Joseph and the Amazing Technocolor Dreamcoat

Just wrapped up another Main Stage Production at the Savannah Children's Theatre.
Photographic evidence that I'm still alive!
Here's one of 4 good reviews we received in the local press!

The weather was perfect today. The sky was blue,temperature reasonable, and the sand gnats or “flying teeth” hadn’t yet made their appearance to interfere with a persons sanity.
All these factors considered, I decided to do something out of doors.
Dressed in my cute hot pink baseball hat, and armed with the few things I could find from the garage, that could function as yard tools (to include a broken half a rake, a broom, and an old bed sheet) I made my way to the back yard.

At least three feet of nasty tree garbage had fallen over the last few months and I was determined to uncover something of monumental historical value, a lost civilization under the leaves in my back yard.

I had heard stories, of barbeque grills and lawn furniture, with friends and family of long ago, gathering in the area, for birthday parties, steaks and roasted marshmallows.
Under the thick mountains of brown crunchy debris there were no signs of any such society but I could almost hear the echos of laughter and fellowship mixed throughout the whistle of the wind, so I began to rake.


And I raked.
…And raked
…And raked
And stopped to send a few text messages to break the monotony,
…then raked some more,
…and raked
…and FREAKIN RAKED FOR THE LOVE OF GOD WHAT WAS I THINKING I SHOULD HAVE GONE TO THE PARK TO PLAY CATCH WITH THE DOG!!!

…I'm pretty sure I said a few dirty words.

Then raked until finally there was a scratching sound of metal rake prongs on what appeared to be some sort of concrete slab. The further I dug through the leaves, the more of this lost civilization emerged until an entire patio was unearthed, complete with four chairs, a table and indeed... the holy barbque grill!

Who knew that not so long ago, friends gathered and children laughed, right outside my back door?

The area is roped off until further notice.

Dear Pet Smart.

I would really love it if you could invent a non chewable version of this bed. It matches my bedspread perfectly and looks really cute with the décor of my house. Thank you.

By the way. What is your return policy?

Sometimes silence is golden.

Other times it just means I don't have anything to say, and my mother always said... if you don't have anything nice to say, shut up and act like a lady.

The end of 2009 brought some changes to my life and change is usually a good thing. Especially when the change keeps me from stagnating and propels me towards something fresh and exciting. Change can also be, however, one of those terrifying, gut wrenching experiences that make me lose weight, consume large amounts of Prozac and chew my fingernails down to tiny icky looking stubbs.

Unfortunately, the particular kind of change I've recently experienced has been of the latter variety, and while my nails still look fabulous, thanks to my friends at Yins House of Happy Nails, I've chosen to remain silent.

I've

THOUGHT

many things mind you, but obeying my Mother as I do, prevented me from actually articulating my ugly thoughts on my Blog, you know... so as not to appear unladylike, God forbid.

Please keep all snickering to a minimum at this point in my story, thank you.

With such nasty changes occuring all over the place, I simply couldn't bring myself to write, and didn't post for a while. Ok, I didn't post for almost a year, but here's to a fresh start right? Maybe I'll pick up the pace now that I'm single again.

(yes....there it is. I said it).

I'm single again. Deep breath.

Maybe I'll write more frequently.

Maybe the hundreds...er uh,... 50 something, oh alright... sheesh, the TEN followers I had in the past(not including my Mother and that creepy stalker dude), have missed me... and will once again flock to Contemblogging to hear more fascinating tales of bald horses, and large harry guys named Guido?

or maybe I'll just get spam comments from therapists, and divorce lawyers. Whatever.

It is what it is.

I've been devestated beyond recognition, and not much for public consumption, but this too shall pass. I hope. Until then, all comments welcome.

A funny Read for Pet Owners

One would think that with the abundance of time I seem to have on my hands during medical leave, that I would concurrently have the time and muster to write an original blog post.

One would be thinking wrong however and suspect to stealing my codeine prescription. Just as soon as I believe myself ok for public appearance and attempt an outing, I wear out quickly and head back to bed.

All of this free time is apparently exhausting. Plus, the codeine is affecting my ability to discuss anything other than the odd hallucinations I get to experience while on it.

In light of this information, I am posting instead something I just read on Facebook that made me giggle.

Simply put, I couldn't have said it better myself.

