Grandma Haack's 90th Birthday

Happy Birthday, Grandma!

Halloween 2010

We had the whole family plus friends out trick-or-treating this Halloween...and most of us were dressed up, too - even the grown ups! Here are just a couple pictures.


The cutest Dorothy and little pirate ever! :-)




Nikki and Ivy were given candy from a cute little dinosaur. Lots of adorableness on one front stoop!
(P.S. It's difficult to tell, but I'm dressed as a black cat with a white face and paws.)

Graduation Party Pictures

Enjoy these pictures from my graduation party. And, for some of you, this is the first view you've received of my apartment


My first guest was a theater budy, Scott.

Here's a wide shot of several guests including more pals from the theater, Whitney and Cheyenne. My friend Susan (a.k.a. Dr. Wood) from Midland and Charles were able to come celebrate with me. Also here are the usual suspects, Trisha, Nikki and Ivy, Sandra, parts of Mom and Dad and my pup, Samson.

I was also happy to see friends from my youth in Madison. Here's Karen hanging out chatting with me.

There are so many more pictures! It was really difficult to choose which ones to post!

Update from that November post...

Hmm...what all did I mention...

My second to last paper got an "A." It was the only one to do so and was on the historicity of the Bible, so it was a topic I already know a lot about and about which I am quite passionate. If any of the papers were to get an "A" (and if any of them it would have devastated me more to get anything less) it was that one. Now we are revising a previous paper and that is due today. I haven't done much with it. They were all "B" papers, so it was more about which topic I wanted to work on again than which grade needed help. Not sure how much it would help my grade to bump this one up to an "A," but I guess we'll see. (P.S. If anyone wants to read that paper on the historicity of the Bible, I'd be happy to send it to you.)

The show closed on Sunday. I miss it already. We had a really good last show. It was a lot of work, but also a lot of fun. The next show is "Oklahoma" and I'm crazy enough that I'm going to do that one, too. Auditions are January 2. Then we have about a month and a half worth of rehearsals. Shows are the last weekend of February and first weekend in March, so mark your calendars! :-)

I had a sleep study last night-this morning. That was exciting...or something. I have crap in my hair from them sticking things to my head. I slept okay with the exception of waking up once (that I'm aware of) and the room being cold. I am anxious to find out about the results. I wish/hope I can get the doctor to show me the actual scans/pictures as I'm very curious by nature and love to learn new things. If the doctor's office doesn't call me sooner, I should find out at the end of January...I hope they call me before that just because the suspense will kill me!

I decided to post separate posts with pictures from different events, etc...coming soon to a blog near you! :-p

Look! Up in the sky!

It's a bird!

No. Really. It is a bird. A pretty nifty one, too, and quite unexpected.

Now, many of you know that birds and I are not pals. They will even go so far as kamikaze-ing my car. This one, if it had actually had that in mind, would certainly have done some damage.

I was driving home from class one afternoon a couple weeks ago. I saw a large bird swoop across the highway in front of a pickup truck that was down the road ahead of me a bit. The bird banked, and as I came along, it began to swoop across in front of me, at which time I realized what it was. The unmistakable white on the tail feathers and white head on this large brown bird - a white seemingly too white for anything that lives outdoors - I was looking at a bald eagle. No sooner did I realize this than it was gone. I tried craning my neck to see where it went and driving at the same time, but decided this was not wise and instead called my mother (I used my hands-free set - much safer) to tell her what had just happened.

I still can hardly believe I saw a bald eagle. Mom assures me it is possible. I want to drive back out there and look for the nest, maybe see the eagle again...but after the weather we just had, if I were that bird, I would have packed up and headed for warmer territory by now.

Has it been this long?!

I am pretty far behind on this. I meant to have pictures from my party, Halloween, anything, everything...but I've been lazy and still am. They are in the other room (I think) and I don't feel like looking.

