glimpses: i love theatre

When we get to the hall, there are already people there. The dim voices and strains of music travel down the stairs and through the entry to our waiting ears. I run up the stairs because I know I only have thirty minutes until show time. Tonight is the last dress rehearsal and it involves full costume: clothing, face, hair, shoes and a right mind. My costume always seems to take longer to install on my person than I assume it will.

There are friends gathered at the front, chattering. Some are practicing certain measures of the music over and over. Some are already in costume. Some are laughing. Some are quiet. Each exudes comfort; we are in the presence of friends, working towards a common goal. It feels homelike. Parents sit in random seats throughout the auditorium, waiting to help their children into costume or put on makeup or comfort them if their shoes seem to have disappeared.

My beaded robe slides over my head easily and my hair goes up with a twist. I ask my mother-in-law where the shoes are. She has such a great closet and we all tend to borrow from her. She points them out and voilà!  I am no longer tracking dirty snow everywhere. And my feet sparkle, which admittedly, is far more important.

Two of the girls come up the stairs carrying dishes. "We brought food!" Everyone's ears perk up. A few minutes later, the green room is filled with people laughing and talking with their mouth's full. So many of us come straight from work with no time for eating. Roast beef and buns have never been so relished. One of our musicians is also a teacher of the fiddle and she is endeavoring to teach over the noise of the people. I overhear her say, "Funny how four people make so much noise." She looks annoyed and she is... but she isn't really. One of us will make it up to her later, somehow.

My roast beef is washed down with some water and I am back in the dressing room. I help put makeup on one of the girls and am about to begin another when it is announced that the makeup lady is back. She wants to do me first since my transformation will be intense through the show. She begins by making me smear lotion all over my face. She runs an eyeliner pencil under my eyes. It hurts but I know the end result will be worth it. She's that good.

"2 minutes!" the director announces. My makeup isn't done but the artist assures me that it will be. And she's right. By the time she's done with my face and I have managed to put on my microphone, it's only just time to walk on stage. The over-voice starts to drone... show on. My nerves begin and my adrenaline is sky high.

Last dress rehearsal. Show time is for real tomorrow. 

Wednesdays & Carrot Pie

Wednesdays are full. Actually, that's an understatement. So are the words 'busy', 'hectic', 'crazy' and 'crammed'.

Wednesdays consist of getting Lydia and myself out the door by 8:30 and to work by 8:45-ish. Therein, we work until 2 pm, go home and teach from 3:30 until 6:30, rush out the door for theatre practice at 7 pm and hope to be home by 10 pm.

Somewhere in that whirlwind of life-on-Wednesdays, we have to find time to eat, drink and use the facilities. It can be hard to remember to breathe, let alone sit down with a plate. I've found that using Ideal Protein meals can make it a little easier (shake, heat and drink), plus they fall into my diet plan. ;-) But even so, I still miss "real" food.

Because I teach until right before we have to go to theatre practice, there is little time for eating before we go... and absolutely no time for making anything. So my mother-in-law has been helping us out. Last week, she brought this amazing greek turkey pizza to the theatre. It was delicious and this is coming from someone who is really picky about what's on her pizza. This week, she sent Jesse a bbm informing him of the existence of pie and pizza at their house. Would he come pick it up? I believe his exact response to this was, "Hurray!"

Sidenote: Dianne makes carrot pie. Pure deliciousness. I never realized how good carrots can be until I tasted her carrot pie.

So, thank you. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to help with our busy schedule. I love the family I married. 

Excuses... excuses

Once upon a time 

there was a girl who decided

 she wasn't busy enough

 and took on more work. 

She works at the Pharmasave, she works at home, she works at the theatre and she also bakes cookies. She has no time for things like writing blog posts or keeping up online or writing letters or scrapbooking or practicing the piano.

To top everything off, her beautiful sister

 decided to get married

at the beginningof June 

and wedding planning was added to the mix. 

So, the authoress doesn't mean to be rude by not updating about her life. It's merely a matter of being really, really, really, really busy. 

(P.S. She still has time for Jesse.)

(And Snow.)

Of Professional Images, Birthday Cakes and Mosquitoes: Among Other Things

Due to our renovations and the rather busy-ness of our lives, we have not been able to install our washer and dryer in our utility room. So that means we have to run over to my inlaws and wash laundry there. Don't get me wrong, I really appreciate their generosity... but I can't wait to be able to wash our laundry here, at our house. Because we are us, we usually wait until we have worn most of our clothing before we decide to do anything about it and this time was no exception. Yesterday morning I had a towering mountain of dirty clothes and towels and such. It took me awhile to maneuver it into my inlaws' house. Of course, when it was all in, down the stairs and sorted appropriately, you can only wash one load at a time. I had some hours to kill.

Taro, one of my students, turned 17 yesterday. He and his brother and sisters are involved in this year's Dickens' play. Since the play date is coming up straight away, we are having regular rehearsals.... one of them that very night. So, I consulted my mother in law and we decided a cake was in order for the evening. I had run out of eggs so I simply brought everything else over to their house and proceeded to make a French Vanilla cake. (Yes, from a cake mix. No, I'm not ashamed. It's good cake. ;-) :-)) Btw, does anyone know how to make a French Vanilla Cake from scratch? Usually white cake is so bland but this particular cake is really amazing.

