Oh, Crap

By looking at my March walking total & this photo, I don't think I need to keep typing. Enough said.

Happy Birthday Bro'

Today's Tony's birthday. He'll never see this but I wanted to post it anyway. His Dad took him & Kaisara out last night to Ruth's Chris for fancy-dancy steak dinner. I heard it was delicious! Happy Birthday, Tony!

btw: He's still's got that same smile.

The Power of the Tax Right Off

A few years ago I worked for the month of December at Crap-Ann's. It had to be done. I didn't have work & December's a great month for temp. retail work. Anyway, I survived & so did they.

While there I got a super great Rowenta iron. Normally 90 bucks, I got it for like $25 or something with employee discount & coupons, etc. Rowenta's are great irons. A great iron is an important thing for someone like me. It cracks me up that most of my friends don't even own one. ANYwho...Zelda bumped my ironing board & the thing came crashing down 1 too many times (yes, it happened more than once). About a month or so after the last crash-landing the bloody thing started leaking. NOT acceptable when working on silk & the like. I figured the thing broke 'cause of my dumb dog & it's been over a year since the purchase date so, whatever. I have a spray bottle that mists well. That was at least 6 months ago. I've not worked on certain things several times due to the lack of a steaming iron. How can I be so cheap & in my line of work not to just go out & buy a new one? I amaze even me with my cheap-ness. Wow, this is a long post about a dumb iron. Anyway. I remembered today that I can write off the cost of a new one. Sweet! I headed to Bed, Bath & Beyond armed with my 20% off coupon. And what's this? A left over gift card from Christmas with $6-ish on it? Yeah! SO, I got a new Rowenta normally $49.99 for $36.18. Did I mention it came with a rebate for a $15 Bed, Bath & Beyond gift card?
Awesome! I've got steaming capabilities againAND mad bargain shopping skills.

A Little Update-y Matey

Well, here it is. I want to jab my eyes out. There you go. Read it & weep. Out they come.

Since my gig at UCI ended early I called my office work gal, Vera. She was thrilled. She sent me to an on-site office that no one has been there filing for a year. Scary. The property manager was told that I knew the ropes & would take care of everything. Scary. I get there & there's 8 file drawers & 3 cubicles filed with garbage-ito. Scary. One problem (of several) is that this lady's managing at least 5 buildings that all have several names. "Which name do want printed on your file labels?", I ask. Insert her blank stare here... She gave me a 1"x 1 1/2" post-it note with four little things written on it. Insert my blank stare here... An hour later, I ask if I can have a pen. She gives me a (meaning one, singular) writing implement. Another hour later (& I'm really getting reved up by now) I hold up my little piece of post-it note & ask if I can have something larger to write on as I'm trying to get a grasp of this 5 buildings each with 4 different names thing. I kid you not. She gets up & hands me a, (meaning one, singular) piece of paper. Sure glad she didn't throw her back out. ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? Who is this lady?!?!?! Finally at about 3pm I ask "Where's the restroom?" Come on!! I shiver at the thought of her having house guests. She probably doesn't even feed them. Is she for real? I didn't have a computer, printer nothin'. Okay lady, I'll get right on this. Insert me giving a big ol', righteous, raspberry here.

It's not that it's office work & not sewing. I like to organize. I'm good at it. I get things done. Burn some rubber, ya' know? You want your crap organized? BAM! There you go. It's just this office itself. No one talks to one another. I am utterly convinced that most of the people there don't even no the names of most of the other people there. And this lady! I think I've gotten a dozen words out of her. And each one she makes me feel guilty for. And they're all work related! I'm really holding myself back in there! You know me! I'm a talkter! Oi! But I digress, I'll continue..

She was only there for 2 days then off to vacation for a week in Maui (poor baby). Sweet. Now I can really do my thing. During that time I got the 8 file drawers dealt with (all sorted, color coded & labeled beautifully). As well as made a huge dent in the cubicles. I'm talking papers dating back to 1989 people! She comes back today. Guess her response...wait for it...here it comes...a big fat NADA! Now, I know I need more positive affirmation than the next guy but I wasn't expecting that, let alone looking for it from this girl. But come on! Not a, "Wow! This looks great!",or a "It's really coming along.", or "Thanks for all of this.", or even a "Kiss my a**!" She didn't even say good morning. I finally did and asked her how her trip was. She says, and I quote, "Awesome. It sucks to be back." I just smiled & said, "Well that's a great way to look at it!" and continued my task. I can't wait to go back tomorrow!

