Angela's Easy Tortilla Roll Pinwheels

Three containers (8 oz. size) Onion & Chive Cream Cheese
1/2 cup Ranch Dressing (approximate measurement)
1 cup Sour Cream (approximate measurement)
1 can chopped olives
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder (or minced, or chopped...must be the dried kind)
Parsley

Mix all above until creamy and spreadable.  Garlic, Onion, and Parsley are added to taste....no measurements.

Spread over burrito size tortillas at desired thickness.

Optional additions:
Thinly sliced turkey or ham
Shredded cheese
Shredded lettuce

Roll up the tortilla, careful to not push all ingredients out.  Make sure there is enough of the cream cheese mixture to seal the end.  Wrap in a piece of plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.  (Or for at LEAST 4 hours.)

When you are ready to serve, unwrap the plastic.  Slice the tortilla roll at desired thickness.  The ends will not be serve-able, so just eat them yourself.  They taste good!

Note:  The more additional ingredients you add, the more round your pinwheels will be.  If you just use the cream cheese spread, the pinwheels will be a little flat.  But still yummy!  Also, don't feel obligated to use just the ingredients I listed here.  I made up this specific recipe based on what I wanted to taste.

This is what they looked like the very first time that I made them:

A Ghost of Christmas Past

Interesting Dream, Good Advice

When I'm waiting for something to happen, it's not unlikely for me to dream about it.  Well, this happened last night.  I'm currently waiting anxiously to find out if I got cast in a show, so I had a really odd dream about a 7 hour call back that had nothing to do with the show.  But in the middle of it, they asked some of the "more experienced" actors to tell the younger actors what they had learned over the years.  This is what I said:

"It doesn't matter if you don't get cast.  It's not the end of the world.  You aren't going to die if you don't get this.  You may very well find that your next audition will be for an even better show.  Don't be surprised to hear yourself say 'I am so glad that I didn't get cast in , because is so much better and it's where I'm meant to be!"

That's good advice, if I do say so myself.  My subconscious seems to think so.  :)

The "Ways to End Shows Early" Game: December 2010 Edition

This is a game that we have played for years.  Being the musical theatre geeks that we are, this is the kind of thing that we do.  Stop shaking your head.  This is fun for us, okay?

It would take more brain power then I can handle at the moment to think of any of our previous examples, but I will try another day when I haven't been going crazy at work all day!

Anyway, here are the December 2010 additions to the list:

Nutcracker:  The Rat King Wins!!!


The Will Rogers Follies:  The first time Wiley Post says "Let's go flyin', Will!", Will says "Okay, let's go!"  And...scene.  (Confused?  Come see the show, now through January 16th at the Candlelight Dinner Playhouse!)

Hit me up on another day when my brain isn't fried and I'll tell you the other ones we've come up with over the years.

No Christmas Cards

I'm not sending Christmas Cards this year.  I thought about sending out a few, but I just haven't had the time.  Between 2 jobs, a show, and several holiday gigs, I have been crazy busy!!  Not to mention the fact that it's expensive and I am making less than I used to.  Christmas Cards just ain't happening this year!  I did do my year in review on this blog.  Check it out!!!

I hope everyone has a great Christmas and a fantastic New Year!

Thoughts on the movie "Fame".

The movie "Fame" (remake version) was good. But I take issue with the subtext that you have to be performing professionally to have any value as a performer. Not everyone can work on that level. Just because someone thinks you "don't have what it takes" doesn't mean you should throw yourself in front of a train. Move somewhere else where you can do what you love and be appreciated for it. Be happy with who you are, where you are. Don't give up the dream, but be realistic!

Angela's 2010 Year in Review!

It's time once again to wrap the entire year with one massively long blog.  Some years the letter is longer than others, and this is going to be one of years.  So much has gone on!  Hang on for the crazy ride that was 2010!

I started off the year in a production with Up in Lights Productions.  It was a 10th Anniversary benefit show called "Broadway Showstoppers" and it included songs from shows that have been on Broadway in the past 10 years.  It was HUGE!!!  I had a ton of fun with this one.  I played several different roles throughout the show.  First I was Abuela (the grandma) from In the Heights.  Then I was an Ozian in "Defying Gravity" from Wicked.  Then I played the title character in The Drowsy Chaperone.  I blew the roof off the Rialto when I sang "As We Stumble Along".  We also did the hilarious number "Aldolpho" from the same show.  Then I did a complete 180 degree turn and played Mary Poppins for the song "Supercalfragilicstiexpialidocious."  After that, I played the "Audition Panel" for "Electricity" from Billy Elliot and was a back up singer for "River of Dreams/Keepin' the Faith" from Movin' Out.  The entire show was a BLAST!  Crazy costume changes, four wigs, five pairs of shoes, millions of people backstage, and a lot of fun!!

