A Visit with My Sister and a Wedding

 My sister came for a whirlwind visit last weekend.  She got here Friday morning and went home Sunday morning.  We packed in the fun from beginning to end.  I met her at the airport with a Cherries Jubilee Mocha and took a bad picture of her.  Here's the thing--my sister never takes a bad picture and I never take a good one.  I had to post this bad picture of her to even out all of the good ones.  Hannah was gone from early Friday morning until Saturday night at the Florida Theatre Conference so she didn't get to join in on any of our fun.

 On Friday we walked around downtown and had pizza at our favorite local pizza joint.  It was a fun afternoon.  We came home and rested for a bit before heading to the theatre for Opening Night.

 Oh, and while I was resting Cheryl did some crafting and made these cool giant snowflakes out of popsicle sticks.  I'm supposed to paint them and hang them somewhere.  :0)

 Saturday morning we got a late start but once we started we didn't slow down.  We shopped at Target and at Grammy's favorite store and steamed my dress at the theatre.  Once we got home it was wedding time.  I was a bridesmaid in a friend's wedding that evening and Cheryl helped me get ready.  She painted my toenails and did my make-up.  I wore space leggings underneath my dress and they were fabulous.  I loved that I had something that made me feel comfortable and goofy under that fancy dress that so wasn't me.

I loved having my sis here to share in the fun of the weekend.  I think I might have collapsed into a big stress ball if she hadn't been here to help and keep me laughing.  Fun times!

A Christmas Story

 The play, "A Christmas Story," opened last weekend.  It has turned out to be a great show!  The cast has pulled it together so well and the audiences really seem to be enjoying the shows.  They had a show last night and will have 5 more in the next 4 days.  It will be a busy but fun weekend.  I don't have many pictures of the show yet but here are a few from last weekend.

 On Tuesday, Joe got to go with two other cast members and be interviewed for the Smith and Riley radio show.  It will be available as a podcast in the next day or so, I'll post the link here in case anyone wants to listen to it.  It's just a 13 minute conversation about the show.  Joe had a lot of fun and it was a neat experience.

Being a part of a Main Stage show has proven to be a lot of work, pretty stressful, but tons of fun!  I'll be posting more pictures soon!

Life the Way My Phone Sees It

 Between my three kids we are working on 4 shows.  Only Hannah is in Suessical and only Grace and Joe are in A Christmas Story but Hannah is working backstage for A Christmas Story.  This will be an unforgettable couple of months and might also be considered fun once all is said and done.  :0)

 I got my hair cut, I colored it, and I straightened it and tried to take a selfie.  I failed.

 Above is from last week on the set of A Christmas Story.  I love all the kids in this show, very unusual for our Main Stage.  Below are Jake and Joe running lines at the car wash Saturday morning before their rehearsal.  Then they held signs out at the road.

 I took a few of the girls over to a friend's house to wash her new camper that's going to be a glamper.

 Above is what I spent all of Saturday late afternoon and night doing.  It was wonderful.  I worked my puzzle and got caught up on Season 3 of Once Upon a Time and The Middle.  Now I need to get caught up on Raising Hope.  Below is a picture from Sunday.  We didn't have time to go home betweeen church and rehearsal so we picked up Subway sandwiches and hung out in the park for a half hour or so before they had to be at the theatre.  It was a beautiful day!

 My finished puzzle....Trees of North America.  This is truly therapy for me.  All of my thoughts go away while I'm doing a puzzle and all I think about is putting pieces together.  I really, really want to start another one but when I do a puzzle I don't get anything else done and I don't have time for that this week.

 I had the boys yesterday (like I do every Monday) and I took them to the park.  The weather was perfect and we had a wonderful time!

 I brought the boys to Ms. Amanda at the theatre and then stuck around for a while and tried to help with costumes for A Christmas Story.  Above is Joe putting together his big snow suit that he has to wear.  There was all sorts of costume issues and tech stuff to be worked out so the kids had some downtime.  I love these two pictures of Jake and Joe hanging out on stage.  Joe gets to spend a lot of time playing with that fire truck during one of the scenes.  He also spends about 15 minutes at the end of the show laying on the floor under the Christmas tree "asleep."  This scene comes at the very end of the show which will be about 10 pm each night and I won't be a bit surprised if he really does fall asleep.  Hopefully someone will wake him up when he's supposed to get up.

That's all I've got for today!  Peace out peeps!

It's a Post with Some Pictures

So, I haven't posted in over a week which is pretty unusual for me.  I have been busy, same old, same old, I won't bore anyone with the details.  Life is moving fast and furious and I'm determined to enjoy these next crazy 6 weeks or so.  I'm having trouble pulling my thoughts into any coherency so let's do this Daybook Style...