It's Your Birthday, Thanks for the Gift

Happy Birthday to my best friend, Cat. Sure her birthday's almost over as it's 10:30 at night but it's still her birthday. I just came home from Sewing Circle at which absolutely no sewing was done. We just sat around, chatted, had birthday goodies & enjoyed each other's company. Oh yeah, and Cat gave me my birthday/Christmas present. It rocks. I got a page-a-day calendar (calendars are our traditional Christmas gift) & Fung "Shoe" book & last but not least, a blue velvet cape in which she hand embroidered my super hero name: The Amazing Catherine. It's sweet. And it's interchangeable between me, Kathy & Cat. Handy!

Happy Birthday, Friend! I love my presents

They Can't Be Trusted

Twice now I've used a pedometer to track my walking when Google's pedometer would have been too difficult. The first time was when we went to Magic Mountain. It read 7.8 miles. Really? Okay, but it didn't seem that far. Must have been 'cause I was having such a great time I didn't realize my feet should have been tired. Today I took a group of girls to the garment district. I wore the pedometer again. In fact I wore 2. One on each hip. After walking around the area for a bit we headed home. One pedometer read over three miles (doubtful), the other read .05 miles. Okay, now I KNOW that's wrong. These are even ones that you enter your stride length & weight & stuff. Still obvisously totally inaccurate. ANYHOOO, I did some more shopping & stuff today so I kept the higher reading one on (hey, I'm no fool). All in all it says I walked 6.8 miles. Again, doubtful. I'm going to be generous to my self though & only round down to 6 miles for the day (to make up for all the little bit's here & there that I do during the day just as part of life but don't calculate into my 2007 goal). This gets my weekly total to 15 miles. I finished February on target & March is starting out great!

Yahoo! You're 2!

Happy Birthday to my godson Elijah. He's a wonderful little boy and a great big brother to new comer Miles. Happy birthday kiddo!

No Much Going On

I've been working some overtime at UCI this week so there hasn't been much to blog about nor the time to blog it. Here's an update or sorts:

I ended February with 4.4 miles over my 10 miles per week goal. This is due to going to Magic Mountain last weekend and carpooling with Kaisara to work. Depending on the time in the morning, he drops me off at different points and I walk the rest of the way to the costume shop. Only once have we been early enough for me to walk from the 405. That's 2.9 miles but sure seems like it should be further. Kaisara offers to drop me off at the door but I try to get in my miles this way. We're also saving on me paying for parking at work. UCI doesn't pay for their employees' parking. $44 per month. I think not. That's almost 2 1/2 hours of work just to park. It's better for me, our bank account, and the environment by the way, for me to walk. So walk I shall.

My gig at UCI has been great. The manager, Vera, is awesome. She LOVES her job. She lets us know when we need to put our heads down & crank stuff out and she later lets us know how great we did & how much she appreciates our work. There is an opening for full-time employment there but I've decided not to apply. I don't think I could handle working with cynical grad students and all of their angst on a permanent basis. Bummer, the money's good and the benefits would be to die for. I'll enjoy my freelancing some more.

Of course, I am so good I've sewed myself out of work. We were supposed to work today after working late all this week. But no, we're done until after the first dress (Monday night). So I've sewed myself out of overtime today & there's no need for me to go in Monday since we won't have any notes by then. It really is a curse being so gifted. HaHaHaHaHa!

Vera's said she has work for me through Friday, March 9th but after that's an unknown. I'm not back at SCR 'til April 17th. Yikes! over a month with no pay. Again, the joys of freelancing. Not worried though. God will provide. He always does.

Well rather than working today & making the big bucks at time-and-a-half, I'm off to do a ton of laundry & perhaps work some on my dead soldier. It's getting nearer to completion.

Tons-o-Fun

Eight of us went to Magic Mountain yesterday. It's so fun! I haven't been there in at least 10 years. Needless to say they've added several new coasters since then. I love me a good roller coaster. The weather was great though once the sun went down it was super chilly. The lines weren't bad. The longest was about an hour. Mostly it was just a great day with friends.

Here's Melanie goofing off. Who'd a thunk huh?








