Will It Ever Slow Down?

I'm SHOCKED! Shocked I say! It's been almost a month since my last post. That's just nonsense! Kaisara & I had a busy summer & I thought that was unusual. Apparently not. We've got something going at all times. Hard to say "no" when it's all good stuff though.

I'm back at SCR working on a new musical, An Italian Straw Hat. It sounds very cute & silly & not at all what you want to watch if you're looking for a deep meaningful theatre experience. Right up my alley!

Tomorrow's my birthday. The big 3-4. Wow! Not sure how that happened. Something's happening to celebrate but as the birthday girl, I'm not in the loop. Guess I'll just have to leave work looking as cute as I can & be ready for anything. Thanks to Cat & Kathy for taking me to birthday lunch on Sunday. I had a WONDERFUL afternoon with you both.

I'm awaiting to hear if Lucky Zelda has been accepted in to a gy-normus craft show. In order to apply I had to get a seller's permit. So now I've got to charge sales tax & stuff. I'm sure it'll be mucho more money to get my taxes done now. Oi! Anyway, the craft show people mail out the notices 08/29. The show's in November. Cross your fingers for me. Just in case, I've been trying to add to my inventory. It'll be exciting if I get accepted. I'll keep y'all posted.

Daddy had surgery on Monday. It was a long wait to get to the O.R. (months, in fact) but now that it's over he's doing much better. It's so hard to see your invincible Daddy hurting & there's nothing you can do to make it stop. Thanks for those who knew & prayed. For those of you that didn't know, I didn't leave you out intentionally, I promise. Life just is too busy.

Again I ask. Will it ever slow down?

Even with the no-fun stuff with Daddy, I can look at my life of 34 years & smile. I feel unbelievably blessed and wonder what I did to get handed a life such as mine. I'm loved beyond measure by family, friends, and most importantly, Creator.

Life is good.

New Muscial

Man! Do I have some perks in my line of work! I make beautiful dresses with ridiculously expensive fabrics & get to keep the trash-scraps. I get to ask handsome actors, "Can I help you with your pants" and not only not get sued but am often taken up on it. And I get to see some really great shows for my favorite price...free.

Weeks before working at CTG Katie asked me if I wanted to be her date & see a show she's been really looking forward to, "The Drowsy Chaperon" at The Ahmanson Theatre. I'd heard of it from Bronwen (who loved it). I said sure. Katie mentioned she thought she could get $20 tickets. I said, "even better".

Then I got the job at CTG. I wasn't working on "The Drowsy Chaperon" but on a show for the Kirk Douglas Theatre. I thought I'd be brave & put some feelers out for some tix to The Ahamanson. That didn't really go anywhere.

A couple weeks later (my stint there was only going to be 2-3 days) management said they got an email offering tickets to "The Drowsy Chaperon" to all staff. Me no staff. Me over-hire. I still almost jumped up from my sewing machine. ANYWHOOO...Not only did I get 2 tickets to the show, one of my co-workers didn't want hers since she'd seen the show (and loved it) & gave hers to me. Awesome.

Called Katie. Said hey! Our date is free & by the way I'm bringing a couple other folks. Kaisara & Daryl were down. So there we were. Then Katie (who started this whole thing in the first place) went to Florida to visit the parental unit. I invited Cat. She's down. Then Daryl had a work emergency & couldn't go. Called Kathy since her & Cat could car pool. She's down too.

So off we go. Kaisara & I carpooled with Iris & Johnny. Cat & Kathy would meet us there.

THE SHOW WAS SO AWESOME I CAN'T EVEN TELL YOU!!! The four of us were laughing out loud the whole time. We're still quoting it & laughing about it.

If you have an opportunity to see it, you should totally go. All I will say is don't wait for intermission to pee. And... there's a pair of roller skates.

I'd totally see it again right now. I'd EVEN pay for my ticket.