When I finally got back home, it was 3:30 and my first students were due to arrive very soon. I rushed around the house cleaning up and was just at the tail-end of it when they appeared on my doorstep. I was still in my comfy paint be-spattered bunny hug and they were a few minutes early so after I greeted them, I went and changed quickly. The shirt I chose is one of my favorites: last year's Kenosee Lake Kitchen Party ladies t-shirt with a really clever logo on the front of it. It's green. My favorite color. :-)

Two students and their mother later, I was greeting two more students and running for the washroom for a little moment. That's when I happened to glance in the mirror. Something was wrong. It took me a moment to figure it out.... then, light bulb. I had my shirt on backwards; the clever logo was etched across my back, mocking me. As my oh-so-professional image went down the drain, I couldn't help bursting out laughing. It is always great to get a slap like that and it be that funny. So, I turned my shirt around and ta-da, clever logo was clever once again. But it still amuses me whenever I see it. I wonder what my students thought... and I especially wonder what my student's mother thought. Haha!!

Last night's rehearsal went quite well indeed. It was supposed to be a semi-dress rehearsal but Doug (director) said it was ok if we interrupted it a bit. I didn't know how we were going to present the cake to the birthday boy but when I started gathering in-tell, Michele had a great idea, as usual. She thought we should spring it on him when we were in a scene together. It appealed to my love of awesome surprises so I went around and whispered the plan to everyone else.

My line goes like this: "Please Mr. Scrooge [insert southern accent], it's Christmas Eve, do you really expect us to go back to those people now and tell them that you are condemning those buildings, that those families are going to have to move, that the neighborhood recreational centre is shutting down and the church is going out of business? I mean... [grabbing Scrooge's wrist and pointing towards Taro] it's his birthday for crying out loud!" Then as everyone came out with the cake we all started singing happy birthday. The look on his face was really surprised. :-) Such fun!

There are certain things I appreciate about winter. One is that it's easier to sit and relax on cold snowy days than to sit and relax on hot sunny days. Because when it's hot and sunny, you feel guilty for wasting it by relaxing. (Of course, I don't think sitting and relaxing is wasting time but sometimes my better, more responsible side gets to me.) Another thing is that snow is so beautiful. There are simply no words for it. :-) And the best thing is that there are no mosquitoes. At least there shouldn't be. So it's not fair that every night before we go to bed, I have to kill at least three mosquitoes. We have no idea where they are coming from. It's cold outside. They should be all dead. Jesse wonders if they were already in the house somehow. Or... my latest theory is that they are coming up from the drains. Regardless, I really wish they would all go back and hibernate... or die. Or something. ::hates mosquitoes::

Well, I have some housework to do and some Christmas decorating to begin. I hope your winter is progressing as well as mine is. I pray for love to reach each heart. Just a little love. I think it would make all the difference in the world. The more I work "in the world" the more I realize that non-acceptance is the most natural, human reaction. People do not love one another. They judge each other. And wow. Did I ever get on that apple box quickly. ;-) I suppose God has been showing me a lot about this lately. Whenever I find someone particularly annoying, my conscience pops up...

Thanks so much for reading. It makes my heart brim with joy. Come to Carlyle and enjoy the Dickens Festival!

Boring-ness That Makes Me Really Happy

Several times I have tried to sit down and write a post but something has always gotten in the way. But! Victory! Today, a student of mine had to reschedule her lesson to another day so I had an hour and a half before theatre. Perfect time to scratch out some emails and a much needed update for Treasuries. :-)

Major happenings? Not many of those. Just every day, beautiful life. :-) I think I prefer it that way.

 Lessons. 13 students. Progress. Happiness. I honestly cannot imagine anything more fulfilling than teaching music. It's like you're changing lives with every lesson. If I can keep these times full and interesting, fun and entertaining, hope-filled and progressive... well, these wonderful young people will go places. Not necessarily the stage but when you play  music, you are fulfilled. You can entertain and fulfill needs and desires... both yours and others. Each student is different... different home life, mind set, values, struggles and victories. But they are all important to me and music is becoming part of them.

Last night (15th) we went to a house concert in Forget and listened to Woody Holler and His Orchestra. It was such a treat. Daniel Koulack (he played at our wedding) plays bass in this band so it was another reason I really wanted to go. :-) They were amazing. It's a Western Swing band but they play all kinds of music. Some of it was old country (Woody sang in Spanish...), some of it was old cowboy (Don't Fence Me In, etc) and other stuff was very jazzy (Honeysuckle Rose). What a treat for the ear! Jesse video taped the second half of the show for them and in payment for his services, they gave us a cd. We got it signed by all the guys and promptly forgot it at Michelle's house. Lol! Thankfully we see M. often due to theatre practice so she get it to us sooner than later.