We had our first snow last night. I blame my friend Greg because he was teasing that I'd really be jealous of Arizona weather once it started snowing. Dork. Jinxed it. We had snow within hours of that text message. At least it is melting off rather quickly, so it shouldn't cause any problems with all the driving I do. Hope my luck holds like that until the show and class are over.

Speaking of the show, we are getting closer and closer to opening night (which makes sense since time runs forward and not backward or sideways). Just 3 more weeks! Wow! Hope you've all gone online (www.theevct.com) to get your tickets. :-)

I had planned to work on my paper since the game is only on pay-per-view today, but instead I've been cleaning and working (literally - logged on to work and was working from home for about an hour and a half), and getting random things done. Still need to start laundry and vacuum. I want to bake to warm the place up, but I'm fresh out of some things and don't feel like going to the store. (Back to that "lazy" comment from before!)

Okay. I need to get motivated. This is our second to last paper and so far I have a solid "B" for the course...which annoys me something fierce (and no, I don't care what anyone says, a "B" is not good enough for me). I have my fingers crossed for this one because I'm working on it sooner than the night before it's due and it's a topic I already know about and have books about. No need for the library when you have it in your home.

Take care, all! Hopefully I'll write again and even post some pictures someday soon...though, with my schedule, I wouldn't hold my breath. Sorry. :-)

Briefly...

Very, very briefly...

Party Saturday to celebrate finishing my master's degree. Lots to do to get ready (which is why I shouldn't even be taking the time to do this, but I hadn't written for a while...anyway...)
Received an email today that the official document is in the mail and should be here next week. Too bad I didn't have it in time for the party, but I'll live.
Rehearsals for "Scrooge" begin on 10-10-10...at 6. :-) I have been listening to the muisc while I drive to work, so it is stuck in my head and making me nuts already.
So far so good with my writing class. Two papers out of six are done.
Work is stressful. The drive is killing me. But the people there are awesome and I can work from home on days when I have doctor's appointments and things of that nature which helps, too.
Choir sings almost every Sunday. I sang a duet with Diane, Pastor's wife. It went really well. She has a lovely voice and we blend nicely. We are under orders by members of the congregation to sing together again. I think it can be arranged. :-)

Really better go work on cleaning and putting things away. Time and energy are very limited...especially since I should get to bed in the next hour or two.

Al

Al died today. I've been told there wasn't anything more anyone could have done.

I was supposed to bring him home yesterday, but he was completely not himself and his breathing was labored. Mom talked to the vet and the vet said it sounded like pneumonia and she should just keep giving him the antibiotic as long as he would let her give it to him. Of course this meant I couldn't bring him back to Omaha, so Mom cared for him. She said he seemed to be getting better over the course of the day. This morning (Monday) she went downstairs to get some clothes and he seemed the same as Sunday night, but by the time she came back upstairs he had died.

I don't care if everyone says nothing could be done. I still feel guilty - guilty I wasn't there and guilty I couldn't do anything. :(

My friend Chris came and cleared out all the cat stuff for me while I was babysitting Nikki and Ivy tonight (Justin and Trisha were at the hospital as the baby miscarried today - yes, today royally sucked). That was one thing I'm not sure I'd have handled well at all.

To say my heart is broken would be putting it mildly. That crazy cat got me through some of the roughest times! He has been my baby for over six years...had...had been...I hate this.

Long Overdue Update...

A brief and very long overdue update as it is time for dinner and Mom is "yoohoo-ing" at me from the kitchen.

I got an apartment quite suddenly on July 18. It was move-in ready and had almost everything I was looking for. I had to buy my own washer and dryer, but at least I have the kind I like. It is on the first floor and I'm close to the parking and my garage. I would share my address, but it occurred to me that this is the internet and that would be sorta' stupid. But this is the floorplan...

Samson is still adjusting and Al is enjoying the freedom to move around the whole place.

