattee gets me copies of current episodes. I don't know how, he's some kind of media genius.

On the other hand...

I loved Man of La Mancha!!!

Rain

I woke up last night to the sound of rain all around.

Being the middle of the night, I wasn't too coherent, but I did think...

I'm glad I didn't water the lawn yet this week.

My second thought was...

I'm so glad my migraine is gone.

Someone has to be the bad guy

And today that someone is me.

Ella is grounded. She went with Josh to a friends house when I had told her 'no' already.

Ben has lost computer privileges for two days. He went over his allotted time yesterday and talked back to me about it today.

The Arts Council has dropped the ball, again, and I have to go back up Rebecca tonight. Hopefully, everything will turn out okay.

Summer Voice

Over the last few summers I have noticed that I am a much more relaxed voice teacher during the summer months. It's not as if I'm a drill sargeant during the school year, but there are many more things to worry about (musical auditions, solo auditions, choir auditions, festival...) than during the summer.

I started my first official summer lessons yesterday, the first week of June being more or less a throwaway because the kids are still finishing up with school, and I had a ball! We laughed and we sang. We laughed and I listened. We laughed and chose new music. We laughed just for the sake of laughing. Then we laughed some more.

Somehow, in the midst of all this laughter, singing and learning took place. It was one of those days that makes me glad I'm a teacher.

ick

I can't believe I spent $20 on a picture cd from AGYG that has maybe 2 clear shots of me, and neither of them are good.

Didn't they say there were good shots of everyone?

What a waste.

Scene

Afterwords...

Yesterday when I finally got home from that (*!#&*) event I was not ready to think about what had happened or how I felt about it. What I was was tired, sore, exhausted; emotionally, spiritually and physically, and a little bit sun burnt. I've had a little bit of time to process everything and now I'm ready to write about it.

Preparation:

I didn't sleep well the night before. Crystal and I went to Brigham and stayed with her parents on Friday night. This was a great idea because with the even being in Logan, Wellsville actually, it meant that we could sleep a little later in the morning and only have a twenty minute drive to reach the starting line. I should have remembered that a: I don't sleep well in strange beds and b: I don't sleep well when I'm freaked out or excited about something. In this case, it was both. I woke up at 5:34 a.m. (we'd planned on 6:00) and couldn't go back to sleep. This was okay, Crystal was awake, too...we were both way too excited.

We got to Wellsville in plenty of time to register (I got a cute shirt!) and get our breakfast. Just as we were sitting down, my sister-in-law Jody found us, which is rather amazing if you consider that there were probably 1500 women there, not to mention families and volunteers. Jody and her friend Julie had breakfast with Crystal and I and it was a lot of fun.

Beginning:

The ride began just after 8:00 a.m. and for the first 60-90 minutes I did great! The weather was a little bit cooler than we'd hoped for, but later on in the day we were very grateful for that. The only thing that we weren't expecting was the hail...it was raining...and then it started hurting! Hail! Augh! Still, I was riding like the wind and feeling pretty good about myself.

Sometime during this first stretch of road came the turnoff for the 36 mile ride. Crystal wouldn't let me take it. That was the ride I originally had planned on, but she assured me that I could make the 45 mile loop and so, on we went.

Trouble:

The storm which had spit the hail at us was behind as, thankfully, but we dealt, alternately, with a headwind or a crosswind. The only good part of this was that we convinced ourselves that on the return portion of the loop, when we were most tired, this would be a tailwind.

Headwinds are nasty things. They steal all of your energy and make you work twice as hard for half the distance. Not only that, but I discovered that they sap you emotionally as well.

