Oh the CARNAGE!!

Whew! My Middle School theatre performs this week. Thursday to be exact. Thank goodness. It's getting really hard to juggle working full time, after school theatre, and building costumes for EORT's next musical. It'll be good to have it done. It's reached the point that if the play is good, it's my kids's fault, if it's bad, it's their fault as well. There's not much more I can do to help it at this point. Just chaperone the carnage.

Anyway, I've been waking up in the middle of the night thinking about everything I still need to do for the MS play. It'll be good when it's over. Maybe I can sleep through the night.

But then, in my contract, there's a little blip. I have to chaperone a dance. Just what I want to do, chaperone a middle school dance. I remember them when I was in Middle School. Nothing good comes from Middle School dances...except money for my theatre club...*sigh*...Nothing ELSE good comes from Middle School dances.

For the dork, the sentimentalist, and the major weeper.

Ok, for those of you who are in the dark about Michael Buble (pronounced Boo-Blay), I'm going to include some youtube stuff so you can judge for yourself. I've included videos for those of you who are dorks, sentimentalists, and major weepers. Watch your underwear girls.

For the dork (i.e Spiderman fan):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1AuWZFGng4


For the Sentimentalist:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flfDuYuy6aQ


For the Major Weeper:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7X5cZC5U6dM


Oh gosh, wipe the tears, download his songs, and move on for the day. You'll make it. I promise.

No, I'm not pregnant. My scrubs make me look fat.

I worked WAY to hard this week. I started out my day today at 7am, and by 7:30am I wanted to go home, swearing I'd been at work for 11 hours that day. I'm so tired. I'm almost delirious I'm so tired. I think I'll listen to a little Michael Buble (hee hee).

Anyway, let me tell you about yesterday (Tuesday March 25th, to be accurate). Our Oral Surgeon was in town this week, which means that I work everyday, instead of just Monday's and Wednesdays. I work the Oral Surgery weeks because two out of my dentists four assistants work with the Oral Surgeon. Usually, during Oral Surgery weeks it's two assistants with the OS, and two assistants with the dentist. Well, the other assistant who works with me is on maternity leave, leaving ONLY ME to help the dentist.

Well, the front office girls forgot I was the only assistant this week, and PACKED the schedule full. I was scrambling all morning. Fortunately, the OS only worked a half a day, so there were two of us for the afternoon.

Then the afternoon happened. I won't go into detail here because it's a DANG long story, but let's just say I had one of the worst afternoons of my life involving some expensive office equipment breaking, and some bad attitudes to me from a couple of "others". *sigh* But it doesn't end there.

After work yesterday I happened to be able to go out to dinner with the "men's bible study group" who weren't bible studying that evening, and one of them patted his tummy and asked me if he was missing something. And this isn't the first time I've been asked if I were pregnant while wearing my scrubs. *sigh* I need new scrubs.

I am SO glad this work week is over and I'm at the beginning of a four day weekend. I really need it. Sleeping in tomorrow here I come!

This post is pornographic in nature!! BEWARE READER! BEWAAAAAARE!!!

I've been on a Michael Buble kick here recently. It's bordering on the embarrassing. Sometimes these things happen. In college I couldn't get enough of The Dave Matthews Band. But now I've moved on to a person my age who is a complete dork in real life, but manages to croon out old time Bobby Darin songs in a way that makes you want to take off your underwear and throw it at him. (A practice I never understood very much...until my obsession began.) Sorry for the unfortunate mental image.

And I'll leave it at that. I think if I go on the mental images will just get worse. Listen to some Michael Buble, you'll understand. I swear. Just beware of the underwear thing.

I will Triumph!

I am a children's author. I love to write stories for kids. I have ideas in my head that are bursting to get out sometimes. It's a lot of fun, it allows me to explore my own childhood from an adult perspective. I write about silly things, and I write about serious things. Not everything in childhood is flowers and puppies, ya know.

So anyway, I've had this story idea in my head for almost 5 years now, and I've never been able to put words to it. I came up with a title sitting in the library. It's called "The Day Harry the Bully Kissed a Big Black Beetle". Wonderful title. Never could find a good story to go along with it. Until today.