Speaking of Al, he got a booboo on his tail when we moved (don't know how). It wasn't healing, so the vet had to take about an inch and a half of his tail off! No more cute little kink at the end. :-( He was pretty mad at everyone and finally started purring for me again today. He's been recuperating at the farm. I will be taking him back to Omaha with me tomorrow.

Work has been stressful...long story.

My master's degree is almost complete. I have just 3 days left of class! About a week later my final grade will be posted. Then there's some sort of review and that's it. Fair warning: I am planning an open house to celebrate. I'll let you know more when I figure out the details. :-)

I start my last "real" class at Midland for my English BA on Thursday. I should be doing my thesis in the Spring, which means that degree will be done next May.

Auditions for "Scrooge: The Musical" are tomorrow night. I'll keep you posted on that, too. Hopefully I will manage to do that before the show runs in December! ;-)

Let me think if there is anything else...not that I can think of. Sorry I've been so bad about writing here. Been so busy it seems!

Just a note on what's going on...

Finished my 3rd week at Nelnet. This was Baptism by fire week. I'm pretty thankful I'll only be at work on Monday next week. Then I fly to Florida to drive back with Chris and his cat, Happy, as he moves from the Ft. Lauderdale area to Omaha. That's a big change! :-)

Trisha is pregnant and due in February. A new niece or nephew! Wowsers!

I'm at the farm "convalescing" and doing homework. Only two more classes to go and my master's degree will be done...and just a couple days later I start my last "real" class for my English degree.

Mom and I are watching a movie while we work on "projects". She's making teddy bears and I'm putzing around on the internet. My plan is to do some apartment hunting and some homework.

This is nice. :-)

2 Weeks Down

I can't believe I've been working (for real working - not temporary working) for 2 weeks now! Seems like less and more all at the same time. Still rather unreal. Still think I should be seeing Comtech people in the hallway. Still think it's cool I am in my own office (though someday I might be sharing it). Big windows with a view of downtown. :)

The drive is taking a toll, though. I am tired a lot. That makes it really hard to function by the time I get home. If I do too much reading at work I start to fall asleep - also bad. I hope I can find a place that will shorten the drive even if only a tiny bit. I need to get into a better schedule, though. I have my fingers crossed that as my master's degree wraps up it will get easier and easier to have a life and get sleep.

This week won't quite be a full week at work. I'm working a half day (in the a.m.) on Monday and on Friday (in the p.m.). Chris is coming this week to find an apartment for himself. So, there are trips to/from the airport in my future. Should be a nice long drive from Lincoln tomorrow. :-p

Next week will only be one day since I am flying to Florida to drive back with Chris and his cat. It will be nice to have a break and go on a roadtrip, but I am taking it all unpaid, so that will be a small check.

After that it is all business as usual...actually, the bulk of my duties will kick in at the beginning of July. Thank goodness we get the 5th off for the Independence Day holiday. I think I will lose my mind (quickly, too, as there's not much left) after that as there are no breaks until September and about then I start my next class (and last "regular" class) at Midland. Twice a week I will drive from Lincoln to Fremont. That will last until December. But my master's will be done!

Day 3 is over.

So, today was my 3rd day at the new job. I am exhausted. Mostly that is because I am not getting enough sleep. It also may have something to do with sitting in the car for an hour at a time to drive first to and then from downtown Lincoln. Hopefully this weekend I can recover and be in better shape for next week when the real training starts.

It is strange to say "I'm going to work" and then to get there and realize I'm not at Comtech and none of my friends from Comtech are there...especially since I use my Comtech jacket to keep from freezing to death in my office (yes, an office!) like I used to in my cube back in the day. It's somewhat surreal. And, I noticed today that I have not really been nervous there. Sometimes seems like an out of body experience. I guess it has just been too long since I had a real job.

Meanwhile, I am still trying to do the apartment hunt thing (with little to no success) and still have school going on. In fact, that's what I'm supposed to be doing right now...homework. Yuck!