Kitty Background Story

So here's the story: Kaisara & I went to see "The Drowsy Chaperon" at the Ahmanson Theatre a couple weeks ago (that's another post). We carpooled with my co-worker Iris & her hubby, Johnny. After the show they were dropping us off at Kaisara's work to pick up our cars when Johnny noticed a kitty under Kaisara's car. When we got out I called to her & she seemed interested. I walked up to her & she walked right up to me. I snatched her up & called my sis. Jen said we had 3 choices: 1 let her go 2. take her home for the evening & take her to the Santa Ana shelter in the morning 3. take her home for the evening & lie to a no-kill shelter saying that we found her in their city.

Couldn't let her go. She'd get mushed by a car or eaten. Couldn't take her to Santa Ana shelter 'cause that's never a good idea for several reasons. Couldn't lie to another shelter 'cause that's just wrong. Soooo, officially we're fostering the kitty. Unofficially we'll keep her if she's a good fit to the family.

Jen checked her out. She's about a year old. She had ear mites (they've been eradicated). She doesn't have any intestinal parasites & any other coodies. She may however be pregers. We won't know for sure for a while (no pee-on-a-stick tests for kitties apparently).

Zelda's pretty scared of her. Not Zelly's fault though. You know with the sneak attacks from behind & the ninja style attacks from under the bed and all. Who could blame the 70+ pound dog fearing the dread of the 5 pound kitty.

She's a tortoise shell with beautiful green eyes. I think her head's a bit large for her scrawny little neck but she's a pretty thing. Sorry folks. No pictures for now since the camera's gone AWOL. Kaisara's to borrow one from his work tomorrow. I'll keep you posted.

I'll Start With A List

It's been a whirlwind of a couple weeks. The only way I can think to catch ya'll up without a mile-long post is a list. I'll try to come back with other posts to fill in the details. I'll start with the most recent flurry of activites & work backwards.

Mon., July 21st: Life's back to normal. Actually cooked dinner & started on Mt. Laundry. I'm officially out of clean chonies.

Sun., July 20th: Church, lunch w/new friends, tea w/Sewing Circle, dinner w/Kaisara's brother, Tony & his wife, Jennifer.

Sat., July 19th: Drop Kaisara off at worship team practice, go to pet store for kitty supplies, pick up Zelda from Mom & Dad's, pick up kitty from my sis' hospital, drop off Zelda & kitty at home, back to the pet store for proper kitty food, pick up Kaisara, go to Jeremy & Dana's for taco night/"Batman Begins", head to Big Newport for "Dark Knight".

Fri., July 18th: Work, head to OC fair for awesome fair food before seeing Train & The Wallflowers in concert, go on giant ferris wheel with Daryl.

Thurs., July 17th: Work & that's it! How'd that happen!

Wed., July 16th: Drop off kitty at my sis' hospital for a check up (she's probably pregnant), work, Bible study, dinner w/friends, realize it's Crista's b-day & I haven't sent her card (don't even have a current address).

Tues., July 15th: Work, call Mom to wish her a happy b-day, head to L.A. for dinner at Philepe's & show The Ahmanson, find stray kitty, take it home & start trying to find her a home.

Mon., July 14th: Work while recovering from 3-day weekend, water co-workers garden.

Sun., July 13th: Last day of vacation, enjoy 6 1/2 hour train ride home, unload car

Sat., July 12th: Happy 11th Anniversary to Kaisara & Me! 10+ mile bike ride (each way) to the beach & back again

Fri., July 11th: Leave for San Luis Obispo at 4:45AM, enjoyed the 6 1/2 hour train ride, rode 1 mile to our B & B.

Thurs., July 10th: Drop Zelda off at Mom & Dad's, work, call sis-in-law to wish her a happy b-day, water co-workers garden, pack for the weekend & realize the digital camera is lost.

Wed., July 9th: Work, Bible study, dinner w/friends

Tues, July 8th: Work, dance lesson in friends' livingroom, dinner afterwards

Mon., July 7th: Start new job, water co-workers garden & pick vegetables I wasn't supposed to.

Guess it's a mile-long post anyway. Oh no!!! Gotta go! Gotta pick up friend from airport! Guess it hasn't slowed down too much yet.