"As We Stumble Along" from The Drowsy Chaperone

On April 1, 2010, I officially moved out of my parents' house.  I paid off my student loan in March and so I was basically debt free.  My brother Neal was going to be coming home from his mission and since my sister Shauna was taking up the extra bedroom for her office, I got voted out of the house.  I moved in with my cousin Melissa!

Two weeks after moving, I went on the trip of a lifetime!  My parents and I went to England to pick up Neal from his mission!  It was an amazing and incredibly fun two weeks!  I had never left the country before, so this was totally new for me.  We flew to Manchester, picked up Neal a day or so later, spent several days traveling to places he had been (and some places he hadn't been, but had heard about.)   Then we took the train to Scotland for a few days.  We went to Edinburgh and Inverness.  We took a boat tour of Loch Ness, but we never found Nessie.  Then we took the train back to Manchester and flew home.  I could go into so much detail here, but there is a video slide show, 3 scrapbooks (2 of Mom's, 1 of mine), and a trip journal that tell the whole story.  As well as a previous blog that summarizes the trip: http://tangents-by-angela.blogspot.com/2010/04/england-trip-blog.html

Taken at Edinburgh Castle

Once home, I settled back into real life (after not fully getting over the jet lag for about a week!)  I had auditioned for a show prior to leaving and I found out during my trip that I had not been cast.  It was going to be the first time in several years that I didn't have a show to do over the summer, so I joined the Loveland Concert Band for the summer.  I hadn't played with them in awhile, so it was nice to get my flute out and play!  The funniest thing of the summer with that was that the 4th of July concert got COMPLETELY rained out.  When it was time to head over to the park, the water was coming down in buckets.  The streets were flooding.  It was crazy!!!!  And I was supposed to play piccolo at that concert.  I had practiced and everything!!!  They couldn't even reschedule the concert.  Luckily, the City rescheduled the fireworks for the next day, so it was like the 4th of July lasted for 2 days!

In June I sang at a Loveland Opera Theatre fundraising concert.  We did songs from The Secret Garden, and I got to play Lily!  It was great to sing "Come to my Garden" and "How Could I Ever Know."  We even got ahold of the score so that we could do the Archie/Lily duet part at the end.  I love it when people say to me "I thought you were a mezzo!"  That stuff is really high and I love that I can sing it!!  (When my voice is healthy, that is.  And it really was that day!!!) 

In late June I was asked to take over a part in Up in Lights' production of 42nd Street.  (This was the show I had auditioned for earlier.)  I agreed and with just 3 weeks until opening, I took the role of Mac the Stage Manager.  I was still able to do all of my band concerts.  And I didn't even memorize all of my lines.  My character was always carrying a clipboard, so I just typed up all my lines and put them on there.  Sneaky, but effective!  I had a lot of fun with my Up in Lights family.

Mac in 42nd Street

Another fun project this summer was a show/reader's theatre piece called "The 10 Virgins" that we did at church.  It involved 10 different girls playing each virgin.  I was the director and the narrator.  We were able to perform it twice and we had a lot of fun putting it together.  It's a fabulous piece.

Around the time 42nd Street closed, I lost my job at Falcon Properties, Inc.  The owner sold the company to another property management company and I was not part of the deal.  I was burnt out on property management anyway, so I took this as my push to find another career.  I bumped up my hours with Loveland Opera Theatre and started looking for another job.

The first weekend in August, Shauna and I made a trip to Yellowstone!  Our dear friend Katrina was in a production of Quilters in Cody, WY, which is about 20 miles from Yellowstone.  We had never been there, so we drove up on Friday and camped, spent Saturday in the park, watched our tent almost blow away in a late afternoon wind/rain storm, saw the show in Cody, slept in the back of the Jeep in a hotel parking lot, and drove home on Sunday.  It was a great weekend!!

Old Faithful

Once back at home, it was time to find a new job.  I sent my resume out to a ton of places, but didn't get any bites.  I filed for unemployment and got one payment from them before I was hired in the box office at the Candlelight Dinner Playhouse.  It's part time and my job with Loveland Opera Theatre is part time...and together they don't equal full time, but I'm making ends meet for the moment.  It's fun to be working solely in the arts, but that's why I have no money.  Oh, well...  At least I'm getting more sleep, right?