Speaking of theatre, it is going well. We have several of my students involved. Actually we have about five people who haven't been in our theatre group before so it has been interesting to try and find a place for everyone. But it is coming along great. The story is the usual A Christmas Carol but it has been Remixed. :-) Jesse is Scrooge this year. It's funny watching him be so nasty to everyone because he's usually so decent. Haha!

And then there's work. Two of the girls are leaving... one because of maternity and the other because... well, just because that's who she is. :-) I will miss her. Good news is that I *love* the floor manager (and she's staying!). She is an amazing human being who has problems like the rest of us but rises above them and treats everyone equally. She's gold.

They finished insulating the porch and tore down the door and wall the separated the kitchen from the porch. The house seems so much bigger. I love it. They plan to finish it when spring/summer rolls around again. I am  looking forward to the day when it is all finished and we have a brand new kitchen with all of our wedding gifts in it. Right now, most of them are upstairs sitting on one of the beds, waiting for their own little space.

Stuff keeps us busy: parties, Remembrance Day, picking up paintings from Jesse's Grandma's place, learning to live with the cold weather, trying to keep healthy.

I got the flu again a week or so ago. 11 days was how long the first one took... thankfully, the second bout didn't last as long. I actually started to write a blog post when I was down with it but decided not to. When I'm not feeling 100% I tend to complain about the fact. There is simply enough complaining in the world without me adding to it. (So say I bravely today!)

Those are some of the highlights of the life of Naomi. What has been happening in your life? Is the flu going down where you're at as well? What music has inspired you lately? Have you made a dish that you have been very pleased with?

Well, the evening is upon me so I should close this up. Cheers my dears! :-)

In The Paper

I love seeing pictures of the play performances in the paper. :-) The article written about "Exit The Body" can be found here. I am currently looking for pictures. 

The Sun is Shining!

Theatre was amazing. :-) Yes, it is always a lot of work and yes, by Sunday, we're all exhausted and "punch drunk" to quote Michele and Kristy! But it was amazing. The experience is always invaluable. Working with so many wonderful people and making new friends.... I can say sincerely that I do not regret a moment. :-) 

We did not have many flubs.. one that sticks out in my mind happened on Saturday in the first act. One line was forgotten and we had to figure out where we were at. :-) It took a couple minutes of floundering before everything was back on track. It was not terribly obvious to the crowd, though. We didn't come out of character and the story line stayed the same. 

Yesterday, I was so tired. I made it through the day (it was a good day!) but by the time I got home, I was almost falling over. I went to bed at 10 or so and slept like the proverbial log. I woke up feeling really good. :-) Energy level is up, etc. The only thing is my allergies are kicking in with spring. Or shall we say, with the dust. However, I will just carry around tissue with me and be fine. :-D 

I worked almost all day in the photolab yesterday. It was closed on Saturday because there were only three of us on the floor that day (well, Marcia left mid-afternoon because of a funeral... which left just Anna and myself..) and we had stock to put on the shelves. So yesterday, we had a lot of photo orders that needed to be filled. Plus, a lot of older people came in to get pictures. It's really interesting watching/helping them trying to figure out the computers and all this digital photography. I find it fascinating to think how many ways they have seen pictures get developed over the years. Sometimes I wish I would have been born earlier to have been able to learn the older processes. I do like the digital process though. :-) And I love my job. :-D 

Jesse and I have our own address now! We received a phone call from the post office that they had a box for us. We're both so excited. :-) We spent time discussing how we were going to remember the Box #. Neither of us are good with numbers. Our methods are quite different but it helps that we both have siblings born in 1987. Lol. 

I haven't been able to work anymore on wedding details since last week but I'm hoping in the upcoming days to be able to work on guest list. My mom, sisters and Lindsey are throwing a bridal shower for me up in Endeavour on May 6th. Mom said I could invite anyone I wanted to. So, if you're in the area around that time, drop in. :-) I am really looking forward to it. It will be lots of fun to see everyone again... especially the kids. I received a letter from Ruth yesterday and I am a little homesick for them. 

So... today I work and teach and enjoy my evening. I am able to teach one of my students an hour lesson today to make up for the one I had to cancel when I was sick. I am glad for that. After this week, I will only have around five students to make up lessons with. It's simply a matter of organization. (Which isn't a strong point of mine!) Lol. 

What have you all been doing lately? Have you been learning anything lately? Discovered something exciting? Does anyone like 1920's era music? 

I'm not previewing this because I need to run to work right away... I have high hopes of it's readableness. :-) Ya'll have a great day!

The first performance went really quite well, I think. It feels good to have one night behind us!! Only one major thing went badly and that was Dianne missed a step on the stairs in the dark... she fell into the wall and hurt her knee quite badly. She is the main character in the play and she's also very dear to all of us, so between those two facts, we were quite worried about her and the situation! I hope she is feeling better by tomorrow night. That knee looked so painful...

And I need to get up at 7 or so tomorrow morning because I work all day. Then, another performance in the evening. My life is very busy right now. Lol. Thankfully today was restful!