Doin' Great

Lack of posts have been due to a crazy-busy couple of weeks. Things should slow down a touch after this weekend. I'll fill you in then.

The great thing is, it's all been good stuff that's been keepin' me busy!

My First Treasury!

There's a thing on Etsy called treasuries. There's a limited number of them but if your timing's right, any Etsian can make one. They're little galleries of 12 items usually with a theme. Someone used one of my bags to include in their treasury! Here's the link, take a look! At leaset that explains why it's been viewed over 250 times. Now all I need is someone to buy it!

Work Update

I've been holding off on posting on all this because 1) I wanted to tell a dear friend before she just read it here but alas we haven't been able to end the game of phone tag & 2)I knew it'd be long & would take a while to type it all out. Now I've got you all excited about what it is, I'm sorry that it's not life changing news. Just news.

Here goes:
During my last 2 days at SCR my manager got a call from 2 costume shops that were looking for over-hire help. That's me! She gave them both my info since I was about to be fired there & would be available. The first was for Center Theatre Group (CTG). They're the shop for the Ahmanson, Mark Taper Forum & The Kirk Douglas. The second call was from Opera Pacific (who I worked for years & years ago as over-hire). I've been really wanting to get my foot in at CTG so I called them first. She didn't call back so I figured she wasn't interested. I took a week's worth of work at the opera. They're in Santa Ana (literally 1 1/2 blocks from my childhood house) so it's nice that they're close. The day before I started at the opera, CTG called & wanted me. Since I had already accepted the opera job I had to turn it down. Bummer. Longer gig, bigger shop. Oh well. I'm a woman of my word.

The week at the opera went great. No stress as I was just stitching & not making any decisions. Nice. At the end of the week the shop manager/designer asked if I had any experience cutting womens' wear or just mens'. I said that I almost exclusively do women's wear at SCR. She offered me the job of being the women's cutter for this opera (Barber of Seville). It's a really small show for women & she didn't want to hire a year-long contract just for this show. I said that I'm booked at SCR in the fall but if it was already cast & she had the measurements I could do it during the summer. She was so excited. I start that gig on July 7th (and I'll make more $ than I do at the office!). Super glad I got the Janet Arnold books as a SUPER generous gift, huh?!

After that I had 2 days at home & got a call from CTG. They had a last minute casting change & needed help. I've been up there for 1 1/2 weeks & have been invited back for their huge season coming up. My foot's in! The commute is a killer but I've been able to carpool with 2 other gals that I know from SCR. Still a long day. At 8am I ride my bike 4 1/4 miles to jump in the 1st car. We drive 1/2 hour up the freeway to pick up the next gal. Another hour on the freeway & we're there. Repeat in reverse for the way home except Kaisara picks me up at 7:30pm where I've parked my bike. As I said, I'm pretty booked at SCR in the fall but I told CTG I'd keep them posted.

While at CTG I bumped into another gal I've worked with & for in the past. She mentioned Laguna Playhouse might be swamped with work. I dropped an email (I worked briefly with them in the spring). I start there this Tuesday for 4 days of work. Awesome.

Three months of being unemployed has so for turned out to 2 days. I've only been to the office for 4 days. That reminds me, I need to call her & let her know it's gonna be a while 'til I'm back there.

I'm spoiled rotten I tell you. Spoiled rotten. Not taking a moment for granted.

Was Something Supposed To Happen?

I was brave. I was taking one for the team. The team wanted to see The Happening. I was willing (last time that resulted in a freaked out, motion-sick Cate after Cloverfield). I was scared, but willing. As you all know, me no likey suspense/scary. However, I did like Sixth Sense & Signs albeit at home with ALL of the lights on & laundry to deal with when i needed a break. But I was strong & went to see M. Night Shyamalan's latest. I knew that something was wrong for sure when half way through I realize I wasn't scared. I hadn't been scared the whole time. I wasn't even all balled-up inside wondering if it all was gonna turn out okay. What's wrong with me? Oh wait. It's not me. It's the lame movie. I'm all for an action movie. I'm all for a movie that is, as my sis' in law says, "too much story". But this one didn't have either. Nothing really ever happened. No action. No suspense. No scary. No story. No acting. Sigh.... No acting. Oh well. Guess I'll get my Kung Fu Panda on next weekend.