In addition, if you wouldn't mind...pop over to my Sons's new blog and say hello. All encouragement is appreciated. Thinkthinkthink
_____

Dear Dogs and Cats:

The dishes with the paw prints are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are mine and contain my food. Placing a paw print in the middle of my plate and food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.

The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack. Racing me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn't help because I fall faster than you can run.

I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your comfort, however. Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep. It Is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other, stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out on the other end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm.

For the last time, there is no secret exit from the bathroom! If, by some miracle, I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, meow, try to turn the knob or get your paw under the edge in an attempt to open the door. I must exit through the same door I entered. Also, I have been using the bathroom for years - canine/feline attendance is not required.

The proper order for kissing is: Kiss me first, then go smell the other dog or cat's butt. I cannot stress this enough.

Finally, in fairness, dear pets, I have posted the following message on the front door:
TO ALL NON-PET OWNERS WHO VISIT AND LIKE TO COMPLAIN ABOUT OUR PETS:

(1) They live here. You don't.
(2) If you don't want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture. That's why they call it 'fur'-niture.
(3) I like my pets a lot better than I like most people.
(4) To you, they are animals. To me, they are adopted sons/daughters who are short, hairy, walk on all fours and don't speak clearly.

Remember, dogs and cats are better than kids because they:
(1) eat less,
(2) don't ask for money all the time,
(3) are easier to train,
(4) normally come when called,
(5) never ask to drive the car,
(6) don't hang out with drug-using people;
(7) don't smoke or drink,
(8) don't want to wear your clothes,
(9) don't have to buy the latest fashions,
(10) don't need a gazillion dollars for college and
(11) if they get pregnant, you can sell their children ...

Back from the hospital

This blog post was brought to you buy the makers of
Morphine
Generic Name: morphine (MOR feen) dispensed by pushing a small button remote control attached to your I.V. in the hospital after surgery.

Taking this drug may result in side effects such as

• constipation;
• loss of appetite;
• dizziness, headache, anxiety;
• thinking you are pushing the dispenser button in your drugged and dazed stupor, only to find out you’ve been pushing the bolt on the side of the bed instead.
• seeing giant flying cheeseburgers
• and watching Sponge Bob Squarepants who has come to
visit and is dancing in the corner by the window.

Additional side effects such as thinking you are having complete conversations with people in the room may occur, only to find out they were all in your head. (Both the conversations and the people).

Feeling that you can teleport out of your hospital room in order to go downstairs, dig up a tree to put in your briefcase, so you can bring it back without being noticed may also occur. If you try to explain this to any visitors that may be present, they will look puzzled and snicker quietly for the moment then tell these stories later at family gatherings.

Talk to your Doctor if you experience any of these symptoms or similar ones, because he could probably use a good laugh.
-------------------

I am out of the hospital after my surgery and feeling much better each day. I’m not suggesting that I experienced any of the morphine symptoms mentioned above…I’m just sayin’.

Yes, Yes, I realize it's 11:30 on Thanksgiving Day and I'm still sitting here on the couch with my laptop in lap, in need of a shower, and a house that needs straightening before company arrives in 4 hours. And oh yeah, there’s that whole holiday food thing that still needs to happen, but I promise I’m getting up in a moment.

I’m just practicing my procrastination skills, that’s all.

How’my doing?


Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Halloween '08

Leather and Laundry

With Halloween right around the corner, and several party invitations looming on the agenda, I had to give some thought today about what I could be this year. I’d like to be a Wonder Woman of sorts, only I don’t particularly feel like a wonder woman these days. The flailing economy, a less than lucrative job and health that doesn’t seem to be what it once was has left me feeling something substandard to a kick ass superhero in red, white and blue. Quite frankly, I feel rather un-wonderful.

I’ve always wanted to be a wonder woman like Lara Croft.
You know, to fight ninjas by day, then wash out a great outfit in my motorcycle helmet before a night out on the town. To look hot in leather pants and no other make up than a swipe of my favorite lip gloss.

Somehow my sensibility always gets in the way though when I try to plan feats of daring- do, and I end up staying home to clean the kitchen instead. Mostly because the dirty dishes in the sink are bothering me but also because it just wouldn’t be responsible, what with the mortgage payment due and all. I want carefree bravery and reckless abandonment, but what I have is unwavering reliability and the ability to stay calm in a crisis. There is no magic wrist band to help me get my kid to school on time or sort the laundry. Kick Ass just isn’t in my DNA.