I am Busy. I am Happy. Life is Insane.

Good morning from beautiful Saskatchewan! The sun is shining and the snow is almost all melted. I am really excited to be outdoors today. :-) For some reason this weather reminds me of the spring of 2009, when Sara was born. Spring, to me, is hope of beauty. It is ugly in itself but it helps us hang on through the last few days when winter is being banished to the North Pole for the summer. And summer is beautiful. Green. Bursting with life.

Yesterday, I woke up late and did very little all day. After having a crazy schedule for the past few weeks, I was glad for a day to relax. As you can see, I spent the time working on my blog, among other things. It was just so nice to be inactive for a day. ::sigh::

Then, at 7-ish, the Twietmeyers picked me up for theatre practice. That went really well... we ended at a quarter after 10. We are going to try to cut down the time even more but honestly, three hours is not bad considering how intense this play is. So much action and people *having* to be in their places. Wow.

One of the really wonderful things about this practice was that I really felt like I was Lillian. I slipped into my character like I was putting on a dress. I am Lillian. Fashion designer. Proud. Arrogant. Completely in love with my new hubby. ;-) And I do love the outfits I have to wear, btw. I love them so much in fact, that I want to have our engagement pictures taken with Jesse and me in costume.

Wedding plans... well, we got a bunch of stuff from a woman who is moving back to Spain, so I have been trying to decide what we want and what I should add to the wedding registry. Jesse and I have both added quite a few items lately. I am also going to try to register on Walmart and Sears. We shall see how that goes.

Have I mentioned how much I'm looking forward to Spring?!

I love Jesse.

Today: work; teaching; theatre; chocolate. ::innocent smile::

Of Weddings, Details and Stuff That Tends to Gag Guys

When I was younger, and there was no marriage in present sight, I used to spend hours planning all of the details for my wedding. I would think about it when I was weeding the garden. Washing the dishes. Folding laundry. Changing the baby's dirty diaper! Milking the cows.

Even though I knew from the first that marriage was down the road at some point, when I got involved with Jesse, I didn't even really think about the wedding. All I could concentrate on was my man and our relationship. But suddenly, one fine day, it hit me: we were going to have a wedding. That involved what? The more I thought about it, the more I felt overwhelmed with the prospect. So many details to think about! After I was sick, I hardly wanted a wedding at all. In fact, Jesse (among others) could quote me saying, "Let's just elope." Lol!

Thank God for good friends. Lindsey arrived on Thursday afternoon and the fun began immediately. First off, we made pasta and cream sauce for supper and Jesse came over to share it with us. We filled ourselves to contentment while watching "The Young Victoria" (which was mentioned previously in the post below) and an episode of "Due South" (which was not mentioned previously in the post below....), then had good conversation. These days, it seems that good conversation always turns to wedding plans. Lol! In this case, we decided that the fabric from the old wedding dress I wanted to use for my wedding dress was not conducive to the pattern I wanted. The pattern was not an option, so the dress went. I was sad but I had been coming to the realization slowly over the past few weeks (part of the reason I wanted to elope... haha!) (yes, I really, really wanted to use that dress...)...

Friday, we went into Regina and shopped until we dropped. Or almost. My favorite parts of the day happened after Michaels. I know, I know. Heresy. Especially from someone like me who usually can't be dragged out of the store for hours. The problem was that so many things were undecided and I didn't know what I needed or didn't need. Thankfully, Lindsey helped make a few decisions. Among my favorite purchases there were some small glassware which included a heart shaped and triangular shaped containers with corks. They weren't terribly expensive and we are planning on using them for... well, that will have to wait until I explain the after Michaels remark. ;-)

After Michaels.... :-) we went to The Bulk Barn. I had never even heard of one and I didn't even know what they carried. Lindsey and her mom and sister had shopped at one in Alberta, so she knew. We walked into the store and it was like heaven. I was feeling rather depressed when I first walked in. When we walked out, I was on top of the world. Hehe! Bins and bins and bins every bulk item you can think of. What we were interested in was the candy. Why would I, who isn't a typical candy person (hey! chocolate is *not* candy!) (well, some chocolate could be classified as candy but it should be banned from North America) like that detail? Because while searching through the internet for wedding ideas, I came across this lovely idea for the reception and fell in love with it:

There will be chocolate on my table as well as all of these wonderful colors and delightful vintageness. My husband-to-be loves the idea. I love the idea. I think there is a very good chance of it happening. ;-)

And now I can tell you what the small containers from Michaels will be used for: decorations on the tables. They will be filled with jelly beans. Believe me, they're absolutely adorable. :-)

Anyways, we walked out of the Bulk Barn with lots of candy. We only took a little of each. A little of 20+ varieties adds up. Haha! But I loved it. I mean, finally! I was able to get out of the cautious mode and throw myself into planning. Walmart was next. That was 2nd in line of things that happened beautifully. Candles. I left Walmart with some really nice candles. They're vanilla and cream colored and they smell really, really good. They also look like what I want them to.