Outside my window...it's cloudy and COOL!  I am in a hoody and sweat pants and drinking hot coffee and loving it!
I am thinking....too much!!  Way too much.  Oh, my poor brain.  I am in constant thought about so many things but in the last few days I am thinking/worrying about all that has to happen rehearsal wise in "A Christmas Story," for the show to be ready.  This is so completely NOT MY ROCK since I'm not the director but I'm having a really hard time dropping it.  I have spent much time in prayer and remembering the verse that says, "cast all  your cares upon HIM."  I can do not one thing about it and I have been assured by the people who are carrying the rock that it's going fine and will be great!
From the kitchen....does anybody remember when I used to make a weekly meal plan and make and serve wonderful, healthy, delicious meals for my family?  I remember those days with fondness.  That is so not happening these days.  I am pretty much rotating the same meals--pasta, beans (refried pintos and black beans and rice), quiche, frozen pizza, and occasionally a roasted vegetable.  It's pretty sad but it's true.  Now that we have some cooler weather I can add soups to that list.  I'm making one of our favorites, Vegetarian Borscht, for dinner tomorrow.  I did a 2 day meal plan this week.  I know today and tomorrow.  I'll figure out the rest of the week later and go back to the store.  I'm so European.

 I am reading...it took me over two weeks but I finally finished The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith who is really J.K. Rowling.  I was unimpressed which is the main reason it took me over two weeks to finish it.  I don't enjoy her adult novels.  They are full of bad language and the story isn't gripping enough for me to read past the language.  I started her other one, The Casual Vacancy, this summer but didn't finish it.  I felt like I had to finish this one though because someone had loaned it to me and they were excited for me to read it and I'm a major people pleaser so I read it even though I didn't like it.  After I finished that I read, Island of the Blue Dolphins in a matter of a day or two.  I had to read that for book club, I had read it before but didn't remember it very well.  It was good, and a fast read.  My next book is The Middlesteins.  I know nothing about it except for what I read on the front flap.  It caught my eye at the library though and sounded like a simple, mindless read.  I'm all about those these days.  I have a stack of other books I'm looking forward to reading including a book all about Franklin Graham's Operation Christmas Child.  I'm a huge fan of that ministry and eager to read about it.

 In our homeschool...school is going well, the girls stay very busy with their workload but both are doing well.  My big struggle is remembering and taking the time to teach them their math lessons each day.  School with Joe is always a challenge but overall he's doing well.  Nothing terribly exciting, just plugging through.

 I am hearing...Joe's video game in the background, he just got the Lego Avengers game and he is all about it!  Also, Hannah is thinking aloud and telling me everything that goes through her head.  I finally just told her to be quiet!  I can't type and listen.  My kids do this all day....they tell me everything and talk to me throughout the day.  Often I think that they are blessed to have grown up with their mom around all the time, ready to listen and share their lives.  And other times I think...SHUT UP!!!!  Keep at least one thought to yourself!!  Try it, it's not so bad.  :0)

 A few plans for the rest of the week....lots of school and driving kids to rehearsal with book club thrown in and some babysitting, a car wash, and an evening out with Julie and Debi at a Life's Choices banquet on Friday.  This week's rehearsals include Annie, Jr. for all three, FTC (Florida Theatre Conference) for Hannah, Christmas Tour (Christmas songs and dances), and A Christmas Story for Grace and Joe (two extra nights for Joe).  See why I'm busy?  In between all of this taxiing I am hoping to do some cleaning since I have company coming next weekend and I have cobwebs on my walls and in the corners and mold growing in the sink (just keeping it real).

 One of my favorite things...the fruit and cheese box at Starbucks.  I am in love with this which is so not good for a number of reasons...it's expensive ($5...but healthier than a value meal at McD's which is also $5) and I have a sensitivity to dairy and need to limit it.  I do okay as long as the only dairy I consume is in my coffee.  If I have much more dairy than that then I have more joint pain than usual.  Anyway, want to hear what's in the cheese box?  A wedge of brie (yum!!), a slice of gouda, a slice of cheddar, apple slices, crackers (which I don't like), and an almond/craisin mix.  The whole box makes a great meal.  I have bought all of those ingredients to make my own homemade fruit/cheese box but I really do not need to be eating the cheese!  Anyway, I plan to use some sectioned storage containers to make lunches like this for Grace and Joe during their long rehearsals this weekend.  It's a healthy, protein packed meal.

 For Halloween...all of the pictures in this post are from Halloween.  We met up at a friend's house and ate and then trick-or-treated for 2 hours!  Longest trick or treat ever.  Kids had a ball though and it was a fun night.

 On my iPod...I am loving a worship music mix tape I made (I like to call playlists mix tapes like in the 80s).  My favorite two songs are by Jason Castro (Only a Mountain) and Kari Jobe (Joyfully).  I've also included some Go Fish VBS songs that are old hymns re-made.  They are great.  In the car with the kids we've been listening to Christmas songs as they rehearse for Christmas Tour and Christmas pageant.  I made a mix tape (CD and playlist) titled "Christmas Events 2013."  Joe has to sing two songs for Christmas tour, Hannah has one, and Grace has one and then we have 3 for Christmas pageant at church, and Grace has one for Christmas pageant.  Fun times!

I hope you all have a blessed day...I'm off to tutor some Algebra!  Great way to start the week!