James returning from his ride on Tatsu. Yes the picture is facing the right direction. You ride facing down as if you're flying. Let's just say...AWESOME!!! The first drop was terrifying. Come on, head first down a crazy tall drop at a super fast speed. Scary. It was so awesome!




Some of our group.


We ended out time at the park sharing a delicious, sugary funnel cake then headed to In-n-Out for dinner then drove home. We didn't even hit horrible traffic there or back.

To sum up my day, I'll close with a quote from The Incredibles:

Boy on Tricycle: That was totally wicked!

The Prince & the Pauper Photos

As promised here's a few pictures of the costumes I built for SCR's The Prince & the Pauper.

We made the Prince's gown (purple coat with brown fur). We also did MAJOR repairs to his doublet & pumpkin breeches.










We made the King's gown, doublet (though the doublet looks like a dress), fat pad & hat complete with fur piping.







We made Lady Jane's dress. I only patterned the sleeve. A co-worked patterned the rest of it before I started on the show.










Here's a close-up of the bodice & skirt. It shows the dreaded cartridge pleats. Man! I hated those things. Now that I've done them, they're not that bad. It's just ALOT of hand work.

I had a part time first hand and a mostly full time stitcher to get it all ready. Later, we got help from the rest of the staff as their show opened & they had a few minutes. I can't believe we pulled it off!

Government Agent

As many of you know I was fired for 2 months from SCR. I go back April 17th to start on Hamlet, but in the mean time they've got 2 very small contemporary shows so they don't need me. Before my time was up I started trying to figure out what I'd be doing for work for 2 months. I asked around Laguna Playhouse people and such but they've trimmed their shop down for some small shows too. Guess I'll just fill in at my old office job for a while. I made the phone call and Vera (the office manager) said she'd have work for me. Cool. Not a dream job but at least it's easy & the money's the same. Then out of no where I get a call from Vera (the shop manger at UCI). Basically the conversation went like this, "Hi, you don't know me but will you come work in my shop for 2 months?" "O.k." "By the way, we're gonna pay you almost $3 more an hour than you're used to." "O.k."

God is so good. He provides exactly what we need when we need it doesn't He? And the best part is, He knows what we actually need.

So I'm working for the government through at least March 9th & if they haven't found a permanent person by then I'll work there until they do our until April 17th to go back to SCR.

How Does That Always Happen?

Theatre is magical. Many people know that, but us costumers, we know it good. There's magic within them there walls. I was given the responsibility of getting SCR's production of The Prince & the Pauper up. I asked who else was working on it & I was informed that I had a mostly full-time stitcher & a half-time first hand. Oh. Okay. Well then. It's me then. Insert FREAK OUT here. Oh yeah, you've got two weeks. Insert SHEER PANIC mixed with FREAK OUT here.

I knew most of the costumes were going to be pulled from our stock or rented but still. I've got to build a velveteen boned bodice dress complete with heinous cartridge pleats and two velveteen, fur and brocade or silk King Henry gowns (similar to the really big red poofy sleeved coat thing in the picture). Oh yeah, and a hat. And King Henry's quick change doublet with built in fat pad. Two weeks. Okay. And all of the pulled/rented costumes that would need to be fit and altered and repaired. Lots of repair. I swear, everything rented was built in 1934. I'm not exaggerating. Those pieces had to be 70 years old. While trying to alter them velvet was exploding.

Add a wicked cold on top of all of this & let's just say I wasn't doing well. I was told today that they didn't notice be freaking out. Good to know. I guess I'm a good faker.

Here's the theatre magic: tomorrow is our first audience. We're pretty much done. Couple things here and there but if we all got hit by the chip truck, the show could go up as is. How does that always happen? There's always too much work & it's impossible to get down & yet it does. Even while freaking out I was telling Kaisara, "funny thing is, the magic of theatre will happen & it will all get done." Sure enough. I'll post pictures when I get them.

Came Up Short

You may have noticed my 2007 Mileage Tracker on the left. At the beginning of the year I made a goal to walk 500 miles in 2007. This is a spin off of Geoff's goal to run 1000 miles in 2007. Let's face it, I'm no runner so I figured half of a runner's goal would be good for a walker. So 500 miles it is. I figured if I get in 10 a week that'd give me 20 miles to spare.