Over Labor Day weekend, we got a cabin up at Hermit Park for the entire weekend.  It was so much fun to be up there, away from everything.  I only turned my phone on when we went down into Estes Park, and I kept the internet connection off.  It was great!  Everyone was up there for at least part of the weekend, but I was up there the entire time!  It was FANTASTIC!!!!!!

My next performance was in the Loveland Opera Theatre Gala in early October.  We had 5 guest artists this year, but we did the Act 2 Party Scene from Die Fledermaus for the 2nd half.  It's tradition to have some guest soloists sing something totally opposite of the opera during this scene.  I was one of these guest soloists this time, and I sang "The Alto's Lament."  It was a ton of fun and the audience loved it!

My last show of the year, which will also be my first show of 2011, was A Grand Night for Singing at the Jesters Dinner Theatre in Longmont.  It's a Rodgers and Hammerstein Revue.  It's originally written for 3 women and 2 men, but we are doing it with 10 women and 3 men.  I get to sing "I Cain't Say No" from Oklahoma, "When the Children Are Asleep" from Carousel, and "Something Wonderful" from The King and I.  I also sing in a fun Andrews Sisters-type version of "I'm Gonna Wash That Man..." from South Pacific.  There are so other cool group numbers as well.  We are taking a break for 2 weeks in December while they do Scrooge, and then the show closes on January 23rd.

"I Cain't Say No" in A Grand Night for Singing

I've had a lot of fun this year.  I've done some really cool stuff.  So many blessings that I can't even count them!  Life is good!

Golden Globe Nominations: Instant Reactions

I have been so busy that I didn't even know that the Golden Globe Nominations were being announced today!!!  I'm usually much more on top of this.  Well, here are my instant reactions as I read the nominations:

Cecil B. DeMille Award to Robert DeNiro?  Cool!!

Best Motion Picture Drama...haven't seen any of them.  Haven't seen any of the actors or actresses nominated for Drama.

Best Motion Picture Comedy or Musical:  I've only seen Alice in Wonderland.  (Only nominated actor or actress I've seen was Johnny Depp in that same movie!)

Haven't seen any of the supporting actor/actress either.  Wow....I'm not doing so well!!!!

Best Animated Feature:  Tangled and Toy Story 3!!!  Both WONDERFUL!!!!!!!!!  I haven't seen Despicable Me or How to Train Your Dragon, but they are on my list.

Best Original Song:  "I See the Light" from Tangled is great!!!

Okay, moving on to Television.  I hope I can do better with this list!!!!!!

Well, I don't watch any of the nominated dramas...

But yay for Glee!!!!  Nominated for Best Comedy!  Lea Michele, Jane Lynch, Chris Colfer,  and Matthew Morrison, too!!  Yay!!

Steve Carell for best Actor in a comedy for The Office!!  Yay!!

Best Miniseries or Made for Television movie:  Temple Grandin!!!!!  (This movie is amazing!!!)

Oy!  I don't think I could choose between Claire Danes for Temple Grandin and Romola Garai for Emma!!!

Well, I fail at keeping up on movies this year, but I have been super busy.  That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!!!!!!

Adventures in Theatre: Near Epic Fail with a Memory Trick

A well-known memory trick for singers:  Think of the next line you're supposed to be singing while you are singing the previous line.  It's a great way to stay one step ahead and not run the risk of forgetting the words.

Well, I do this with "Something Wonderful" from The King and I, which is my 11 o'clock number in A Grand Night for Singing.  However, last night I almost had an epic fail right from the get go.

The first line is:  "This is a man who thinks with his heart, his heart is not always wise."  While was singing the first part of that, I was thinking of the next line, "This is a man who stumbles and falls, but this is a man who tries."  Well, something got switched in my brain and I fumbled a bit on "...his heart is not always wise", because my brain told me to sing something about stumbling.  I knew I was supposed to sing about stumbling yet, so I kind of fumbled for a second and then sang the correct thing.  It was literally a split second, which as many actors know, feels like 10 minutes of stage time.  But I got back on, concentrated a little harder and made it through the song.

That is the first time this has happened to me on this song!  Yikes!!!  I've messed up words before in other songs, other shows, but it wasn't as obvious a mistake as that one.  And I'm sure the audience didn't notice, but I NOTICED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Yeesh.

Book Review: "The Legend of Shannonderry" by Carol Warburton

Set against the backdrop of early 19th Century, "The Legend of Shannonderry" tells the story of Gwyneth Beddoes.  Her Irish mother died in childbirth and she was a raised by a distant English father.  When her dying grandmother in Ireland writes to invite her to the family's ancestral estate, Gwyneth runs away with her spirited stallion to Shannonderry in County Cork.  She is helped by the dashing Cormac D'Arcy, her grandmother's neighbor, with whom she quickly falls in love with.  Once her Ireland, she quickly learns that the Irish really don't think much of the English and faces animosity from many sources, even though she is half Irish.