If it were, I would totally rock. I’d opt for shiny black leather attire, some killer thigh high boots, and would wear my long glossy black hair in a ponytail. I’d never think about housework and I’d certainly not pay any bills. I’d just wink at the bill collectors as I stunned them with some clever retort, then ride off on my black and chrome Harley.

I guess that’s why I love Halloween so much. It gives me the opportunity to be someone and something else; to be the Bad Fairy, the pirate wench or the Belly Dancer, because for the rest of the year I’m just not that exciting.

What are you going to be for Halloween?

Keeping up with the Joneses.

I’ve always been fond of a good theme party and birthdays are no exception.

When my son was old enough to utter an answer to the question “what kind of birthday party do you want this year?” I was happy to oblige. The second year celebration, was a “Blue one” according to his wishes, and blue invitations were immediately fashioned announcing the date, time, place and of course, attire. (yes…blue).

Blue streamers adorned the back yard along side of blue furniture, blue balloons, blue presents and birthday cake served on blue plates.

Each year after the next told of a different theme, interesting in it’s own décor and character. I was proud.

Tomorrow is my son’s 14th birthday wich is a good thing except that today he spent the whole day celebrating his friends Bat Mitzvah. Starting with a lovely ceremony and luncheon followed by an orchestrated dinner and dance at the Hilton Hotel.
The party “rocked” according to him as he pulled off his coat and tie. “She must have had 50 presents!” They danced, drank fancy non alcoholic strawberry daiquiris and won prizes for all sorts of things. This family easily spent thirty thousand dollars on the event, catering, décor, DJ, dance floor…you name it.

I suppose my son was feeling a little green with envy when he asked what we were going to do for his birthday tomorrow.
“Um…
Well…

The family is coming over to the house to eat some dinner and have cake.

Do you hear crickets?

Hullabalooz

Come on over and take a look at www.hullabalooz.com and tell me what you think.

Blogger's hyperlink won't work at the moment so you'll have to copy paste the url into your browser.

Thank You!

http://www.gratitudecampaign.org/shortmovie.php

Peter Pan

It was crazy rehearsal hours, dressing sets, making props, painting, building and sewing…all done by sleep deprived adults who worked all day then rehearsed all evening. Just when I thought my nerves could no longer stand another assault of Starbucks overstimulated children, it was show time and Peter Pan had taken flight.

With a Director who has more faith in the process than anyone, a choreographer who can whip an awkward group into a performance worthy show, and the best lighting and tech people around, we were able to pull off a show that many said couldn’t be done in the Savannah Children’s Theatre.

It was tiring and rewarding all at the same time and here's what I learned. When I hear the sound of little kids giggling from the audience, as Peter Pan tries to stick his shadow on with soap... Or when they cheer and applaud Tinkerbell back to health …I remembered exactly why we all do this in the first place. The laughter coming from little children engaged in a theatre production is just the coolest sound there is, and well worth a few twitching nerves in my book.

After one of the performances, an elderly woman came up to me and said I looked exactly like her porcelain figurine she had of grown up Wendy and how much she enjoyed the show. That was pretty cool too. Young and old alike love Peter Pan, and some people still believe in fairies.

Here’s some pictures from the show. I hope you enjoy them, and if you know a child who has never been exposed to live theatre…make a date, and go. You won’t be disappointed.

Sometimes...silence is Golden.

Other times it's just a lack of motivation on my part to blog at all. There are times when I feel if I didn't show up no one would even notice, and this sentiment often reflects in my writing of blog posts... or lack thereof. I suppose this is one such period.
I have been busy though, with work and tinkering with windows, props and sets at Theatre. Photographic evidence submitted.

One reason why I love my John Mayer...

http://johnmayer.com/blog
from the heart.

It's very quiet now. Except for a steady swirling sound of the clothes dryer off in the distance and the ringing in my own ears, there is silence. The animals are at my feet, both curled up resting quietly and Little Man is upstairs in his room.
I need this right now because my head is pounding and I'm taking a moment to collect myself before I pack for Chicago.

I'll be gone a week.

Google sais the weather will bounce between 33 and 58 degrees. Not my cup of tea.