I also figured this wouldn't be too hard of a goal to achieve since Dana & I have been walking before work a few times a week ever since the time change in October (do I even need to tell you how freezing & dark it is at 6am in December?). When we walk I get in 2.9 miles. We had been going Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays so without even trying that'd be 8.7 miles a week.

With January being 5 weeks long (I'm tracking Sunday through Saturday as a week not actual dates of the month) I should have had 50 miles in. I don't. I'm 7.9 miles short. For most of January, Dana and or I have been sick so we figured it's best not to make things worse & let our bodies sleep in the nice warms beds we've been blessed with. She started it with the coodies and I actually got up & walked without her for about a week. Then the toastyness of the blankies conquered me since I didn't have anyone counting on me to be out there tired & freezing.

I'm hoping I can make up for my shortage in February and get in 50 miles even though it's only 4 weeks long. On the bright side if I cut into my 20 spare miles, I'm not short. I've still got 12.1. Ouch. That's not much to hold me off for 47 more weeks.

It's What You Wear From Ear to Ear...

Tonight was my 5th free thing of the year, & in the 5th week of the year no less. I'm tellin' you, I'm onna roll. Next week I'll have another since the show at work's opening & I don't gotta pay for those.

Tonight was Annie at OCPAC. I got the tickets so I could take Lydia. She's new to theatre. She braved through Pippin with me but Annie'd be right up her alley. Alas, Lydia is a sickie like me, only worse, so she couldn't make it. So sad. I wish she was well. Not just for theatre, don't get me wrong, but I wish she was well enough to have joined me. She would have loved it. I took Mom instead. She never minds being my back-up theatre buddy.

It was neat seeing the show with Mom. Back in the day, Annie was my first live performance I ever saw. It was at the Pantages. It was cold outside while waiting to go in & it was magic inside. I guess one could say that Annie's the show that planted the bug of theatre into my little world. It's so great. A happy show with 30's clothes, fun songs & a great little story. What would a Broadway musical be without a little cheese, right?

If you haven't seen the movie, rent it. Keep in mind my above statement about Broadway musicals but, come on, Carol Burnett play Miss Higgins. That's worth the rental fee right there.

Snot Face

I'm sick. It's yucky. Snot everywhere. I'm sure you loved reading that but there it is. Worst part is I can't call in sick at work since I'm really the only one working on my show.

It was really fun having swollen sinuses at an elevation of a mile high in the mountains this weekend. Not much sleep to be had when one can't breathe is there? Lack of sleep never expediates the healing process.

I was so desperate at work today I walked to CVS & bought nasal spray. Good news: I could NEVER be a cocaine addict since after snorting stupid medicine I thought I was going to die for about 2 hours due to the horrible pain. Bad news: I thought I was going to die for about 2 hours due to the horrible pain. That stuff's terrible! How can anyone use that crap? Let alone put anything else up there?! I'm hoping that the abundance of snot means this cold's on it's way out.

I'll close with an appropriate quote from Drop Dead Fred:

Fred: Morning. Who's for snot flicking?

Who Needs Money?

Like I said before, 2007 is gonna be a great year. Here we are into the 4th week of the year & I'm about to take part in my 4th freebie. First was "Pippin", then was "Cavalia". Last week I got a couple last minute comps to see "Don Giovanni". Gorgeous music, weirdo set, and while each individual costume piece was nice, they were completely random when put together. My favorite (not so much) was looking at the bright fuchsia dress in front of the ALL red stage.

ANYWAY. My fourth freebie. This weekend Kaisara & I are heading up to a marriage retreat at Forest Home. Someone at our church sponsored us for this event. Super generous & I've been praying for whomever provided it to be blessed right out of their socks. We'll have a private cabin & a private bathroom. Awesome.

I'm a little leary though. We don't really know anyone else whose going & any time I've been to a marriage thing-y so much of it seemed to revolve around having of the kids. Hello. Does not apply. I'm hoping that's not the case this weekend.

Regardless, Kaisara & I always have a great time together. How bad could a private cabin in the mountains for a weekend be right?

Know of a Buyer?

The desk top is 42" x 30" and has a 6 1/2" x 30" tray on the side for pens, pencils & the like. The removable mat is white on one side & green on the other & is the same size as the desk top. The desk can be angled or flat. At its highest it's 36" tall & at its lowest is 26" tall. It can also be folded flat to only about 6" thick. The chair lowers to 22" and raised to 32".



