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I’m on a roll!

Hobbies, Warren Theatre, Work, WritingWrite a comment

Yee-ha! Maybe it’s the whole back to school feeling I can’t escape, despite the fact that I’m no longer student nor teacher, but these past few days I have been on a writing kick and all I can say is, “I Go Girl!” (hmmm…maybe that doesn’t work so well as a power mantra).

This burst of creative energy is probably partly due to the fact that I have to be on the computer, madly typing away as I struggle to complete a modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream for auditions on 8/20. Already typing up a storm seems to have gotten the creative juices flowing, because I have been able to flesh out some plot ideas for the NOVEL. This is not the masterpiece story I want to tell about my grandparents, but a “simple” romance/paranormal that I plan to force finish during NaNoWriMo .

So, good for me, I need to get back to work now.

I can never think of this stuff at the time

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Does this ever happen to you? Someone asks you a question: “What do you want for your birthday?” “Where do you want to go for dinner?” etc, and you just can’t think of anything at the moment, and end up thinking of lots of great ideas later in the day? Well, this morning the husband asked me if there were any ways in which he could be a better husband. Of course, I said, “No.” And it wasn’t just the obligatory wifely duty of ego stroking – honestly, at that moment, I really couldn’t think of anything! But, of course, here I am…hours later, and several things have come to mind. Don’t get me wrong, my husband is a wonderful man, and I know I am very lucky – but still…he did ask! So, hubby, if you’re reading this – here’s 10 Things My Husband Can Do To Be Even More Wonderful (and to be fair, I have also made a 10 Things That Make My Husband So Wonderful.

And now, for the next episode…

Home Repairs, Life SucksWrite a comment

…in the continuing saga of Appliance Hell. In today’s episode, mild-mannered housewife Mimi Johnson is attempting to get dinner together for the family (like a good housewife should) when ZAP! PING! WHOOSH! flames are shooting out of the microwave!!! Our heroine keeps a cool head though, and soaks a towel before shoving it into the roof of the microwave, dousing the flames (and ruining much of dinner in the process). Apt punishment for daring to cook a meal in such a non-Martha Stewart fashion? Egads, no – poor Mimi was merely attempting to warm up the gourmet Veggie Tart she had baked from scratch the day before.  So, the microwave is dead…stay tuned for our next episode, when who knows what dangers lurk – an exploding dryer, a flooding dishwasher? The possibilities are endless.

The Cost of Help is High These Days

Hallmark Moments, KidsWrite a comment

The other day my MIL decided to drop off a bunch of stuff – why? I don’t know, I guess we need more stuff. Anyways, Aishtyn offers to help carry in the boxes, and when she is finished, tells Nana that she owes her, “Ten bucks.” Apparently, there are no free rides in Aishtyn’s town – who proceeded to make up a song and dance about how Nana has to pay her ten dollars. Despite the hilarity of the song, and the precociousness of her demands, Aishtyn did not get $10. Instead, she got a little lecture on favors, and the priceless pleasure of helping out.

Sticky sports bras and pms

General SuckitudeWrite a comment

And all the other things that suck about being a chick. I thought about this as I struggled to wiggle out of a sweaty sports bra the other day. After a 5 mile run, trying to free my chest from the clutches of elastic and cotton/nylon blends of torture can require almost more energy than I can muster. The zany yoga moves and acrobatics it sometimes requires would be amusing…if it was happening to somebody else.

Check out my TOP 10 Page to see the complete list of things that annoy me most about being a woman.

Funny Babies

Cool StuffWrite a comment

An old acting rule of thumb is to avoid performing with children or animals – because they ALWAYS STEAL THE SHOW. As the following clips demonstrate, this is all too true.

These first two I find particularly amusing because the dog looks just like mine, and my husband refuses to let her live with us (luckily my parents have basically adopted her for me). Also the music is great, love that Fat Boy Slim – how many of you can see your bored hubby doing something like this and this when stuck home alone with the kiddos?