I'm not myself these days. Life isn't always what you bargained for and right now isn't a good time for us. I think I've aged twice as fast as I should have these last couple of years and the frown lines between my eyebrows are starting to look like a permanent fixture.

I don't usually ask for alot by way of prayer, but now might be a good time if somebody wanted to throw in a few words.

Lights out! It's Earth Hour!

Turn your lights off with everyone from 8 pm to 9pm Saturday night in the spirit of Earth Hour and see if we all make a difference, together.

For more information just go to Google.

Happy Easter!

Paychecks and Paper Boxers

Good news
I'm gainfully employed again.

Bad news
I had to go take a physical today.

Good news
It was virtually painless and I'm healthy as always

Bad news
They made me wear paper boxer shorts and a hospital gown made of plastic

Good News
I've got a sense of humor and wore both with style and pride, not to mention wrong side out.

Bad news
I left my socks AND shoes on while I wore them. (it was cold, shut up)

Good news
There's no photographic evidence

yea, I'm sexy like that.

The wind beneath my green feathers...

Holy cow what a storm! St.Patrick's Day weekend as always, was jammed packed with drunken tourists sporting their finest green accessories and drinking much beer. Which is fine.
What these unsuspecting souls were not banking on however, was a storm of tornados and a city that lost electrical power causing pandemonium and mob hysteria.
No street lights.
No lights in the clubs.
Car accidents.
Theft.
fun fun.
We are lucky. No tornados touched down on us to topple our house, although others weren't as fortunate. We spent the evening playing cards by candlelight, listening to the wind howl and being thankful that we weren't in the middle of all that mess.This is my Dad in the parade. What a clown!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Alright. Who's the wiseguy

that took my little ass and replaced it with a bunch of cellulite dimples?

Oliver

It took me a while to get the pictures out of the camera, but here's some shots from Oliver.

Honest to goodness, I don't know what my problem is. Well I do know what many of my multiple problems are, but the particular one I'm addressing right now is my lack of blogging.

I've got many things to talk about. Like our recent visit to Disney World with my whole extended family, which was fun and a wonderful gift of my parents. Then there was the whole Oliver production and how I painted sets from 8:30 a.m. until 3:00 then came back for rehearsals at 6 that lasted until midnight. Not to mention the three weekends of performances, 4 shows at a time.

There's the lack of official work I could mention, but loads of unofficial work like painting a friends new home additions, and teaching an elementary class at the Children's theatre when they came in for a field trip.

...and speaking of lack of official work. That's still the same situation at the moment. I've applied my little heart out all over the place only to hear nothing in return, short of one interview that didn't pan out. I've done one other interview and will need to fly to Chicago for the next round probably next week. Should be interesting considering it's like a bazillion degrees below zero in Chicago and uh, I'm not an eskimo. Do you suppose I could convince them to come to Savannah and do our chit chatting here? It's far warmer and so pretty this time of year.

We're working on our website for the event planning business. It should be live in a day or two so hopefully business will pick up.
to top it off, we can't find the dohicky that takes the pictures out of the camera and puts them on the computer, so I'm without visuals for all the above events. If it wasn't for that, I'd probably have posted more.
Yea.
That's what the problem is.
ahem.

If you have 9 minutes, watch the video. You need to know this...

Live! On Stage! At the Savannah Children's Theatre

Oliver!

Oliver!, the famous musical, which first hit the stage in 1960 and was made into an award-winning film in 1968, features the much-loved rousing songs Consider Yourself, Food Glorious Food and Oom Pah Pah.
Call 238-9015 or click on www.savannahchildrenstheatre.org for tickets!

The Savannah Children's Theatre will present Oliver! Jan. 18, 19, 25 and 26 and Feb. 1 at 8 p.m. and Jan. 19, 20, 26 and 27 and Feb. 2 at 3 p.m. at the Savannah Children's Theatre, 2160 E. Victory Dr.

Tickets are $15 to $20. For information, visit www.savannahchildrenstheatre.org.

Wordsmiths?

Apparently each year for the last 33 years, a group of individuals at Lake Superior State University have created a list of words that should be banished from the English Language due to general misuse or overuse throughout the year. The list is released each New Year’s Day, based on nominations received through the University’s website.

This year's list is the result of more than 2,000 nominations which were then compiled and revised by these self appointed Word-watchers. I’ve taken the liberty to put them down for you because we all grow tired of certain phrases and words through out the year, and I thought you might like to add these to your banished list.