Kaisara & I are looking to sell his drafting table, mat & chair. Do you know anyone who may be interested?


We're looking to sell it for about $65. obo.

A One Time Thing

We went to Barona Casino yesterday & Daryl joined us. I got a detail a little confused though. The 2 hour thing. You have to play for at least 2 hours not up to 2 hours. Duh, that makes sense. Why would I think they'd want you to stop. So you've gotta make your $200 last for 2 hours or else you've gotta put more money in that they won't cover if you loose it. In the end we lost all of our money but it only cost us the atm fee (we didn't stop to get cash & their atm has a $3 fee). We had lunch in the food court (delicious burgers & pizza), parking was free & every employee we spoke to was super nice & courteous.

We did have to laugh at ourselves because once we got all set up with our cards we all sat down & had no idea how to work the stupid things. What dorks. Of course the boys weren't gonna ask so I flagged down a cashier lady and said with a laugh in my voice, "Hi, I'm new. How do I work this thing?" What a lame-o. She explained it, I got it & explained it to the boys. They had a harder time grasping the bet 1-20 lines & bet each line 1-5 times.

2 hours on a slot machine is alot like playing scratchers for 2 hours so it got a little old but we had to have 2 hours on our card so we kept pushing the buttons. I'm glad we did it for something different, even more glad we didn't actually loose $400 but since that's only a first time visitor thing, we probably won't go back.

Good to know that I could never get hooked. It was hard for me to play it all even though I knew I'd get it back. What can I say, I'm a cheap-o.

Kenny Sold Us

So Kaisara & I are trying something different this weekend. We're going down to Barona Casino to play the slots. They've got this thing going 'til April that they'll cover your losses on the slots for 2 hours up to $200 and they'll double your winnings for 2 hours up to $200. So worst case scenario, if you don't put in more than $200, you break even. Best case scenario, your $200 grows to $400. Of course they count on you losing more than your $200 and that you'll drop more money in their casino, restaurants & the like. But they don't know us. We're driving down. Gonna have some lunch (a cheap one) & see if we can't leave with 400 of their dollars (200 for me, 200 for Kaisara). Mostly it's a good excuse for some time together & do something different.

Anyone wanting to join us, give me a call. Just remember, "you gotta know when to fold 'em."

Sew What

A reflecting post that might go long and/or be boring to most of you.

I hold a sewing class/group at my house once a month called Sew What. It's usually the 3rd Saturday of the month but I had to move it up a week this month so it was today. The ladies just left & I'm putting the living room back together while thinking how blessed I am to know these ladies & to have a home to open to them.

Sew What was born out of Sewing Circle. My once-a-month group of ladies that usually meet at Cal Poly's costume shop. While it is often a two hour drive for me to be there for an hour and a half & then a 45 minute drive home, I only miss it when absolutely necessary. Sewing Circle includes former classmates of mine, other alum, & faculty (past & present). We've been meeting for eight years with people coming and going. Sewing Circle has awakened me to how meaningful "community" is for us, especially women. We're just wired for it. Even when I'm dreading the drive to or I'm too swamped & shouldn't go because there's too much to do, I go. I always, every single time, leave feeling refreshed, uplifted, encouraged, totally blessed & ready to face the world for another month before we get together again. It's priceless for me & I know for several other members of the group.

That's why I started Sew What. I wanted other ladies to have & feel what I have at Sewing Circle. I had several friends wanting to learn to sew, I offered to teach them. They've mended clothes for themselves & their families. They've made gifts for others. They've made things for their homes & blankets for babies. My prayer is that they leave feeling the way I do after Sewing Circle, "always, every single time, feeling refreshed, uplifted, encouraged, totally blessed & ready to face the world for another month before we get together again". I guess it's not really fair, I've now got two groups of community that make me feel that way.

Getting things done isn't even the point. More times than not, many of us are packing up our things realizing we haven't finished two stitches but have spent the time chatting, laughing, show-&-telling and even sometimes crying. That's the point. Community. Sharing our lives with others. In this "I'm fine. How are you?" "Fine" society we have GOT to make a consious effort in being part of a community.

At both Sewing Circle & Sew What people come, people go, people invite others, people invite themselves. That's awesome & how it should be. When as kids did we loose the ability to ask, "can I play with you guys?" and as adults just wait for an invitation that may or maynot arrive. When does that happen? Why does that happen?