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Today I visited an apartment complex...the only one who's really seemed interested in meeting my needs. The gal in the office was absolutely sweet and helpful. The apartment is a one-bedroom (I was hoping to find a 2-bedroom, but they only have availability for some on the third floor and I can't do that). There was a great amount of storage for an apartment. The living room was good sized. The kitchen was kinda' small and outdated (with the exception of new and somewhat cool blue counter tops). The bedroom seemed small. The tub/shower was good sized and there was the perfect place for the litter box under the huge amount of bathroom counter-space. The buildings are older than me, so they are a little bit rough. No laundry room in the apartment. Would have to wander down the hall to a creepy little $1.50/load laundry "facility". Don't like that idea. And the patio was tiny and not enclosed, so I wouldn't be able to let Al wander. She is going to find out if I could put up a little temporary "fence" to solve that problem.

I definitely have more looking to do. She said all properties under that management company allow dogs, so I think I will start there.

I'm sitting outside. Pretty breezy. My school stuff is flapping all over. I'll go in when my battery dies or it's time to prep for supper. I'm going to grill some steaks tonight for Sandra, Branden, and myself. Jello's already in the fridge. :-)

I sang in church all morning. I think it went well. It was freezing in there! I had goosebumps the whole time!

I've been having a lot of trouble with my right arm and hand. So far today it has been tolerable. The elbow is worse than the hand and luckily I don't type with my elbow...but the pain has a tendency to move down my arm and vice versa, so hopefully it will hold out between work and school. That has me very nervous.

Speaking of work...I start on Tuesday. I'm somewhat nervous about it. Haven't had to follow a schedule in a long time, so that will take some getting used to again. Then there's the hour or so drive each way every day. That could take a serious toll on me physically. And there's school to take care of and an apartment (or something) to find so I can get that drive shortened. I'm still going to do the music director thing, so I also have to consider the drive to church. Lots to think about.

And on the music director front...I worked with Joyce Saturday to figure out what I would take over when. I will be starting with the contemporary worship services come about the end of August. That means I will be working with Pastor to find and select music. I will also be working with vocalists and accompanists to get ready to lead new and newer songs. That should be interesting. Then, about the end of the year when they start planning music for the choir for January through summer of 2011, I will start helping and then taking over that part as well. Sometime during all of this I plan to take some courses to refresh my memory of the technical side of music (music theory and directing) so I feel more prepared for taking over directing the choir by next fall (2011). It will be a very gradual process. They will start paying me when I start working on the contemporary services. We (Joyce and I) still need to talk to the elders to let them know what we came up with. Not sure if they will be cool with the long time frame, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

My work with the census is officially done. I turned in all my stuff today. It is nice to have that responsibility off my shoulders, but I will definitely miss the really awesome people I worked with. I hope the people at the new job are as nice to be around as this group was - especially the boss!

Well, I think that pretty much catches everyone up. I really should be working on homework.

More Apartment Hunting...

It sucks! Have looked for apartments, townhouses, condos, duplexes, houses that will work. Have resigned myself to the fact there is nothing to rent between Omaha and Lincoln. Can't find anything on the Northeast side of Lincoln that will take pets like Samson. Have found about 5 places on the Southwest side of Omaha that take dogs. Still waiting to hear back from two of them.
I worked on the budget some today to try to guess what I can afford. It's looking grim. I don't know what I'm going to do.

Apartment hunting

Haven't had to apartment hunt in a long time. Kinda' sucks...especially when you are looking for places in small towns in the boonies. They just don't advertise on the internet. So far it seems like all I can find are either all the way in Omaha or all the way in Lincoln. If anything comes up more in the middle they don't allow dogs...or dogs Samson's size. Don't really want to go anywhere without Samson. Also, I haven't found any that would allow more than 2 pets. I'm starting to think my kitty, Dusty is going to be staying at the farm indefinitely.