It really has nothing to do with a feeble attempt to divert your attention away from my missing resolution list. I plan to make one, I think, but It’s hard to author anything organic in such a random way stating where I will commit to give back or declare an i-goal without some sort of waterboarding first.
Ahem.
Here’s the list: What’s your addition?

PERFECT STORM – "Overused by the pundits on evening TV shows to mean just about any coincidence." – Lynn Allen, Warren, Michigan.
"I read that 'Ontario is a perfect storm,' in reference to a report on pollution levels in the Great Lakes. Ontario is the name of one of the lakes and a Canadian province. This guy would have me believe it's a hurricane. It's time for 'perfect storm' to get rained out." – Bob Smith, DeWitt, Michigan.

WEBINAR – "Yet another non-word trying to worm its way into the English language due to the Internet. It belongs in the same school of non-thought that brought us e-anything and i-anything." – Scott Lassiter, Houston, Texas.

WATERBOARDING – "Let's banish 'waterboarding' to the beach, where it belongs with boogie boards and surfboards." – Patrick K. Egan, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan

ORGANIC – Overused and misused to describe not only food, but computer products or human behavior, and often used when describing something as "natural," says Crystal Giordano of Brooklyn, New York. Another advertising gimmick to make things sound better than they really are, according to Rick DeVan of Willoughby, Ohio, who said he has heard claims such as "My business is organic," and computers having "organic software."
"Things have gone too far when they begin marketing T-shirts as organic." – Michelle Fitzpatrick, St. Petersburg, Florida.

WORDSMITH/WORDSMITHING – "I've never read anything created by a wordsmith - or via wordsmithing - that was pleasant to read." – Emily Kissane, St. Paul, Minnesota.

AUTHOR/AUTHORED – "In one of former TV commentator Edwin Newman's books, he wonders if it would be correct to say that someone 'paintered' a picture?" – Dorothy Betzweiser, Cincinnati, Ohio.

POST 9/11 – "'Our post-9/11 world,' is used now, and probably used more, than AD, BC, or Y2K, time references. You'd think the United States didn't have jet fighters, nuclear bombs, and secret agents, let alone electricity, 'pre-9/11.'" – Chazz Miner, Midland, Michigan.

SURGE – "'Surge' has become a reference to a military build-up. Give me the old days, when it referenced storms and electrical power." – Michael F. Raczko, Swanton, Ohio.
"Do I even have to say it? I can't be the first one to nominate it…put me in line. From Iraq to Wall Street to the weather forecast – 'surge' really ought to recede." – Mike Lara, Colorado.
"This word came out in the context of increasing the number of troops in Iraq. Can be used to explain the expansion of many things (I have a surge in my waist) and it's use will grow out of control…The new Chevy Surge, just experience the roominess!" – Eric McMillan, Mentor, Ohio.

GIVE BACK – "This oleaginous phrase is an emergency submission to the 2008 list. The notion has arisen that as one's life progresses, one accumulates a sort of deficit balance with society which must be neutralized by charitable works or financial outlays. Are one's daily transactions throughout life a form of theft?" – Richard Ong, Carthage, Missouri.
"Various media have been featuring a large number of people who 'just want to give back.' Give back to whom? For what?" – Curtis Cooper, Hazel Park, Michigan.

'BLANK' is the new 'BLANK' or 'X' is the new 'Y' – In spite of statements to the contrary, 'Cold is (NOT) the new hot,' nor is '70 the new 50.' The idea behind such comparisons was originally good, but we've all watched them spiral out of reasonable uses into ludicrous ones and it's now time to banish them from use. Or, to phrase it another way, 'Originally clever advertising is now the new absurdity!'" – Lawrence Mickel, Coventry, Connecticut.
"'Orange is the new black.' '50 is the new 30.' 'Chocolate is the new sex.' 'Sex is the new chocolate.' 'Fallacy is the new truth.' – Patrick Dillon, East Lansing, Michigan.

BLACK FRIDAY – "The day after Thanksgiving that retailers use to keep themselves out of the 'red' for the year. (And then followed by "Cyber-Monday.") This is counter to the start of the Great Depression's use of the term 'Black Tuesday,' which signaled the crash of the stock market that sent the economy into a tailspin. – Carl Marschner, Melvindale, Michigan.