Thank you Sewing Circle ladies for what you do for me.

Thank you Sew What ladies for what you you do for me.

A sense of community is so meaningful & priceless it should be sought out if you don't not have one (or in my case 2!). What can I say, I'm a blessed girl.

Birthday Girl!

Happy Birthday Melissa! I'm wishing for no birthday snow for you! I hope your day is a happy one. Thanks for being my friend. You're a great one!

Amazing & Awesome

Cavalia is a show that should not be missed. Think Cirque Du Soleil with horses & less bizzare.

Given, I'm a horse person. Always have been, always will be. But you don't need to be to enjoy this show. As a theatre "techie", this show is amazing. But you don't need to be a techie to enjoy this show either. This show has so much to offer everyone. The horses were awesome, beautiful & such gentle giants even when racing acroos the stage flat out. The human cast members were amazing in their tricks & athletic ability. The musical score (performed live) was moving & perfectly fitting. There wasn't anything I didn't love about this show. What a magical thing to witness & as an audience member, be a part of.

I was a little wary of going. Oh, I was going all right. But how would it affect me? Often thinking of my horseback years & all of the great memories saddens me (a fact that frustrates Kaisara to no end). But this show didn't. Watching the performers & because of sense memory, I knew exactly what those performers were feeling on & in their bodies. Horses are magical.

In Melissa fashion I will close with a quote:

"There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man." --Winston Churchill

Bring on the Freebies!

If the first week of the year is any indication, 2007 is gonna be a year full of theatre. Free theatre too!

I found out on the last Friday of 2006 that a friend of mine is now the graphic designer for OCPAC. Cool! I was so pleased that he got what I would think to be a great gig. When I told him we should go out to lunch sometime since I'm literally right across the street he asked me if I liked shows & would I ever be interested in his comps that he doesn't use. HELLO?!?!?! I laughed & of course said yes to both questions. Seven days later he calls & wants to know if I'm interested in seeing Pippin that night. Sure! All I know is that's it's a Broadway musical. That's it, but hey, it's free.

I took my mom & Lydia with me. I'm glad I went but I have mixed feelings about the show. Overall I guess I'd say I didn't like it. I could have DEFINITELY done without the dance-y orgy scene. It was five minutes that didn't add anything to the story & was just too seedy for me. The actor playing the title role was rather pitchy & not a very good dancer. (How do these people get these gigs?) I would have loved to see William Katt do the role which apparently he did many moons ago. On the other hand the Leading Player was, in a word...AMAZING! What a voice, what moves, what a fun character. His costume was amazing too. The role was originally played by Ben Vereen & I would LOVED to have seen that but given that was in 1972, alas, it would have been impossible. Pippin tells a story in the same fashion as Chicago. It glamorizes immoral behavior while telling you "this isn't how this should be". So the moral of Pippin's story (or what I got from it) is good it just leads you to that point by making some bad stuff look like the good. It's conflicting for me & I still haven't processed it all.

So today John, our prop master at work, came in to our shop to see if anyone wanted to see Cavalia tomorrow night. OH MY GRACIOUS!!! YES!! I said I wanted it & how much, can I bring you the money tomorrow. No, it's free. I'm SO excited! I can't wait. A friend of mine at Pageant saw it a few years ago & couldn't even talk about it without getting choked up, she thought it so wonderful. Did I mention I get to go for free! I don't even need to pay for parking. It's at Verizon Wireless Ampitheatre so Kaisara's gonna drop me off after work & pick me up after the show (he's rad).

Movies

I hadn't seen a movine since July when we saw Superman Returns. I really liked it & have seen it again since on DVD. It's very exciting, as I find most comic book movies. Of course it didn't hurt that Brandon Routh isn't hard to look at. I'm looking forward to more Superman movies.

After a six month hiatus of not seeing any movies I've now seen two within a couple weeks. The Nativity Story & Night at the Museum.








I really really liked The Nativity Story. I thought it was very well done & a beautiful movie to look at. I thought Keisha Castly-Hughes did a great job as Mary but I enjoyed Oscar Isaac's performance as Joseph even more. He always had just the right look in his eyes. I thought he was amazing. I was also relieved that the intense parts of the movie were very short. Herod's masacre of the young boys & Mary in the river after falling off of the donkey were very short. The scenes were there but didn't take a whole lot of screen time. Which was a pleasant suprise. I feel Hollywood often dwells too long at an intense moment forgetting that that scene is not what the movie is about. Well done.