I FOUND MY STORY!!! It's actually turned into a first person chapter book. It's really coming nice. I've written the first two chapters. And it's about how this one kid deals with the bully in his life, and how he learns to love who he is, no matter where in the world he is. It's really going to be wonderful, if the story in my head flows on paper as easily.

Also, HAPPY EASTER!!! I hope everyone has a wonderful day celebrating the day Jesus Christ saved us from our sins. What a wonderful reason to celebrate. Love you all!!

The Internet radio gods hate me.

Pandora upsets me. This is an internet radio station that you can choose which artists you want, and you can choose the genre you want on your stations. For instance, I have a station, and the feed name (THE ONE AND ONLY FEED NAME I GAVE) was Michael Buble. I love Michael Buble. All I wanted to hear were old jazzy Bobby Darin songs and the like. And I heard that for awhile, then it all went to crap. My Michael Buble radio station started playing Britany Spears. WHAT about Michael Buble old timey jazz suggests BRITANY SPEARS!!!!???? And it wasn't one episode. I went through song after song of crappy pop.

Also, I have a radio station based after ONE song. The song is Breath of Heaven by Sara Groves. Now, I understand this is a Christmas song, but it's really good, and her version is the BEST I've ever heard. However Pandora, in all it's stupidness, REFUSES to play THAT song, and instead plays all the other versions of that song by Amy Grant or Point of Grace (puke) that it can get it's little digital fingers on. Did you know Jessica Simpson did a version of that song? No? I do. Pandora has played it.

In other news, the person I'm in contact with who is doing a movie with Matt Damon, actually hangs out with MATT DAMON when they're not filming their movie. Why me?

Major complaint session, skip it if you can't take a downer today

Nothing says you fail at life than having someone you knew in high school living your dream, or at least a semblance of your dream, and getting paid for it.

I have worked very hard since the 6th grade to prepare myself to do theatre. I love theatre. My creative side expresses itself best when I can get inside a characters head. I majored in theatre, I've co-founded a theatre in Baker. Name the show, I've been in it, or costumed it, or directed it, or whatever.

And yet, there's this person, who I'm in contact with through myspace, advising and acting in a movie in HOLLYWOOD with Matt Damon all because of his involvement in something classified during his stint in Iraq. This person never had any interest in acting or anything in high school or since then, why is it, all of the sudden they're more successful than I am in something I've loved to do since I was 11?

I keep talking to this person, because frankly it's kind of a cool story, but every time they start talking about their life I'm reminded that I live in Baker City Oregon, I work way to hard running a theatre company and I'm never recognized as one of it's leaders (that credit goes to my business partner) NOR am I paid for anything I do. I work way to hard teaching Middle Schoolers theatre and get paid very little (less actually than Rob, who coaches football, and I've been doing it longer). I have a job at a dentist office and I get MAYBE a weeks worth of work per month. I'm running constantly, working my butt off, and I have nothing to show for it. I'm almost 30, and I have nothing to show for my work and passion but a struggling theatre company no one knows I run.

Touchstone got a little tipsy this evening

Yep, you read that right. My dog got tipsy this evening. Not on purpose. And I swear I didn't know it was going to do it to him. *sigh* I'm a bad dog parent.

Rob made Beef Stew tonight, and one of the ingredients was 2 cups of dark beer. I thought that it cooked out, and I guess for humans it had, but not for Stone. He was smiling like a fool, and a little wobbly after we gave him some left over stew juice. My poor doggie will probably have a hangover in the morning.

In other news, I think my Middle Schoolers hate me. For some reason, doing what I ask them to do is out of the question anymore. And if we go past 4:30 and we're still rehearsing it's a major crisis. And parents start calling, and things get stressed. It's 4:40 by the time we're out, and you'd think we had been there for 8 hours. I'm not sure what to do with them. They've stopped having fun, or concentrating, or...being normal humans.

Also, I still have a cold. That's why this is being written at 3 in the morning. My Theraflu wore off, and my eyes popped open. Rob is sleeping. I'm jealous. I wish I could get an entire nights sleep. I can't remember the last time I did that, without waking up once, even if it's for a few minutes. Maybe my not sleeping, and my Middle School issues are related somehow. Hmmmmm...