Saturday, we traveled back into Regina and went to Fabricland. We had intended going the day before but they close earlier than we anticipated. Lindsey said they would feel her wrath someday. ;-) Actually, the next day after three+ hours of shopping, we both agreed as we were leaving the store that it was perhaps a good thing we had not been able to shop there the day before. It was pretty intense. And yet, I had not had that much fun in years. How can I explain the beauty of the greens we found? Yes, we got a lot of greens. It's my favorite color. :-) Lindsey's dress fabric is a lovely, lovely dark sage green. We found the fabric as soon as we walked through the door. It just leaped out at both of us and not only did I fall in love with it, so did Lindsey. Which is important because she has to wear it and I want her to feel beautiful and comfortable in it. :-) I mean, this fabric is my all time favorite shades of green. It's absolutely gorgeous. And Lindsey will look stunning in it. :-)

We also bought fabric for all of my sisters to have dresses... for the four oldest, a different shade of sage for skirts (cream blouses to be purchased for tops) (we also found a really nice pattern for the skirts... they're classy, yet cute... modern, yet vintage). For Cilla, Ruth and Sara, we couldn't find anything in the silks, satins and etc, etc, that leaped out at us. So, we went over into the cottons and found this really pretty print that is so pretty and cute. They will be little princesses. :-) My mom's outfit is still to be decided as well as my mil and sil, but we have time. :-)

I remember the exact moments the fabrics and patterns decided they were attending my wedding. Most became clarified when I saw them for the first time. But the fabric for my dress was a little different. I liked the shade of the satin when I saw it. But I have a hard time with satins. Usually, they're too heavy and stiff. I had never seen or felt a satin I really liked until I found that old wedding dress and fell in love with it. Then, I touched this really beautiful Cuddle Satin. That's what it's called! As soon as I felt it, I knew. It was so soft... not too shiny... it fell just right... in fact, it was perfect. It was what I had been looking for since I had first begun planning my wedding (about 20 years ago ;-)). And because I had no faith, I decided that there was not going to be a lace overlay there that would fit that perfect, perfect satin. Hehe. As it turns out, there was. It's just right. It's unique. It's beautiful. It's also perfect.

It was definitely a good day for fabric shopping. :-) Every little aspect I was concerned about with the sewing, the cost, the time has all been taken care of. Many thanks to good friends and a loving God who works in mysterious ways!

I hope this post hasn't been boring. This is all very fascinating to me and Jesse assures me that girls like talking about weddings, period. To the guys who are trying to get through this, my apologies. For I am now going to talk about chocolate.

After eating my supper tonight, I had Green and Black Caramel chocolate bar. I usually only eat a little at a time of those because they're so sweet and the chocolate sooo rich. But this evening, before I knew it, I had finished the entire bar! Lol! I was feeling quite pleased with myself beforehand, too. :-P Now I have a smashing headache... I never eat that much chocolate at once. Boy, did it ever taste good. Felt good too. Still feels good. Just headache. Caffeine and I are not the best of friends. Ahem.

Other points of interest from my weeks of silence:

 I am quite recovered from my illness though I am still taking vitamins and supplements. I feel so good. Every time someone asks me how I'm doing, I always feel like shouting, "WONDERFUL!!!" Hehe...

I am greatly enjoying my work at PharmaSave. Today, I worked most of the morning in the photo lab (which was very fun, once I got the hang of it), then spent the rest of the day dusting the Advil, Tylenol, etc. All those little boxes and bottles taken off the shelves... dusting/washing shelves... making sure I have all of the proper tags... checking expiration dates... all those boxes and bottles put back onto shelves. It's slow and tedious work but it's something I rather enjoy. I like cleaning. Rather, I like stepping back and seeing the results of my labors. I love that shining glow that emerges after you have cleaned.

Theatre is coming along well. I have been memorizing my lines and getting into character. Once again, I love, love, love working with the other people involved. Watching different aspects of people emerge as they become their character is amazing and often hilarious. One of the women in the cast took on a persona last Sunday that had us all in stitches. It was brilliant and very funny.

The orthodontist told me that April 7th would be the day my braces were coming off. I don't know if my bottom braces will be since my teeth are still not in place (they did some major adjusting... in fact, it was only a couple days ago they actually stopped hurting. They've never hurt for almost an entire month before... agh! I will be so glad to get them off!). As soon as my braces are off, Jesse's dad will take pictures of us and we'll be able to get to work on our wedding invitations. I'm really looking forward to those!

Today, on the way to work, I slipped on the ice and fell. I landed on my bad knee (of course), left hip, elbow and twisted my ankle. Then, at work, I accidentally smashed my thumb while working at the photolab. Yes, it was on accident. I hate smashing my thumbs. So painful. But I have survived with little swelling and no Advil. So far. I believe sleep may call for it. Add a headache to all of my aches and pains (incidentally, my big toe on my right foot hurts the worst right now and I don't recall doing anything to it) and it kind of makes sleep not an option.

Speaking of sleep, I really should shower and get to bed. Another day of work and teaching tomorrow. You know, in spite of all my complaining, I am so happy. I feel so incredibly blessed. Thank you, God. :-) I had a really good day.