BACK IN THE DAY – "Back in the day, we used 'back-in-the-day' to mean something really historical. Now you hear ridiculous statements such as 'Back in the day, people used Blackberries without Blue Tooth.'" – Liz Jameson, Tallahassee, Florida.
"This one might've already made the list back in the day, which was a Wednesday, I think." – Tim Bradley, Los Angeles, California.

RANDOM – Popular with teenagers in many places."Over-used and usually out of context, i.e. 'You are so random!' Really? Random is supposed to mean 'by chance.' So what I said was by chance, and not by choice?" – Gabriel Brandel, Farmington Hills, Michigan.
"Outrageous mis- and overuse, mostly by teenagers, i.e. 'This random guy, singing this random song…It was so random.' Grrrrr." – Leigh, Duncan, Galway, Ireland.
"Overuse on a massive scale by my fellow youth. Every event, activity and person can be 'sooo random' as of late. Banish it before I go vigilante." – Ben Martin, Adelaide, South Australia.

SWEET – "Too many sweets will make you sick. It became popular with the advent of the television show 'South Park' and by rights should have died of natural causes, but the term continues to cling to life. It is annoying when young children use it and have no idea why, but it really sounds stupid coming from the mouths of adults. Please kill this particular use of an otherwise fine word." – Wayne Braver, Manistique, Michigan
"Youth lingo overuse, similar to 'awesome.' I became sick of this one immediately." – Gordon Johnson, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

DECIMATE – Word-watchers have been calling for the annihilation of this one for several years.
"Used today in reference to widespread destruction or devastation. If you will not banish this word, I ask that its use be 'decimated' (reduced by one-tenth)." – Allan Dregseth, Fargo, North Dakota.
"I nominate 'decimate' as it applies to Man's and Nature's destructive fury and the outcome of sporting contests. Decimate simply means a 10% reduction – no more, no less. It may have derived notoriety because the ancient Romans used decimation as a technique for prisoner of war population reduction or an incentive for under-performing battle units. A group of 10 would be assembled and lots drawn. The nine losers would win and the winner would die at the hands of the losers – a variation on the instant lottery game. Perhaps 'creamed' or 'emulsified' should be substituted. – Mark Dobias, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.
"The word is so overused and misused, people use it when they should be saying 'annihilate.' It's so bad that now there are two definitions, the real one and the one that has taken over like a weed. – Dane, Flowery Branch, Georgia.

EMOTIONAL – "Reporters, short on vocabulary, often describe a scene as 'emotional.' Well sure, but which emotion? For a radio reporter to gravely announce, 'There was an emotional send off to Joe Blow' tells me nothing, other than the reporter perceived that the participants acted in an emotional way. For instance: I had an emotional day today. I started out feeling tired and a bit grumpy until I had my coffee. I was distraught over a cat killing a bird on the other side of the street. I was bemused by my reaction to the way nature works. I was intrigued this evening to add a word or two to your suggestions. I was happy to see the words that others had posted. Gosh, this has been an emotional day for me." – Brendan Kennedy, Quesnel, British Columbia, Canada.

POP – "On every single one of the 45,000 decorating shows on cable TV (of which I watch many) there is at LEAST one obligatory use of a phrase such as ... 'the addition of the red really makes it POP.' You know when it's coming ... you mouth it along with the decorator. There must be some other way of describing the addition of an interesting detail." – Barbara, Arlington, Texas.

IT IS WHAT IT IS – "This pointless phrase, uttered initially by athletes on the losing side of a contest, is making its way into general use. It accomplishes the dual feat of adding nothing to the conversation while also being phonetically and thematically redundant." – Jeffrey Skrenes, St. Paul, Minnesota.
"It means absolutely nothing and is mostly a cop out or a way to avoid answering a question in a way that might require genuine thought or insight. Listen to an interview with some coach or athlete in big-time sports and you'll inevitably hear it." – Doug Compo, Brimley, Michigan.

UNDER THE BUS – "For overuse. I frequently hear this in the cliché-filled sports world, where it's used to describe misplaced blame – i.e. 'After Sunday's loss, the fans threw T.O. under the bus." – Mark R. Hinkston, Racine, Wisconsin.
"Please, just 'blame' them." – Mike Lekan, Kettering, Ohio.

http://www.lssu.edu/banished/submit_word.php.