We Were Awesome

Kaisara & I took back-to-back dance classes tonight. 1st was the Charleston Swing (which we'd done a couple times before months ag0). 2nd was your standard Charleston. Rather hard to switch gears after rocking at the swingin' style for an hour. We did soooo good. In the first class it was us, another chick & 2 other guys. Nice & small. The teacher (& new owner of the studio) said the whole class needs to move up to intermediate Charleston Swing next time 'round. Oh yeah!

We were a little squeaky with the standard Charleston but since it was our 1st time out I'd say that's allowed.

The studio got bought a couple weeks ago & this was our first time back since the switch. The changes they've made to the classes & the space itself I very much like.

Don't you worry boys, Kaisara said he's having fun too. Getting him there is the tough part. Once he's there he has fun (he's good too). But that's how it is with anything that's not going out to eat, a movie or paintballing. We're awesome. Can't wait to go back!

Every Time, Really?

It frustrates me to no end that EVERY time (I don't even think I'm exaggerating much here) that there's a religious figure in a movie, play, or other work of fiction, it turns out that they're villainous, corrupt and/or sick & twisted. I'm not here to say that everyone in the church is without fault. (Oh please, don't get me started on that one! I'd be on the top of the list). I'd just like religious figures in fiction to not be the go-to when looking for something seedy. Priest does NOT equal child molester. Southern Baptist Minister does NOT equal wife beater. Rabbi doe NOT be sneaky. Heck! For that matter, a televangelist does NOT equal money grubber.

I know leaders in the church have caused pain. Hasn't everyone? I know that it's a relatively new thing for it to be socially accepted to even write fiction with such a statement. But please. Every time I watch a movie & there's a churchy type of someone in it, they're what's causing the drama. It bores me. It frustrates me. Frankly, it offends me.

To quote Forrest Gump, "That's all I have to say about that."

What to do now?

I'm fired again. I was fired from the usual place a week ago & worked last week at the opera. So this week I'm fired-fired. I know this is a luxury not many people ever get to experience but here's the trouble: I've got so many things I want to do, need to do, and/or should do I don't know what to do now. I think I go through this every time I'm fired. I spend my time being fired, walking in circles figuring out what to do and never get anything done. Weird.

I've got this office job starting tomorrow but that's not a 9-to-5 thing for me so there's still time for me to get all my stuff done. If only I could figure out what, how and when, I'd be stylin'!

Don't you yell at me! I know I'm a lucky girl to have such a "problem".

A Wish I Had A Raspberry Beret

Yesterday Kaisara, Katie & I went to see a show at Cat's school. It was Hamlet. Sort of. Ya' see it was Hamlet laced with Prince songs. It's called Hamlet (The Artist Formerly Known As) the Prince of Denmark. It was rad. I'm really only familar with Prince's radio hits but the show had others too! The one we kept singing on the way home was a Chaka Khan song, "I Feel For You". The words were changed for the man rapping in the intro of the song. Instead of "Chaka Khan, I wanna rock you, Chaka Khan" it was, "Hamlet's mom, I wanna rock you, Hamlet's mom". Just one of the times we all were crackin' up.

The kids did great (some greater than others, as is the case with any show, student or professional). Cat had done a great job with the costumes (ya' gotta love Aardvarks!). Not only did Cat put together this show but they're also running the original Hamlet in rep with this one so of course, she had to do them both at the same time. In case you don't know, that's HUGE!!!!

Ladies & gentlemen...I give you...The Amaaaaaaaaaazingggggggggg Caaaaaaat! Well done, my friend. Thanks for a great show!

Best Opening Night Ever!