Good night, everyone! Sweet dreams.

Bits and Pieces

Today I had my first day at work since coming down with this virus or whatever I had. It felt really good and productive. :-) At lunch, I sat down and studied my lines for the theatre production... and I read a story one of my students wrote. I love seeing how creative children can be. And I am looking forward to reading more of her stories as she matures...

I am disbelieving how quickly time is passing. September 10th will be upon us before we know it! I am so looking forward to marrying Jesse. :-)

Goodnight!

Odds and Ends

Isn't it interesting... I pray that God will cause my faith to grow. He always answers that prayer with a "yes" and I am always taken by surprise. :-)

Forgive the lack of detail but here is the basic structure of the past four days: I pray for faith. God answers prayer. Circumstances arise in which I am given cause to question every good thing in my life. My world, which I was growing rather comfortable in, rocked. I rock with it. Then I step back and look at myself, my world, God and the people in it. My conclusion? God loves me and has blessed me beyond anything that I could ask or think.

There are things I don't understand. I start wondering about them. But ultimately, I have seen that my Savior has guided me on my journey. I know He will be with me today as He has been with me each step that I have taken.

Moral of the tale? God takes you seriously when you pray.

Interesting things in my life lately:
1: I love Jesse more each day.
2: I worked two days this week at Dairy Queen. Awesomeness. I love my job. :-)
3: I must have slipped on the way home from work yesterday. My leg is swollen. Blah.
4: I will probably be getting way more hours at Dairy Queen which is so wonderful because getting married costs money. ;-) Plus, I love the experience.
5: I really like Ferrero Rondnoir.
6: The temperatures outside are sooo warm!! The snow is almost a little slushy.
7: Yesterday marked 3 months as a couple for Jesse and me.
8: The more Shakespeare I am indoctrinated with, the more I love him.
9: A journey with God can lead to some very surprising twists and turns.
10: My brother Jesse is living at a logging camp in the bush. I love that he is such a grown man...
11: My sister Ellie is on the waiting list for surgery on her shoulder. Please pray that she'll get it sooner than later because she can begin healing sooner if she has the surgery sooner. (Now wasn't that a statement of genius! Lol!)
12: I need to find birthday gifts for several of my sisters. I have an idea. And I think I'm going to Regina on Friday. I love shopping for gifts.
13: Valentine's Day is coming up. Now, never before have I ever seen the purpose or enjoyment of sending sappy love greetings to your True Love. But now I am the sappiest of the lot, as my beloved could tell you. Hehe. Why is it so wonderful to be told that you're loved? And to tell someone that you love them? It just is.
14: I need to get all the bedding cleaned up from last week's company. I managed to get the bathroom done yesterday... as well as some vacuuming and sweeping. That feels good. But I need to get all of that bedding folded up and into the closet or wherever it goes. :-)
15: I need to eat some good food for breakfast.
16: We picked the play for the Easter theatre production and it looks like I'm going to be having a part. Scary but such a good experience. I never thought of myself as an actor. I guess we'll see if I was right or not!

So, that is my life. Making wedding plans. Slowly. Hoping my mom can find that wedding dress soon so I can start talking patterns with people. :-) I have some really good folks around me who are knowledgeable about such lovely things as wedding planning.

Here's something for ya'll to do: find your favorite dress/pattern... favorite flowers... cake, decorations... or just one of the above listed and comment about them. I can always use ideas. :-) And I love talking about wedding plans. So much fun. :-)

Have a great week, ya'll! :-D

From the Queen of Randomness

The show went well! In fact, it went really well. Once up on stage, my nervousness vanished and I was able to play and sing and enjoy myself.

Several musicians and friends of Michele's are coming to stay the weekend and we have been preparing. Last night, Michele made turtle cheesecake (it's a new recipe and she made her own caramels, which are wonderful but didn't quite turn out the way the recipe said so she is worried about serving the cake to company and I wondered since she had enough ingredients to make another one if we shouldn't sample this one just to make sure but she said no. Twice.) (there, I knew I could write a run-on sentence! ;-)) and lasagne, which I am quite looking forward to. I get to make french bread to go along with it!! Yay.

Went to the theatre meeting yesterday for the Easter play. It looks like it's going to be a murder mystery of sorts. I'm not sure if I am going to have a part or not. I have never memorized so many lines (well, I've memorized entire books of the Bible but that's a little different!) and I've definitely never been in a play that required so much  from me. It could be a good experience. :-) That being said, with everything else going on, I might regret committing. We shall see.

I've been reading "The Princess Bride". And laughing. Interesting thing: the book is not better than the movie. They're both equally creative. And funny.

One of my students wants to learn how to play "If I Die Young" (The Band Perry) on the piano. So I have been trying to learn it so I can teach her. I like the challenge. And I like the song. It's a bluegrass number with really nice words. Kind of a Appalachian Anne of Green Gables song.

It was *30 F (-1* C) yesterday!!!! Wow. I ran outside with no long sleeves on and I was not cold at all. I love this weather.