Well...the Lord will provide, they say. We'll see what happens. Surely something will turn up.

FINALLY!!

After more than a year I finally was offered (and accepted) a job!!

I will be working for Nelnet (of student loan fame, for those of you who aren't sure who they are). It will be very similar to what I did for Comtech, but it will be on the HR side of things instead of the production side. The people I met who will be training me and with whom I also will be working seem very nice. I was comfortable from the minute I walked into the office and wasn't even very nervous! That never happens!! Everyone there was smiling and seemed happy to be there - even on a Thursday. I go in tomorrow to do paperwork and my start date will be June 1. I am excited, somewhat nervous, and also wondering what I have gotten myself into by going back to working on gov't contracts when I wasn't really having that much fun doing that in the first place. Sounds like there will be a slightly higher level of responsibility once I get settled into the job, too. I will be making less than I was at Comtech, but good for Nebraska and more than they originally quoted. It will be hourly, so I'll be able to get some overtime pay if I have overtime hours. They are also willing to work with my school schedule and give me time off when I fly to Florida and drive back with Chris when he moves here. The benefits package also looks perfect for my needs.

Oh...and did I mention the job is in Lincoln? Downtown, to be precise. So...I'll be looking for a place somewhere between here and there. I want to keep the music director thing at church since that is such a passion of mine. Also, I think being any farther away than that from my nieces will make me more than miserable! Mom says I should go to Greenwood so she can buy chocolates when she visits me because they are cheaper at the factory than in the stores. (Priorities, you know.) Everyone else I talk to says "Ashland," so I will be trying to find time to drive out there and scout around a little bit. No Wal-Mart, though. That will be depressing. I will go through withdrawl not having a Wal-Mart down the road. As "terrible" as it sounds to have to commute 30-45 minutes either to work or church, I'm not really bothered by the idea. When I lived in Phoenix I drove about 30 minutes to church, 30 minutes to work, 30 minutes to friends' homes..."Well ain't this place a geographical oddity!" ("O Brother, Where Art Thou") Hopefully I can find a similarly odd location. :)

As for the census...still working with that. I only had to go out once and that was to an apartment complex that was still under construction. Piece of cake! As of yesterday I don't have to go out at all. "They" (as in my boss's boss's boss) are "disbanding" and/or reassigning members of the group I am with. It is pretty much over for our group once the team has finished the work they currently have. People can transfer to other groups at that time if they want to do so. We are not expecting it to last much more than maybe the middle of next week. Might stretch out to Memorial Day, but we doubt it ("we" being my boss and me). So, the timing is perfect!

I think that pretty much sums up and fills in everything for everyone. I'm in for an interesting end of May and month of June! Perhaps July will see my life finally getting to some semblance of normal again...after more than a year!!

Yet another update...

Have to go to a census meeting in about 20 minutes. It might be a fun one because we will be reconciling binders full of addresses to great big maps. It's the kind of thing I enjoy. (Yes. I'm weird. Just remember, some of you, it probably runs in the family.)

Received a phone call from Nelnet (they do student loans and have a contract with the U.S. Dept of Education) Tuesday. She did a little phone interview and then set me up for a two-hour face-to-face interview Thursday. I thought that went really well. A few hours later she called to set up another phone interview - this time between me and her boss-boss who works out of the Denver office. Had that interview this morning. Not feeling so confident now. He says I should hear something early next week. The job would be in Lincoln. Commence the nail-biting until we hear something.

My presentation for Linguistics received an "A"! I am very excited about that. :) Have the final test Monday including a take-home 750+ word essay and the paper. I have basic format and some notes for the essay and paper, but have yet to get any serious work done. Meanwhile, I have to find more resources for my Master's project. This week we had to create a survey, send it out, and then we have to write a summary of the results. I finally got the survey sent out last night. Here's hoping people answer it soon. Those are due Sunday. I still have the 4 discussion question responses to do as well. They are due tomorrow.