Not long after the second rest stop which sits at about mile 17, I started having cramps in my thighs. I didn't know what to do about it. I am not experienced enough of a cyclist to recognize the warning signs and take precautionary measures. So, I did what I knew to do. I started praying. Hard. I just wanted to finish this loop. Please help me get through this. Please bless my body that it will continue to function. Please bless the wind that it might ease up some. Then I started doing what else I know to do: I sang. Crystal didn't hear me sing "A Child's Prayer", that one felt very personal at the moment and was making me cry. However, we came to a slight hill, I push up it, got to the top and as I came down the other side broke into, "I'm not yet dead...I can dance and I can sing!" Crystal joined me on that one. Then we laughed. Heartily.

A Good Attitude:

I decided that not only did I want to finish the loop, I wanted to do so with a good attitude. I was not going to give up! Send more hail to pelt me! Cramps in my thighs! Bugs smashing into my helmet! (Not in the grill, thank goodness!) Heavenly Father was on my side and I was going to make it! My motto became, keep moving forward. (Yes, I sang the Dory song from Finding Nemo...just keep swimming, just keep swimming...) I knew David was at home praying for me. I knew the kids were thinking of me. I wanted Sarah to be proud of me.

Then, a miracle. We reached the third rest stop. Mile 25. I had told Crystal that I was going to need quite of bit of time at this stop, I was already hurting a lot and the next scheduled stop on the map was the finish line. 20 miles without a break seemed like a long ways (it was) and I needed to shore myself for it. As I was resting and massaging my thighs and very nice lady came and sat next to me. "Are you hurting?" "Yes" "You should take some Ibuprofen." "I would, but I didn't carry any with me." "They have some over there with the food." Sighs of relief from me. "You know what? You should also eat oranges, or drink the orange juice...the citric acid helps fight the lactic acid buildup." I was incredibly grateful for this advice. I took the IB and ate the oranges, got back to my massaging and Crystal said, "Try stretching out this way. This is a good one for thighs." I did and I could feel those muscles rebelling against me. And I looked funny holding my leg behind me while using Crystal's head for balance.

Jody found us at this rest stop. It was really cool! She had taken the 62 mile loop and had made it all the way back to where the loops join up again. She is fast! Very impressive.

After the long rest, Crystal and I were on our way again, using songs such as "No Contest" from Chess and "Into the Fire" from The Scarlet Pimpernel to ease our way down the road. (Dang! We should have sung "Ease on Down the Road".) It didn't matter who was riding past or could hear us, we sang as loudly as we could. I think this was one of my favorite times of the ride.

I would stop periodically to stretch my thighs out more, I could feel them starting to relax and be willing to work again. One of these times a lady road by and yelled, "Are you cramping?" I yelled back, "Yes!" "Drink more water!" was her reply. Duh. I had forgotten to drink enough water. And sure enough, another couple of miles down the road the cramps were completely gone and I was riding 12 miles an hour again. (Thanks to Crystal.)

The tailwind that was supposed to be never occurred. The winds shifted again and we ended up with more headwinds.

The Long Stretch:

I was drinking so much water that pretty soon I really had to pee. Remember when I wrote that the 25 mile rest stop was the last scheduled stop for the loop? Bushes are wonderful, but really in short supply. And sheep scare very easily.

Still, I was doing a lot better, and Crystal was amazing. But, there comes a point when muscles just don't want to work anymore. I reached that point at about 36 miles. (I wonder if I should have taken the shorter loop?! Nah!) Crystal kept me singing, kept me smiling, kept me cycling. I would have quit in this stretch if not for her.

She kept reminding me, "Keep moving forward!" We would sing whatever came into our heads. (Author's note: "How Many Devils" from Civil War is not the song to keep yourself moving...it nearly stopped me dead in my tracks.) Even when I had to walk my cycle up the hill, I kept moving. I would walk a portion of the way, then ride the rest. It was slow going. Very slow going. And about mile 38 I lost my mind and said, "I hate you now" to Crystal. She understood, we had talked about it a few miles back. But I did get over it.

At about 43 miles I broke down and cried while we talked about Sarah. Can I just say how grateful I am to have such a wonderful daughter? I wasn't crying out of anger or frustration, but gratitude that I knew if I ever did this again, Sarah would be with me. Not because I would make her, but because she would want to be.