I watched "Appaloosa" the other day. I was so annoyed at the end of it. :sigh: Seriously, three very good actors. Three of my favorites. You wonder if any of them had ever read any westerns at all. :-P Plus, Ed Harris' character randomly loses his temper for no real reason and nearly beats a teamster to death. Interesting. I wonder why he put that into the movie? Just because he'd always wanted to randomly nearly beat someone to death? Can you tell I'm still annoyed? ;-)

And while we're on the topic of movies, has anyone watched "Young Victoria"? Opinion?

Anyone a Doctor Who fan?

I should go eat something and try to stem the tide of my cold. Or allergies. Or whatever it is. I started getting a sore throat when I began dealing with all of deceased Yoda's hair. Now my nose is running like a faucet. Lol. I'm taking zinc in case it is a cold. Maybe I should be taking more stuff. Hmm.

I am so glad God loves me.

Anyways, this is my random-ist post ever. Enjoy, Bekah dear! ;-) (And anyone else who may read this.) 

We'll Meet Again -- Theatre Production

You may remember me writing about the first theatre production I was in. It was a WW2 musical review entitled, "We'll Meet Again". I believe Marian W. took most of these pictures, so I would like to thank her. Also, Marilyn Carter deserves some recognition because she burned the disk for me and made it possible for me to post these pictures on the internet. Thank you. :-)

Lori Brown is an amazing pianist. I love watching and listening to her play.

Getting ready to fall asleep.

At the end of the ladies' grand entrance.

Someone spilled liquid on the floor and the proprietor demanded it be cleaned up. But he decided to have some fun with the boys first. 

Waiting for the sailor....

Looking very innocent. I can't remember the occasion but he seemed to pull it off. :-)

Left?? Which left??! :-P (Never fails that my brain shuts down and I can't ever remember which is which. Lol!)

The Aspidistra number, which the audience always seemed to appreciate.

Being sassy. This picture makes me chuckle.

The cast

The sailor and yours truly. 

You'll see cast members in the audience if you look hard enough. :-) At the end of the show, we walked up the aisles, singing "We'll Meet Again". People would reach out and shake our hands as we walked by. 

Pictures -- A Cornerstone Christmas Carol (Theatre Production)

I am not sure who took these pictures but I would like to thank the Carters for taking some of them... also, thanks to Marilyn Carter for burning the disk for me. She made it possible for me to share these on the internet. :-)

Esmeralda Scrooge .. "That'll be $50.03."

Esmeralda's long suffering employee, Jack.

"It's an old time Christmas..."

"It's my room, my life and my baseball bat."

Young Esmeralda and The Jilted Boyfriend.

The homeless people managed to look as pathetic as necessary.

"Who are they calling a moldy tart?!"

Craig's vocal skills never ceased to amaze us.

Bob Marley and the Choir

"Ah am the Ghost of Christmas Present!"

Odds and Ends

Apparently, you can't eat six saltines in one minute. I've never timed myself but I tend to put them away pretty quickly. ;-) Hmm. I do love them. That and the Alice in Wonderland soundtrack (Danny Elfman), which I am currently listening to via http://listen.grooveshark.com/ (thank you once again, Jenni). I think the music actually makes me love the movie as much as I do! It's amazing... The Alice Theme especially sends shivers down my spine.

My apologies for the lack of blog posts in the recent days. After the play, it's been a mixture of spending time with my man, teaching, projects for the upcoming holiday season...etc, etc. This evening, I go to the theatre to help with the movie. I'm never bored. :-) I posted via FB yesterday how much fun it is to be happy. It is indeed. :-)

Speaking of the play, each night went well, though Sunday was our most brilliant performance (if I do say so myself!). I was so pleasantly surprised with how well it did go. The humor was laughable. The emotional scenes were emotional. The story was made into a story (by us! Imagine that!). :-) One funny moment happened to me personally. It happened while we were doing the last scene. We had just finished singing "A pig went out to dig..." and suddenly, my hair felt off centre. I was a little horrified to discover that the 'tail' of my bun was loose and the rest of my hair was threatening to follow suit. Lol! Subtly (??) I managed to correct the problem and all was well though until we did the company bow, I was moving gingerly. :-)

And my man is in Athens. Yes, Athens, Greece. [Jesse: problem fixed! ;-)] He is there to see his sister. Two weeks can't go by fast enough back here but I think it's a wonderful thing for him to be able to go on this trip. The experience gained by traveling is always something one cannot get any other way. And when he comes back... we're hoping it will work to go visit the family and celebrate Martha's and Hannah's birthdays. Jesse will finally get to taste homemade ice-cream.

Well, as you can tell, I did not get this finished before going to the theatre. :-) I had a lovely evening at the Waldner's, where I devoured (homegrown) chicken and wonderful potatoes among other things. If you ever want to taste a good meal, hope that you'll get invited there. No kidding. Anyways, Megamind was also splendiferous. I really enjoyed it, as was evidenced by my very loud laughter. I forgot I was in the theatre. :-P But it was a good evening, despite this fact. :-)

I am needing to hit the hay sooner than later, so I think I'll sign off and try to get some rest in before tomorrow arrives.