So much to do and so little time! Wish the weather would make up its mind! Today is beautiful. I'd like to keep it. :)

Brief update...

...because I'm exhausted!

Census work started with training last week (with the exception of fingerprinting training on the 14th of April). I was chosen to be a "CLA" or "Crew Leader Assistant" - which means I get to collect paperwork, review paperwork, deliver paperwork, review more paperwork, assist the CL ("crew leader") in other ways if necessary such as taking the paperwork to his boss (that's not happened yet, but will next week). Tonight he told me there is an opportunity for overtime if I want to go down to the local office and help clean up forms. Some people don't have good handwriting apparently, and the computer can't read them. He's not sure how long that will be available. We'll see if the schedule allows. The office is open 24/7 he says, so I could do it overnight if I wanted to. Don't expect me to be that crazy! :-p He also said I did a great job and that he told his boss that and that I was a good candidate to be a crew leader if his boss ever asked him to suggest one of us for the position. I don't think I could handle that. CLA-ing is "fun" enough! I have lots of meetings and have my own binder full of addresses to visit. I think there's plenty to keep me out of trouble.

Speaking of having plenty to do, I started my second attempt at that class for my master's project on May 4th (Tuesday). I'm trying not to freak out. The instructor seems to be cool...but she hasn't really helped me yet. I'm getting worried. Hopefully she give me some sort of direction tomorrow. I only have until Monday to get this thing right. Otherwise I'm in the same boat I was last time. I don't like that idea at all!

On top of that, a couple weeks ago after choir I was asked by a couple elders if I would consider taking over (after a "training" period) the music director position at church. I said 'yes' of course. So far we've only managed to meet once. My schedule has been so hectic! Right now I'm just helping her plan music for summer. That is one of the things she wants to give me first. The other is helping other vocalists learn the "contemporary" music so I don't end up leading songs every Sunday (which I almost am now). In fact, I really should check with her one more time to make sure I know which songs I'm leading on which Sundays. I have some things written down, but I'm not sure I trust my notes. Anyway, I'm really excited about it. Yet another example of God putting people where they need to be. It won't be a full-time job, but there will be modest pay involved and it is something I love to do. Eventually I will be directing the choir, but that's a long way off yet, I think. Their biggest problem is finding an accompanist for the contemporary service.

If all that wasn't fun enough, I still have to keep looking for work and dealing with the whold "unemployment" thing every Sunday. Only a couple weeks of that money is left unless they give me another extension.

And, my friend Chris is moving to Nebraska in June...only a few weeks away! Crazy, crazy, crazy!

My linguistics class ends on the 17th with one last test...oh, and a paper. I keep forgetting about the paper.

Choir goes until the end of May and then it's the random quartet and frequent song-leading and random solos for me. Choir will restart in August. Auditions for "Scrooge" are in August. My master's degree should be done in August. I don't know the exact start date, but my next class for my English degree starts at the end of August or beginning of September - not sure which.

...This is going to be a crazy summer...

PANIC

So, on Wednesday I found out that I had to start over on my project for my master's degree. Today I found out that if my new topic is not approved by the end of the day Monday (tomorrow) I cannot continue in the course. I am still trying to track down and get information from my academic advisor as to what happens if my now third topic is rejected. She is going to get a lot of phone calls tomorrow. So I am panicking because it is now Sunday and the instructor still thinks my topic is not narrow enough. I think she's out of her mind. Here's how the process was supposed to work...

Class #1: introduce the project requirements and practice with the different aspects of the project; establish topic with the caveat it will receive official approval in class #2.
Class #2: approve topic and complete the first part of the project.
Class #3: complete the project.

Well, apparently the teacher in class #1 and the teacher in class #2 were absolutely not in communication. I received an A in the first class. I'm facing failing this class within the first week. If that happens, University of Phoenix will be receiving a formal complaint. There's no excuse for these two parts of the process to be so out of sync.