Friday was opening night at work for our last main stage show, Taking Steps. All of us in the shop were really looking forward to this one. It did not disappoint. But really, how could it? Set in the 1970's with a 6'3" actor in a sage-green double knit polyester leisure suit & bad hair piece while one of the other characters thinks she's a gifted dancer and demonstrates her moves for anyone who will humor her. It was awesome. It was only to be topped by the after party.

Opening nights always have a reception of sorts after the show. Offering appetizers and desserts that they somehow try to theme with the show and beverages. This was the best yet. As you may know (from your parents' photos) the 70's were quite fancy so they must have had money left over for some extras. The food included fare such as: deviled eggs, mac & cheese, celery filled with cheese whiz, meat loaf & mashed potatoes and fruit salad. Desserts were blue, white & pecan rolled balls (truffles), chocolate-dipped rice krispy treats and HUGE containers filled with candy. There were celophane bags & chinese to-go boxes to fill with the candy. Sour balls, candy neckalaces, fun dips, candy cigarettes, & pixi sticks. Ahhhh the childhood memories. To top it off there was a 70's d.j. complete with disco light ball & a photo booth. All was free & all was enjoyed by all.

Below are the photo booth pics of the night. Kaisara couldn't make it so Katie was my date. All of the pics aren't very flattering but when are they? Enjoy!

I'm Good Enough, I'm Smart Enough & Gosh Darn It People Like Me

A weird self realization I had recently:

I've been a long-time DDR fan thanks to Brendon. I'm a more recent Guitar Hero fan & an even more newbie on the Rock Band scene thanks to Kat & Cat. I've never thought of buying a game system though. WAY too expensive. More stuff to store, etc. But really I guess it's the cash-ola.

Kaisara mentioned a few days ago that he'd like to have a PS3. "Why?", I asked. "I like the games Jeremy has. I think I'd like them." "Oh." Instantly I found myself pondering purchasing said game unit. WHAT?!?!? Why do I give buying one 'cause Kasiara wants one some brain time but don't because I wanna get a little DDR on? That's so stupid! I'm worth a game system! I'm still not buying one but now I admit to myself that I'm worth one.

A Great Event

Yesterday was the craft show at Cal Poly Pomona. It was really the second annual Hot Rod & Tractor Show with the added feature of 15-ish craft vendors. Had I known it was going to be such a great event for families I'da pushed it more. There were the rods &tractors for the men, craft booths, farm store & nursery for the ladies, free horse rides, bouncer & petting zoo for the kids, and strawberry picking, ice cream, snow cones & kettle corn for everyone to enjoy together.

It was fun watching so many young families enjoying a great day together. Kids were given liberty to run wild in the fields to get all their wiggles & squeals out. Moms & dads could follow if they wanted or not. The staff was all super friendly & the weather couldn't have been better.

My mom came with me to keep me company. I was prepared to sit alone for 6 hours but wasn't looking forward to it. Mom was great. She helped me set up my tables, went oogling at the cars, sat with me quite a bit & I sent her out to work in the fields to pick strawberries. They're delicious by the way. Three big baskets full for $6. Kathy later stopped by for a bit so that was fun too. I also met a couple other etsy-ians. They were super nice. One even bought a couple a pieces from me. Check out their stores here & here.

I sold a total of 3 pieces (the grey polk-dot purse & 2 of my zipper bags) and handed out several business cards. At least it paid for my entrance fee (not by much) & I met several nice people. Who knows what a year can do but as of now, I'll do it again.

Doin' Good

Haven't updated y'all in a bit. Here goes.

I LOVE being a first hand at work again. It's soooo much less stress. I'm workin' with Bronwen which I love. The show is set in the 1970's so the clothes are far-out & super fun. One might say they are RIGHTEOUS!!!

I rode my bike to work yesterday from home. Yep. Made it in 1 hour 45 minutes & wasn't totally sweaty gross either. If you'd like to see my route (& therefore what a total machine I am) just click here. I rode from Kaisara's work again today (that's the norm) but am riding from home again tomorrow. So, so far I'm totally kicking my 700 miles in 2008 goal's bootay! It'd be rad if I could hold to this pace.