Life's Goodness

The performance went really well!! I love sitting in the back, listening to the other actors... and hearing the audience laugh. What a delight. :-) There is something about working with so many talented, experienced people. Even the teenagers have been on stage almost their entire life. They calm my nerves with their expertise. :-)

We had a couple instances of ad-libbing yesterday evening and both scenes turned into something hilarious. At one point, I was supposed to be laughing a little for the audience but I was almost in hysterics. :-) So funny.

And Dickens? Well, wonderful food and the day wasn't terribly cold. Lovely. Now if I could just stay healthy!! The fiddling went well, too. A few of the tunes I hadn't heard/played before but they were pretty simple and she had chord charts. Some of them were really nice... especially the Irish sets.

Tonight holds another performance... Remember my lines... remember my cues into the music for the Ghost of Christmas Future scene... remember the words to the solo... :-)

Today

Firstly, I eat some breakfast. No comments about late breakfasts allowed. :-P
Secondly, I practice my music and rehearse my lines.
Hm.
Maybe secondly, I should call Jesse and ask him to lend a listening ear so I don't practice mistakes.
Thirdly, I make sure I am prepared for accompanying the fiddlers that play around 5:30pm
Fourthly, I prepare myself for Dickens and the theatre production this evening...
Fifthly, I somehow experience the Dickens Festival with my loyal, charming and very gallant guide, Jesse.
Sixthly, I accompany fiddlers.
Seventhly, prepare myself again for Theatre Production. :nerves:
Eighthly, we all star in a very funny, very sweet play about a certain Esmeralda Scrooge and her trials and tribulations and how she overcomes herself.
Ninethly, I spend a few hours of the evening with my man and enjoy some wonderful conversation.

Do I not have a wonderful life?? :-)

::happiness::

From the Queen of Randomness

Yoda ( fat cat) just whacked Ozzie (fatter cat) across the face and Ozzie blames it on me. I maintain my innocence.

I am trying to learn to play "Just You Wait Henry Higgins" in Cm and Dm. I was assigned to it for the Christmas play.

My voice has just the tiniest country drawl. Don't knock it. A lot of work went into that.

I love the movie Fiddler on the Roof more each time I see it.

Did you know that deadpanning is a lot harder than it sounds?

"Dogs come when they're called; cats take a message and get back to you later." - Mary Bly

Did you know that soaking your face with black tea feels good?

Manitoba and dear friends are calling for me this weekend. So looking forward to it. :-)

There are people in my life who I don't deserve and am so terribly grateful for. They encourage me, criticize me, help me, lift me up and above all, simply love me. Well, I love ya'll, too! :hugs: all around.

Off to practice for tonight's theatre. My lines are just a little rusty still and my drawl could use some tuning...

Right. Who am I again?

Just for the record, you're actually supposed to say the post title in Hugh Grant's voice.

 I sat down in my favorite spot (floor against my bed) to type this blog post and suddenly had two very affectionate cats purring in my ear and rubbing their heads against mine. Lol! There's nothing like having a cat in your life who adores you. Makes everything seem so much more bearable. ;-)

You would not believe how busy the past week has been. It was like everything decided to happen at once and life was just... wow. Over the past two months, I feel like I have become a different person. Some days, I'm not even sure of who I am anymore. But I am sure of one thing... in fact, more sure each day than the last: God's love. The more I learn of Him, the more I realize how very blessed I am. His attitude of how precious I am to Him enfolds me each moment and the fear leaves.

Then thou shalt call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. (Isaiah 58:9)

 For the past few weeks, I've been studying to get my learner's permit and I think I'm ready to take it. I went into  Andrew's Agencies (SGI) and paid the fee to get into the system (which... I gathered... I already was to a certain extent) (don't ask. I'm as confused as you are.) But the more ridiculous thing has happened. I lost the paper which contained the information about getting my learners... phone #, website, etc. Very frustrating. Tell me why these things happen to me?? On second thought, don't. Hehe. But oh... will it ever be so nice to get this out of the way. I have been dreading it for so long that I'm ready to get it done and over with.

My friend Jesse took me to Swan River, MB for my orthodontist appointment on the 5th. They had told me the last visit that they thought my braces would be coming off around Christmas time, so I was hoping against hope that they were accurate. Ahem. :-P Sometimes I hope for the impossible. This visit, they informed me that it will be a few more visits... which means more than two. On one hand, I know it is unrealistic to think I could get my teeth in perfect order that quickly. On the other hand, wouldn't it have been nice?? Lol. Anyways, good company on the 8 hour road trip. For that I can be thankful for.

Food for thought: do you have to look like Randy Travis to sound like him?

So, that's what has been going on lately. I still need to go practice the piano and my songs for the upcoming play. It's actually coming up pretty quickly. I really need to put more effort into memorizing. :sigh: Did you know that I cannot sing like Randy Travis? Serious training needed there. Lol!

Oh yeah. Life is good. ;-)