Meanwhile, I panic. Tomorrow I have a test in Linguistics to study for and take. And, I will probably end up getting ugly all over my academic advisor. Her lack of a response over at least 2 business days is also unacceptable.

Can you tell I'm a bit upset?

What I did on my Easter vacation (part 7)...

I also got gifts for Mom and Dad...


Ooo! Coral! :)





Fun yet functional! An oven mitt & potholder which double as colorful maps of Florida! :)

What I did on my Easter vacation (part 6)...

Got presents for Nikki and Ivy...

Looking at books from Chris. One is about alligators and one is the alphabet using names of ocean critters!

Letters and numbers flashcards from the Everglades have pictures of animals on them.

What I did on my Easter vacation (part 5)...

EASTER (part 2)...

Hollywood Beach...





Getting my feet wet and looking for shells (and coral, too)...





Say cheese! :)

Reflections on my Easter vacation

So, my friend Chris came for Christmas (which was totally snowed out). It seemed only fair to visit for Easter (plus it fit best into schedules). It was overall a great trip. The fibromyalgia gave me some trouble, but was overcome by music, faith, and enthusiasm for the amazing things there are to see in Florida.

It was...indescribable how great it was to be inside Easter again. Bells, brass, timpani, an organ with all the stops pulled out, and choral music to blow your mind! An A above high C thrown in here and there put the icing on the cake. Plus it was Easter! The best celebration of the year! Bright and beautiful! I was surrounded by amazing people - the choir, the pastor, Chris...the only thing missing was my family and then it would have been...dare I say it...perfect.

I saw amazing things and want to go back and see more amazing things! A castle made of coral, oppulance on display in what can only be described as a dream home (not for me, but for some I suppose), alligators (you can keep 'em), coral in the water, coral on the beach, a turtle in a bay, practically naked people wandering past shops and all across the sand, standing at the ocean's edge...not enough! I want more!

I think I would be happiest traveling from place to place in an RV, singing in random church choirs that will have me, visiting all 58 national parks - with someone special at my side and Samson along for the ride. :)

What I did on my Easter Vacation (part 4)...

EASTER (part 1)...

...making new friends and meeting new people...

...and did I mention singing at a Florida church with a choir of strangers...really, really nice strangers? This is Megan - a fellow First Soprano.




And this is Mark, the choir director and a truly talented musician. :)

Pizza for Easter lunch?! Well, people gotta' eat! :)

Thanks for lunch, Mr. & Mrs. Scherer!

What I did on my Easter vacation (part 3)...

HOLY SATURDAY...

...as the sign says...





Glass-bottomed boat tour of the bay and reef...









Back on land...
looking back at the visitor's center from a bit of trail that led just a tiny bit out into the bay...

What I did on my Easter vacation (part 2)...

GOOD FRIDAY...

...as the sign says...

What I did on my Easter vacation (part 1)...

MAUNDY THURSDAY...

...as the sign says...









And this is Vizcaya, the VP of International Harvester, John Deering's summer home...

The End

Last night was the closing show for "Beauty and the Beast" - and it was awesome! I had the best time doing this. The director asked me to come back for auditions for "Scrooge" in August. That show runs the first two weekends in December. I am not really sure what to do with myself not having to go to the theater tonight! ...I lied. I have Spring Break from Midland right now, so no class tonight...therefore I am at the farm convalescing. :)

I already miss my new theater buddies! :(

WIPE OUT!!!