The joys of living around children.

I've caught a cold. It really stinks. I can't breath, my eyes are watery, and I'm sneezing waaaaaay to much. Rob says they're allergies, but I'm not sure what I could be allergic to with snow still on the ground.

Then I get a phone call this morning.

Melissa and I were talking yesterday and Chloe has a fever and a rash. Well, she got freaked out yesterday evening and took her to the hospital. Come to find out the child has mono, and Melissa was calling to tell me because anyone who's been in contact with her could have it too. It has an "up to 6 week" incubation period, so we have awhile. Then she tells me that mono presents itself with flu-like symptoms. Great. Here I am sniffling and sneezing on the phone, and she's telling me this. I made it through 30 years of life to get mono from a 4 year old.

Oh please, oh please, oh please don't let it be mono. I have to work on Monday. I can't take 4 weeks out of my life to recover from this. Please please please let it be allergies.

The need for a dummy.

So, today is Thursday. And usually it's the start of my glorious four day weekend, but today I had to work for Jo, who works for the other dentist in the office.

Now, our different rooms face the Powder River and the Leo Adler walkway. Our rooms down at my doctors end face a bridge with the river running under it (very picturesque), and the other doctors rooms face more of the "white water rapid" part.

So today it was snowing, big ol' flakes, and raining some. It was typical Spring weather in Baker City.

Anyway moving on, there was a lady walking up the path who had her coat and gloves and "winter wear" on. And she had this Lab dog. This dog was so cute, and he didn't seem to mind the weather at all because the lady chucked a tennis ball into the river and this dog jumped into the freezing water with reckless abandon, snatching his ball back from the watery depths. The lady and the dog did this three or four times, until the dog lost track of his ball and the river swept it away. Then they moved on.

Anyway, it was fun to watch. Although it really really made me miss Talullah, because this dog reminded me so much of her. I missed having a dummy for a dog so much I looked in the adoption section of our paper to see if there were any dogs that would fit that description. Let's just say I found a few. *sigh* I have to remind myself. "Stoney does a lot better if he's the only dog in the house. Stoney does a lot better if he's the only dog in the house."

I feel I know

I feel left out. I feel sad. I feel tired. I feel pathetic. I feel fat. I feel poor. I feel ungrateful. I feel unappreciated. I feel insignificant. I feel unwanted. I feel frustrated. I feel uninterested. I feel negative. I feel stupid.

I know the hand of God. I know compassion. I know sympathy. I know I'm wrapped up. I know I'm blessed. I know I'm loved. I know peace. I know I'm clean. I know I'm able. I know I'm talented. I know I'm warm. I know my worth. I know I'm funny. I know I'm learned.

I feel. But I know. And I perservere.

Things NOT to do while wearing Capris

Ok, it's March 8th, and I realize it's a little early in the year for summer wear in Oregon. But I got up today, and it literally was 40 degrees at 9 am. So, knowing that it would get hotter as the day wore on, I decided to wear Capris. I love Capris, they're like shorts, with the added benefit that you don't feel quite so bad about your thighs while wearing them.

So wearing Capris I came downstairs after getting ready for the day and realized I could get out into my flower beds and prepare them for the onslaught of Spring that's around the corner. So, trotting outside to wage war on my flower beds I learned about "things NOT to do while wearing Capris". Thus starts my list *ahem*:

Trim your rose bushes
Chase your dog in the snow
Kneel in the dirt
Deal with a nasty trash can that leaks
Get into some sort of plant that gives you rashes if touched with bare skin

Now, some of you that live in the warmer parts of the world will say "Well duh Abby, wear pants for goodness sakes" but I say, after you've been stuck in the house since October with nothing but snow snow snow and sub-zero temperatures, 40 degrees and small Narcissa plants sticking out of the weeds do have a numbing effect on the common sense. So don't judge this poor Eskimo to harshly.

Things to make your weekend happy

Ok, so with Rob gone to Portland for a football conference this weekend I thought I'd share a few pictures that make me happy (i.e. swoony). Granted, these pictures aren't of my MIA huband, but...well...he won't care. :) RIGHT ROB!!!