The End:

Coming up to the finish was one of the most amazing moments of my life. I made it. And I was still smiling. And I had to pee. Yes, I had finally been drinking enough water.

As we walked to the car, I happened to spy a small butterfly lighting on a dandelion. It didn't fly away when I came up to it. And I felt as if Heavenly Father was telling me that He had been with me all day. And I knew it was true. Ladies had given me help and advice when I needed it, and I'll never be able to tell them that without that help I don't think I would have finished. I pray for many blessings upon them. Crystal was there by my side the entire day, even when I know that she could have finished much faster without me. I also know I wouldn't have finished without her. Headwinds were lessened, cramps were eased, muscles were strengthened and attitude, well, attitude was lightened.

P.S.:

If I do this again, and I might, I'm going to train better. I'm going to have the right equipment, and I'm going to know beforehand what I'm getting into. But most of all, I'm going to take Crystal with me...and Sarah...and Rachael...and Teresa. After all, it didn't kill me!

I'M NOT YET DEAD!!!!!

Why I Did It

I don't want to be skinny only depending on my genetics.

I want to be able to have the energy to play with my children: not just watch them.

I want to be able to look at my daughters and say, "This was fun!"

I want to prove I am more than a singer or an actor...I can be an athelete (of sorts).

I don't want to be my mom.

I'm not a quitter!

I finished!

Big Cheer for me!

Riding

I'm in Logan, Utah

riding my bicycle

hoping to make it 46 miles.

I am more than a little

crazy.

freak out

Tomorrow is the day that I've been freaking out about ever since AGYG ended.

Tomorrow I ride a bicycle for 46 miles.

Crystal assures me that it won't be that hard, especially if we take it at a nice slow, even pace.

I think I would feel better if the forecast weren't so icky...39 at the start, maybe mid 60's by the end, chance of showers. I don't handle the cold well.

Oh well. Here goes!

learning curve

Remember the old Matthew Broderick movies "War Games"? My two boys watched it last night for the first time. They enjoyed it immensely. I know this because the last time I came down it was the end of the movie, WOPR had five out of ten numbers of the code to launch, the MB character was asking, "Can you make it play itself?", and my boys were yelling, "Learn!!! Learn stupid computer!!! Learn!!!"

Sometimes old movies are the best.

supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

What you say when you don't know what to say...

Normal life isn't that bad

I had a normal day.
I did laundry (my least favorite chore).
I gave blood (for the 21st time).
I read a book (Raven Rise; Pendragon book nine by DJ MacHale...I strongly recommend this series).
I taught lessons (some of them even paid on time).
I made dinner (spaghetti).
I read a goodnight story (Green Eggs and Ham; always a classic).
I folded laundry (too much piled on my bed to do anything but).
I watched a movie (Anxiously Engaged: A Picadilly Romance).
I went to bed.

Good thing I've got unusual plans for this weekend.
Normal life would bore me silly in about two days.

Onward...

This entire last week was absolutely crazy! I'm not certain anyone noticed, but I did post a few blogs that were a little bit strange. Oh well. What's done is done. From here on, at least for a few months, I expect life to be more like normal...crazy, but not crazy crazy!



Last Friday Rachael and I took some kids to the zoo. It seemed like a good idea at the time, and even though it was a little rainy, the rain mostly stopped and it was just nice and cool. In other words, it was a perfect day to be at the zoo.



I doesn't seem to matter how many times I've taken my kids past this elephant, they always want to ride the trunk and have me take a picture of it. This time Rachael and I thought that we would "encourage" Drew to be in the picture. Can you tell he was thrilled with us?


We had a great day! And in retrospect I'm so grateful that I had this one taking it easy day before all the craziness started. (Rachael, I have more pictures that I will post for you later.)