I'm selling my wares at a craft show at the old alum, Cal Poly Pomona. Apparently its a tractor/hot road show that'll have some craft booths. My guess is that they're to keep the ladies entertained whilst the men drool over the rods. Anyone wanting to make the trek out there, here's a link. The show's at the farm store so I'm gonna stock up on some awesome produce too.

Up for this weekend is training on Saturday morning. I signed up to work the polls in OC's election in June. Not sure how long training will be but I can't imagine it's that difficult. Saturday night is a b-day party for one of my girls. Sunday morning will be week 2 at a church we're test driving. It was great last week so hopefully this week will be too. I hate church shopping. Don't know anyone who does. Gotta do it though. It's totally worth it later on.

All Good Things...

My days of being fired are coming to an end. It's been almost 3 months that I've had to go to a job on a regular basis. It's been a great 3 months. At times I've accomplished alot and at other times I've enjoyed being still. Here's a list of things accomplished (being still included):

*Finished my harlequin quilt for Lucky Zelda
*Worked 3 days at Laguna Playhouse (super glad to get my foot in the door there)
*Went biking twice with Kat
*Took Cat out for her birthday (best friend + mani/pedis + tea = great day)
*Worked numerous hours at the old office job
*Racked up kick-butt mileage on my bike
*Hung out with the sister unit several times
*Got up to Fall '07 in my scrap book
*Went to the dentist (got an A+)
*Had my hair cut & colored (sooooo much better than last time)
*Went to band practice & sang at a gig
*Re-joined Weight Watchers on-line (I'm down 2)
*Had lunch with Kaisara
*Made costumes for Diavolo Dance Theatre
*Assisted the designer at A Noise Within for their production of "Night of the Iguana")
*Made 15" of progress on my knitted stole that I'm making from a 50's pattern

Next up:

*Make some produce bags for Lucky Zelda
*Remake my own purse 'cause it's nasty
*Go to Randy's birthday party
*Go to Kat & Jody's house (estate) warming party
*$end invoice$ for my $ide job$
*First-Handing for Bronwen at SCR for their production of Taking Steps

Soon I'll be buckling down like a real person. Back to the grind. I'm looking forward to it. I don't think staying in my pajamas 'til 3pm every day is a good thing. I almost got out of the habit of brushing my hair. Yikes! But come May 31st...I'm fired again!

Stretching That Comfort Zone

The rumors are true. Here's a quote from Daryl's blog:

Oh yeah! The band and I will be leading worship at West Community Friends Church in Corona on April 6th. This will be a fun one because we're doing something new. For the first time ever, Cate Esera herself will be joining us on vocals! Dana won't be able to make this one so Cate stepped up to the plate. I think it'll be really cool. If you're inclined to come check it out, we'll be leading both the 9:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. services.

Scary. Daryl & Kaisara have been helping me with my harmonies. I'm a really strong singer when I've someone to follow. BUT DANA WON'T BE THERE FOR ME TO FOLLOW!!! That's why I'm singing in the first place. I even had Dana help me on my parts on the way home from the Getty last weekend (more on that adventure later). She was awesome. Very helpful without making me feel lame. Kaisara was encouraging when he said he thinks I've of 60% of the notes & that if the sound man's good he'll just turn me down. Thanks hon'. Great.

So anyway...I'm singin' with the band. I'm excited. I love to sing. I'm scared. I hate to suck.

Goose & Gander

I just got these pics from the production of Charolette's Web that I worked on in January. My favorite pieces I did were the Goose & Gander. The designs were awesome & the fabrics were great. This was my favorite kids show the theatre's done so far in the 5 seasons they've been doing them.



I also did the old sheep that's in the 1st photo. I didn't make the headpieces for any of them. They were great too! The show was alot of fun to work on.

Here's a Random Thought For the Day

Italian opera singers don't sing in a foreign language when singing most opera. They're just singing in the same language they speak. Must be easier for them to memorize their music.

Don't know why but that just occurred to me.