I wish I could have seen it! I mean, I was there. It happened to me. I did it. I just wish I could have seen it from the audience's point of view. I wiped out on stage.
I was being chased in the castle and slipped on my own skirts. Fell straight to my knees in my swishy skirts, slid up against the castle wall and then crawled out on all fours with a "torch" in one hand. It was awesome!! I'm told it looked like I did it on purpose (in fact, the director commented at our "cast party" tonight that she wished she'd thought of doing that in the first place). "Lumiere" (a.k.a. Becca) was scared to death it was her fault (our "Lumiere" is played by an amazingly talented young lady dancer) - that she had stepped on my skirts or tripped me. Nope. It was all me and my skirts. My feet came out from under me and my knees took their place. I had too much skirt under me to stand up, so I crawled out instead - doing my funny little squeally-scream thing (that I do every night) all the way. It was hilarious!! Painfully funny, quite literally.
So, I am sitting here with my leg propped up on the desk, a bag of frozen mixed veggies on my knee (the worse of the two anyway - my other knee will just have to deal). My body says, "Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Why are you still awake!?" But, my brain is wired on sugar from soda and cake at the cast party and the excitement of becoming one of only 2 (that I know of) walking wounded from the show (the other's a knee injury as well, believe it or not).
Only one show left. I will miss it when it's gone! :-)

SOLD OUT!

The rest of the show is officially sold out! I hope everyone who wanted to see it has already been or already has their tickets! The director says people can still come and hope to get seats if any become available due to no-shows or cancellations. That's pretty awesome for such a small, out-of-the-way theater!

It's been so fun doing this show. Thank you to everyone who's come out to see it...or is coming! :-)

So it begins!

Tech/Dress rehearsals have begun for "Beauty and the Beast" (as of Sunday night). Sunday through Thursday this week I start at 5:00 putting on make-up, doing my hair and putting on whatever "underneath" costume pieces I own myself (and doing my stretches if I remember and don't dawdle) before driving to Valley (about 10-15 away) to the theater. Once there I join the teeming throng in the little tiny dressing room putting on costumes.
I start with my villager costume. It's fun! Swishy skirts and lacy sleeves. One annoying thing about it: whoever last altered it messed up one of the hook and eyes. The hook is in the right place. The eye is about an inch off! What were they thinking!? If I ever had time I would fix it myself since the wardrobe mistress (who plays the Wardrobe in the show, by the way - that cracks me up) seemed confused and wanted to just stick a safety pin on me...which made my costume change a bit more interesting. So, I figure I'll either fix it myself or deal with it. It's annoying, but not altogether earth-shattering.
My second costume is...a fork in the enchanted castle...actually, it looks more like a shiny Taco Bell spork, so generally I jokingly refer to myself as that instead. :-) The skirt was too tight to zip up due to someone else's alterations, so last night I popped a few threads so I could zip it up all the way. I have my needle and thread at the theater, so tonight I will fix the bottom of the zipper which is no longer attached to the skirt (my hips and/or butt are bigger than the last girl's, apparently, so that one was my bad), but I think removing the previous alterations will help that not happen again...that and I know how I do alterations. It won't go anywhere without extra effort. :-p
I go from villager to spork back to villager again. I also get to help Belle with a costume change. It all keeps me busy and it has been fun getting to do this again. I come home pretty tired. Works better than any other sleep aid and no chemicals! :-D
The show opens on March 4th - just a week and a half!! :-o Until then: rehearse, rehearse, rehearse! Hope to see some of you there!

Tutoring

Today was my first meeting with my new student. She is from Ethiopia, a nursing student at Creighton University and is so sweet! We are working on her grammar and writing skills. It is pretty exciting to be using my God-give talents in this way -- finally!!

The Holidays Did Happen

I just don't have any proof of it posted yet. I keep meaning to. Well, briefly, we got snowed in at the farm. All church was cancelled for Christmas, so no singing for me! :( Very, very, very sad. But, the family managed to be together (with the exception of Andrew and Andrea, except by phone), and that was very good. New Year's Eve came and went and now, somehow, miraculously, and with a great deal of shock on my part, it is now 2010...I don't remember saying it was okay, but it happened anyway. Another year past and now we look forward to a whole new year of holidays...hopefully not to be snowed in on all of them...which would be scary in July.