Plenty of Work for the Weary...

For someone with no official job at the moment, I'm still staying busy and trying to do so with a positive attitude. I won't lie to you, I've had my moments where I thought a meltdown was in my near future, but those moments have been minimal at best.

Good things are happening. Oliver rehearsals are in full swing and I'm enjoying the production so far. I'm curious as to what one of my costumes will be as the part in question is for a "working woman" of the shall we say, less respectable sort. I may have to show an ankle or too.

We've also been doing some interior modifications inside the theatre to improve the box office and concessions booths. This involves a great deal of painting which is not my most favorite thing but nevertheless, a necessary evil.

I've been able to focus a lot of time on the window displays. I've drawn, cut, painted and glittered to my hearts content, and my work space looks as though a wild band of rainbow fairies came by to throw up all over the floor. If it sparkles it pleases I say!

Here's some shots of the completed windows before I head off to bed. Sleep well...

Pictures worth a thousand words

I know I haven't made an appearance on the blog scene in quite some time now, but there's reasons for everything. As the old saying goes...."sometimes, life throws you a curve ball" and apparently it was my time at bat.

A lot has happened in the last month and writing has been ever so regretfully, pushed to the back of the shelf next to my sketch pad and the dust bunnies. I imagine I'll pick it back up again in the future, but for today I'll just catch you up on a few things.

First, I was laid off after 7 years at my now defunct career.
This was both a blessing and an ulcer inducing event because while I was very good at my job and earned a substantial income, I was indeed, very sick of the business.

Perpetually seeking the lesson in all things, I try to focus on the fact that sometimes we just need a catalyst to propel us toward new ventures and risks. I try to see this layoff as my catalyst, and am seeking a completely new career path even though at my age that can be kind of tricky.

You might remember that my friend and I have been doing event planning on the side for a couple of years? Well, I thought this would be the best time to jump into the event planning business full time, and have actively been searching for the right property to build a facility. (If not now, when right)? It's scary quite frankly, and won't happen over night even if we do find land feasible enough for construction so in the meantime, I still need employment. As it turns out, I'm rather fond of electricity, water and the like and bill collectors seldom take kindly to those who don't pay at the end of the month.

Go figure.

Aside from unemployment, job hunting, and eating antacids in massive quantities, I'm still staying busy.

Secondly, we finished a big fundraising masquerade ball for the Theatre. It took us two days to set up the decor, a black, purple and white affair complete with a tarot card reader, a fortune teller, (both actors) a 15 piece band, and live auction deals. Everyone dressed in masquerade style, danced, drank martini's at the martini bar and when it was all said and done, the Theatre grossed about 20 grand. I believe they were pleased.

Next, I turned 30.
Again.
oh Shut up.

Let's see....what else have I been doing between loads of laundry and other regular Mommie stuff?

I finished some more sketches.

and did some scrapbooking.

Remember Cochise, the horse in Costa Rica? That's him in the picture...the white, hairless bastard.

I bartered a couple of manicures from my manicurist in exchange for my wallpaper services, cause I'm broke, er uh, thrifty like that.

I Auditioned for the next main stage production at the Theatre which happens to be Oliver.
(Auditioning is kind of like those dreams you have, where you're standing naked in front of people and can't seem to find a wall to hide behind). It's both embarrassing and exhilarating at the same time, only in an audition you're on stage with a couple of people evaluating your nakedness from behind a clipboard. I was selected for a few minor numbers, singing and dancing in the background. It's just filler stuff, but should be fun regardless. Rehearsals start next week.

and Last but not least, I've been doing some production assistant work at the Civic Center for a show that's coming to town in a few weeks. It's an impressive Christmas show with an elaborate stage set, that's been interesting to watch as it comes together. I'll be posting some photos as we progress but won't name anything yet so as not to give any details of the show away to Google searchers.

So there you have it.

Thanks for stopping by to check on me.

Some Blogher News

You may or may not remember when I chained myself to that flagpole in hopes of gaining the attention of the Ellen Degeneres Show?

Yeah, well Ellen didn't even look my way, but I pouted for a month then got over it. Anyways...

the interesting news is that this year, Blogher is coming near me! The 2008 Blogher convention is taking to the road and will be in Atlanta during one of it's stops. You can read about the full schedule here on Elisa's Blog and for more details.

I think I'll go.

Wanna join me?