More recently we saw Night at the Museum. A fun & entertaining movie. Not a work of art but I'm a firm believer that not all movies & theatre should try to be. Entertaining for the sake of entertaining is important to me. The movie was what Daryl called, "an easy paycheck for Ben Stiller" but that's o.k. It was a cute film & I'm glad I saw it. It was fun to see good ol' Mickey Rooney back at it. I have an afinity for him since falling in love with The Black Stallion, another beautiful movie to look at. The first half of the movie has hardly any dialog but tells a wonderful story. Mickey Rooney is great in it.

Oh Yeah, I Can Post This Now

Now that it's been delivered to the mother-to-be, here's a photo of the 3rd baby quilt of 2006. The two print fabrics in the pinwheels are scraps from Bunnicula, a children's book that's been adapted to a play & SCR put on I think last fall. I'd never done pinwheels before but have always loved them. They're so happy. The striped fabric that I used for the sashing & the back matches 1 of the 2 fabrics on big brother's quilt.

Happy Baby Geoff & Melissa. And you know the rules... if he likes it & if it's not wore out & stained up by the time he hits kindergarten, you're toast.

My Favorite Photos of 2006

Happy New Year everyone. I was looking over old posts & decided to make a 2nd annual post of photos for the year. In no particular order here are my favorite photos of 2006:

A self portrait of Kaisara & I at Kyle & Lydia's wedding.










On a boulder in Boulder, CO while visiting Geoff, Melissa & Elijah.






Taking in a movie with the cutest godson that's ever been.







Our newest nephew, Savelio, checking out Zelda on Christmas day.






Driving from Winkler to Winnipeg, Manatoba with Brody, Amy & Daryl.






A group shot at Cat's suprise 30th Birthday party. Dani, me, Cat, Kathy & Shera.






Elijah's sunny smile.










Kaisara & our nephew Jet.







Walking around Assinboine Park in Winnipeg, Manatoba.









Another shot in Assinboine Park.










A man in front of me in the Race for the Cure.










Me in Cat's birthday wig.











2006 was a good year with lots of ups & downs. I'm ready for you 2007! Show me what ya' got!

Wow! It's Been Almost a Week!

How time flys huh? I emailed a friend today to check in on her & gave her the scoop on me as of late. Later in the day I realized I haven't updated the ol' blog lately so here's a copy of the email & then some:

Kaisara & I have been coughing in technicolor for a few weeks now & let me tell you, that's getting old. The lack of sleep, the sedentary days. I'm getting cabin fever but still feel to crappy to be active. Why do I always want to get active when I'm sick & can't?

I was fired for 1 1/2 weeks, was back for 2 days then fired again for 4 more since the mucky-mucks push the start of rehearsal back 2 days & I don't even have measurements for one of my actors I need to build for. Aahhh, the life of free lancing! I'm sad to say i haven't been very productive with my time off. Just finished all of the Christmas stuff. Ya' know? Today i'm working on one of my several dead soldiers (an unfinished project that's lived in the closet for years).

We got a few home depot gift cards for Christmas so I started ripping apart our master batheroom. Base boards, gone. Door molding, gone. Towel rack, gone. Outlet covers, gone. Nasty covering off of the nasty light fixture, gone. Two layers of disgusting lanolium, gone. I guess I haven't done much this whole time but caught up today. Watch out! I've still got tomorrow.

Our pastor made an annoucement week before last that his last sunday is the 7th. Kaisara & i are so bummed. We love his teaching & our going to miss him big time. After our other pastor left this summer we were thrilled to be sitting under Brian's teaching again. Oh well. After 6 years of church transition I guess we're still not done yet. Crap-tastic. And yes I do count all 5 years at The Gathering transition.

Tomorrow I've got to go to Woodbrige & steam Becky's wedding gown for her & Erik's big day on Friday. I realized this morning while coughing in technicolor that I've absolutely nothing to wear. I've gained back all of the weight I lost 3 years ago & apparently haven't had to dress up in a while to have fancy fatty clothes. Oh well. I'll come up with something.

Melissa's coming into town for the wedding & she goin' to church with us on Sunday. We're hitting In-n-Out on the way to the airport to take her back to snow covered Denver. I can't wait to see her.