As for this one, well just about everything Will Ferrel does is funny, and when you add a trash talking baby to the mix – hilarity ensues.

A moment in literary history.

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That’s right folks – today marks the last date in history where Potter fans everywhere will remain in the dark about…well, everything. All the speculation, the predictions, the arguments – it all ends tonight. After the release of book 7 at 12:01 am (I, for one, will be in bed and not in a bathrobe turned wizard’s outfit elbowing some 9 year old out of the way at my local Borders)  the period of time in which fans could see the story unfold along with the characters; not knowing the ending any better than they did – will be over forever. Like the knowledge of Luke Skywalker’s parentage – it’s all dramatic irony from here on out.

I’m off to see the movie version of OOTP (book 5 to all you not in the know) tonight – I’m hoping the super crazies will all be wiping their salivating mouths with their red and gold striped scarves, dancing, shaking and convulsing because they refuse to go pee – even after drinking several cups of coffee in order to stay awake during their 15 hour wait in line, just so they can be among the first TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS!!!

Wouldn’t it be awesome if some prat (I like that word) grabbed a book, turned to the end, and just yelled at the top of his lungs, “My God – you mean Harry actually DIES?!?!”

How many hardcover editions of Book #7 will he have to be hit with before he dies, or at least goes into a coma?

If you are among the throngs of HP readers, but prefer to keep your interest private (like your secret enjoyment of Barbara Streisand or something) than this might interest you. 

When truth is stranger than fiction.

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This summer, it seems one of the two bookclubs I belong to has accidentally fallen upon a theme: hiking the Appalachian Trail and encounters with animals (specifically – bears). So far we have read Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver, A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson, and The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King. Take a look at any of these books, especially the last one – and you’ll find a story about hiking in the woods and fearing attack from an unfriendly source who will do more than just raid your picnic basket.

Sure, I thought the fear these characters felt was valid – but in some ways I thought it might be exaggerated – exacerbated if you will – by the strain of the trail and the loneliness of the woods. Even after reading Bryson’s chilling re-telling of how a young boy scout was ripped apart by a bear who smelled an errant Snickers bar – I thought it was a remote, unlikely thing – something to feel horror for, but not to truly fear.

Then, just days after finishing King’s novel about a young girl who gets lost in the woods and is stalked and nearly killed by a bear – I read a story in the paper about an old friend from high school. Kathryn Evans (or Katie LaPlante, as I knew her back in high school) was killed on June 28th. She had been mauled by a bear.

If you want more details you can find them here, I do not wish to get into them myself.

Katie and I were the same age, and I am shocked to think her life has been cut short like this. I admit, though we were buddies in high school – we went our own ways and I had not seen or even thought of Katie in years. Reading of her death, however – images of her bright blue eyes and big smile flashed in my mind, and I could clearly recall some of our funnier conversations. One moment in particular is as clear as if it happened this afternoon, and I can hear her voice and her laugh as we whiled away the lunch hour in the Commons area of our school.

To all of Katie’s family – God Bless, I am very sorry for your loss.

Summer Love

IMO, UncategorizedWrite a comment

Though I can’t stand the heat and humidity (it turns me into one hell of a frizzy-haired cranky mess) – and the mosquitoes – oh, THE CURSED MOSQUITOES, I do love many aspects of this brief time each year when life travels both faster and slower at the same time.

To celebrate, I am taking note of the things I love about the summer season:

1. Big puffy white clouds in a brilliant blue sky.

2. The smell of meat grilling on the BBQ.
3. Sitting on a blanket in the grass, reading a book on a sunny, breezy afternoon.
4. Dinner & Drinks with friends on an outdoor patio at dusk.
5. Sand volleyball followed by margaritas.

6. The days are longer, but the workdays are shorter (and, for me anyway – there are far less of them!).

7. Taking my daughter to the theme park.

8. Hearing my daughter laugh as she runs around a spray park.

9.  Zoos, parks, and festivals.

10. Ice cream, cherries and strawberries.

Granted, I get to enjoy some of these more often than others – but I hope to enjoy them all as much as I can.