"Annie Get Your Gun" closed this last weekend. *sigh* I'm happy and sad all at the same time, and I think that's a great way to be when a show closes. If you're only sad, the show has closed too soon. If you're only happy, you may not have liked anyone in your cast and that is terrible! So, for me, this time at least, I'm glad not to have to perform anymore, but I'm missing the people I got to know during the run. I've spent much of my free time the last 3 1/2 months with the same people...it's a good thing I liked them so much.

Although there were three shows on Saturday, my cast only performed one of them (that's the MWF schedule). However, my double left for Aruba early Saturday morning and couldn't do her last two shows. This left me to do her shows as well as my own (five shows in two days...but I'm alive!). Something strange happened to me when my cast left. In spite of the fact that I like the other cast, and I have some really good friends there, I felt a little bit deserted. What a strange sensation! I almost cried! I didn't realize how much I enjoyed performing with my cast until they were gone. Isn't that always the way of it?

Still, I'm so grateful I had this opportunity...now if I could only get the rest of the mic tape residue off my neck...

Imagine my surprise when I walked into my room Friday night after the cast party (it was really late!) and found long strands of hair on my floor. Yes, Ella decided she wanted short hair and took the matter into her own hands. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I wanted to cry because she had the longest hair for a four year old, down to her waist, but it was really funny because that's just like Ella to do something like that. Well, in the end I decided to laugh. It wasn't as if she had shaved her head or even cut too close. I just figured she was going to get the short haircut she wanted.

I called Cindy Johnson early Saturday morning (she assured me I didn't wake her up)and begged for a favor...after all, it was an emergency. May I just say: CINDY IS A GENIUS!!!!!
(proof positive)

My little girl, however, is a ham.

Well, that's that. It's time to get dressed, get going, and move onward...ever onward.

What if the Book of Mormon had been written by Dr. Seuss?


Nephi: Of goodly parents I was born
I've never drunk, I've never sworn
This is Lehi, he's my dad
Laman, Lemuel, they are bad
And who is this? Why this is Sam.
Sam: Yes, this is Sam; Sam I am
Laman: That Sam I am, that Sam I am
I do not like that Sam I am
Sam: In a tent, my father dwelt
Laman: And it's so hot, I think I'll melt
Lemuel: Our father's brain is out of whack
Laman: Yeah, it's too hot, I'm going back
Lehi: Then go and get the plates my dear
Laman: On second thought, I'm staying here
Nephi: You said you'd leave and go away
Now all you want to do is stay?
Lemuel: That Nephi always gets his way
Laman: Here we are in this damp cave
Sam: We would not be here if you'd behave
Nephi: I will go and I will do
There's the angel, that's my cue
Laban's had too much to drink
Now he'll lose his head, I think
Nephi: Look what I found, a brother from the quorum
Sam: We will take him home, we will call him Zoram
Laman: Our gold and silver we have spent
I do not like it in this tent
Lemuel: I cannot read the Liahona
I must have drunk too much Corona
Laman: We hate it here, we have no lives
Lehi: Then go back to the city and get some wives
Lehi: A tree, a tree, I see a tree!!
The fruit is white, the fruit is free!
A floating building, could it be?
Why do they laugh and stare at me?
Laman, Lemuel, come and see!
Laman: We will not eat your precious fruit
Lemuel: We will not wear a tie and suit
Laman: We will not help you build your boat
Lemuel: We do not think that it will float
Laman: No not this boat, it will not float
Not even in a shallow moat
I do not care what Nephi wrote
Lemuel: We will not eat your fruit I say
Laman: We will not eat it on a tray
Lemuel: And we won't eat it in a tent
Not even if your clothes you rent
Laman: We'd rather have a can of spam
L&L: We will not eat it, Sam I am
Sam: You do not like it, so you say
Try it, try it, and you may
Try it and you may I say
Laman: Sam, if you will let us be,
We will try it, you will see
L&L: Say, we like this fruit of life
Sorry that we caused such strife
You've saved us from an awful jam
Thank you, thank you, Sam I am