Ok, this is Alan Rickman as Colonel Brandon in Jane Austen's "Sense and Sensibility". This is the very moment he sees Marianne and falls madly in love with her. (Who he will get ignored by, and then later marry. It's all very romantic I promise)


Ah, Mr. Darcy. This is the point of the movie (Pride and Prejudice) where Elizabeth Bennett (the love of his life) has just helped his sister out of a hurtful situation. This is the look he gives her when he shows the world exactly what he thinks of her. I love this part in the movie.

Ok, this picture just makes me laugh. This is the part of Pride and Prejudice when he is suprised by Elizabeth Bennett on his estate after she's refused to marry him. And he's kind, and loving toward her. And he escorts her to her carriage, and then watches her ride away. *sigh*


Ok. Expect a few more posts this weekend. Because all I have to do is clean house while Rob's gone. So, if I need a break I'll probably get on this thing and post how miserable I am without Rob here. :) Maybe I'll just look at these pictures. Or have a Jane Austen movie fest....I'll do that. That'll be fun.

The few joys of life, and the irritating bits as well.

Here comes the sun, do do do do. And I say, it's all right. la la la, la la la, la la la, la la la la. I have that song in my head. I like that song.

I had a great Middle School rehearsal today. For those of you who don't know. I am the advisor/director for Baker Middle School. Our season lasts from February to the beginning of April and it's high energy kind of fun. It keeps me on my toes. Middle Schoolers are an interesting group of people. Anyway, I had a great rehearsal. The kids were responsive, and less squirrely than they usually are. Every year it's a chore, up to performance day, to get them to speak up and not talk so fast. (A typical problem with any newbie actor) Today, I started directing them on how to slow down and speak up. At first they took it like they were doing something wrong. I had to reassure them that yes, I did love and adore them all, and no, I was not getting after them like they were in trouble. A director, by the nature of things, tells you what to do. :) I was kind about it of course. There's nothing worse than a Middle Schooler who's ego has been busted to pieces. They're fragile enough as it is. Anyway, once they got a handle on the fact that I still thought they were wonderful, and I wasn't yelling at them. They stepped up and had one of the best rehearsals we've had since the middle of February. I was pleased. They were pleased. We left it at that.

On a weirder note, Eastern Oregon Regional Theatre's costume department (i.e. me) was accosted today by someone who thought we were stealing their round clothing rack. We're moving out of Ma Bells on first street and into a new office. Last Saturday, we moved all the costumes and props downstairs to our new storage spot, and that included the round rack we bought for 5 bucks when The Emporium went out of business. Well today, a lady (who will remain nameless) thought that we took HER round rack out of the basement, and that HER round rack was there before WE moved in. We all explained to this lady that me, Rob, and dad had purchased this rack a long time ago, but she wouldn't hear of it. She even got the owner of the building involved. And now there's an uproar. Not really and uproar, but just one more thing I have to deal with that is unpleasant. I called the owner, explained the situation, and am waiting to hear back. *sigh* Life is...irritating at times. All I have to say is YAY for Middle School theatre. I never thought I'd say that. :)

Holy Schmoley

Ah, glorious Wednesday evening. Thus dies the end of my workweek, thusly...die die die!!! (Highly Shakespearian acting inserted here)

For those of you who still have two more days to go until your weekend, let me gloat now. *ahem* GLOAT GLOAT GLOAT!!! I'm going to read, and watch Jane Austen movies, and drink tea ALL DAY TOMORROW!!! Why? Because IT'S MY FRIDAY TODAY!!! Hello, magnificent FOUR day weekend!! Just know, that I'll be thinking of each and every one of you while I'm relaxing and doing what I want...hee hee.

On a kinder and less gloating note. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY WONDERFUL MAMA-IN-LAW!!! I know you'll probably read this tomorrow, which is not your birthday, but I penned this missive on your actual birthday. So Happy Birthday! I hope you had a wonderful day.

Kicking and Screaming into the 21st Century

Oh dear goodness. Here I am. Hello 21st century.

I've decided to start a blog (obviously) because I think it might work out as a good stress reliever for me. Although, blogging is conducted on a computer, and I have the Goodyear curse (i.e. blue screen of death....a lot), so whether this REMAINS a stress reliever to me is yet to be seen.