Well that's all for now. I'll keep you posted of anything else exciting or otherwise comes to pass.

It's Your Birthday

Happy Birthday to my friend Kathy! Kathy's a friend from the good ol' college days. She an actress. I a costumer. It's great how much those 2 positions require one another.

Kathy is a whole-lotta fun to be around & always super great for one's self esteem. May your day be fun filled & one of many that is chalk full of blessings for you in the year to come. Love you girl! You're bitchin'!

This is Four

Here's a photo a my fourth & final baby quilt for 2006. I gave it to my new niece this Saturday. Seeing how she's already slept on it, I guess it's a winner. Needless to say, she's a lavender baby, not a pink one.

The solid was left over bride's maid dress fabric & the floral was a little scrap I got from a coworker. I usually machine quilt my projects but I tied this one. I used thicker batting & used cotton pearl to tie it. It's alot poofier than my usual quilts which is nice & comfy. I'm going to keep tieing in mind for future projects. It's super easy & super fast. I felt like I was cheating. Like I told Luanei, it had better be wore out with love by the time she hits kindergarten.

I haven't posted a picture of my 3rd quilt of the year as I haven't given it to Melissa yet. She'll be out for the Cramer/Marlow wedding & I'll give it to her then. Hope she likes it. I'll post a photo of it after it makes it's way back to Colorado.

I'll also add them to my "Things I've Made" album so feel free to check out that link to the left. BTW Cat, you still owe me photos!

The Brady's We Ain't

My nuclear family is the greatest. Not the Brady's but AMAZING. My extended family on the other hand...

Let's just say that if you never have to go to a funeral where there is yelling at the top of one's lungs complete with cursing (the f-bomb a familial favorite apparently) that is loud enough to disturb the entire funeral home, including the other service right across the hall, you'll be o.k. You're better off than me anyway.

I think that was one of my worst days. Let's just hope the mental scar heals & disappears quickly. Not so sure...

Another Goodbye

Grandma died yesterday morning. It wasn't a suprise as she's been in a hospital or nursing home for a month now after a fall & wasn't doing well. My mom, my sister & I went to the mortuary yesterday to make the arrangements. We've known for years how grandma wanted things handled so that made things alot easier.

We're having a visitation on Friday & I've been working on the photos to be displayed with her earn & the flowers we've ordered. Along with the photo at the top of the post, here are the other ones:







My Mom is certain that Grandma had a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ & we are grateful for that. God is good & God is just. All the time.

I love you Grandma! I'll see you later!

A Peak Backstage

I came across this cool "Audlio slideshow" of work's "A Christmas Carol". There are some really cool backstage photos of the production. Feel free to take a look.

That'll Leava a Mark!

We all know I'm not the most graceful one in the bunch. How I ever did so well at ballet is beyond me. Today...I topped even me. Did you break another toe on the coffee table you ask? Nope. Did you bruise your tailbone again while roller blading you ask? Nope. Let me preface it by typing this...Them things are dangerous.

It all started this morning while walking from the parking structure to the theatre. I've got a couple things to carry but nothing out of the ordinary. While walking down the sidewalk (operative word is "while") I was noticing the "Laurie's Kitchen" type lady walking down the sidewalk across the street from me. Man! How's she ever gonna pull that off? She's got a flatbed hand truck (that's dolly for all you sissies) that's loaded with two coolers, she's got a pitcher or something in her hand & she's trying to maneuver around the driveway apron. Well I gotta see this!!!

Then it happened. Happened so fast I knocked myself forward at the waist to a 45 degree angle. Yep! Walked straight into the fire hydrant I did. You gotta watch it for those things! They're made of metal & THEY HURT when you walk full speed into one of them.

Bauble Update

Today was the craft show. I actually sold some! Three to be exact. My Mom & Dad stopped by. That was great. Mom wants 11 baubles to give to her people at work. I better get to weaving!

Again

So this Sunday is my second & final craft show. It's in Orange & I'll be selling my "baubles" along with my co-worker Bronwen who's selling her dolls & other baby items. Her aunt is an herbalist & sells delicious spices/rubs & teas. There will also be pottery & other items for sale. Again, this very small event is free but I'd love it if you could swing buy.

The address is 1420 E. Mayfair, Orange & is in a women's front yard so dress weather appropriately.