Romance, action, and the legend of the ancestor she was named after...all woven into a exciting page turner.  Carol Warburton has written another wonderful story with a little something for everyone!

Oblivious vs. Not Observant: You Be the Judge

I got a new shirt recently and I wore it for the first time last Saturday.  I wore it all day.  I never cut the tag out.  It was hanging down my back all day.  I didn't realize this until this morning when I went to put it in the washer and the tag revealed itself.  HOW DID I NOT NOTICE THAT I HAD A LARGE TAG HANGING DOWN MY BACK ALL DAY?!?!

I need to be more observant.  Or possibly less oblivious.  Weird.

Reaching my Crazy Quota

I've talked to some crazy people over the years.  There are some folks out there that shouldn't be allowed to use the phone, let alone leave the house.  But today quite possibly may have topped them all.

We pulled a phone message off the Will Call phone voice mail from a lady who said she'd been calling and calling during normal business hours and not getting through.  (Which is so weird....)  So I called her back.  First, she insisted that she had called the correct number a bunch of times and had never gotten through.  I tried to figure that out, but she finally just moved on. 

She wanted tickets for tonight's show and she specifically request E8  (5th row, on the side).  When I told her it was already booked, she wanted to know if the person had specifically requested that table or if they had just been put there.  I told her that I had no way of know that, as the reservation had been made almost a month ago.  She wanted to me move them, because she HAD to have that table.  It was the only table that her husband wanted.  I told her that I could not do that.  Then she wanted me to call the people and see if they would move and again, I told her that I could not do that.  I said that we could look at other dates to see if E8 was available then, but she said no, that her husband wanted to come tonight.  I told her again which other tables we had available and she proceeded to inform me that they would take another table but that her husband would be persuading the people at E8 to move so that they could have the table.  I was so shocked and baffled at this point that I really didn't know what to say.  I told her that he could try, but I doubt it would happen.  She told me that her husband was very persuasive and that it would work.

By now, I was thoroughly annoyed with this woman.  I just wanted her off the phone and out of my life.  (The first call of the day often sets the tone for the remainder of the day, so you can just imagine how my day went.)  So, I booked her a table far away from E8 and she then told me that she had tickets.  I asked her if they were season tickets and she said no, that they had been given to them the last time they came by a manager because their table had been given away.  (WHAT?!  I don't think so....)  But I was sick and tired of this woman and just wanted the call to END, so I just said "Okay" and finally got her off the phone.

Here's the kicker...you'd think that this lady would have been snippy and rude, but she wasn't.  She was extremely calm.  Very passive-aggressive.  Like I'm going to be afraid of her husband just because he HAS TO HAVE E8.  Psssssh....

So I spent the day retelling the story, making sure that everyone who was working tonight was aware of the potentially hostile situation.  We had contingency plans!  (I suggested that if the guy got violent, they should banish them to the balcony with no dinner.)  And then what happens?  She calls back after 4 pm and reschedules for tomorrow night.  Seriously, lady?!  And she again asked for E8, which, of course, is booked for tomorrow night.  When I told her that, and told her what I had, she was very nice and just said to put them at the best possible seat.  SHEESH!!!!!!!!!

So now they're coming tomorrow and everyone is still forewarned.  I don't know if they'll cause a scene, but I guess we'll find out.  I am eager to hear of the outcome.

Oh, and here's the funny part.  I looked up their history on the computer.  They had only been their once before under their name, using gift tickets...and they weren't at E8.  They have a relative who has been there a lot...never at E8.  I can't figure out the fixation with that table, other than it's sort of close to the restroom with a minimal amount of stairs.  So weird!!!!!

So yes, I definitely reached my Crazy Quota today.  I hope tomorrow isn't this nuts, especially since I will be alone on the phones for most of the afternoon.  Please order your tickets online.  Thanks.

Something Funny This Way Comes

Last year for Christmas, I did the "12 Absurd Days of Christmas" here on the blog.  I also shared the "Christmas Letters of Yore".  I'm trying to think of something funny and creative to do this year.  Now taking suggestions!

I was going to make a list of possibilities here, but I'm seriously drawing a blank.  Can't think of ANYTHING!!!  So I need your help!!!  HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Mandy Patinkin Conundrum

In my brain, Mandy Patinkin = Inigo Archibald Georges Jason Gideon Seurat Craven Montoya.  His father was killed by a falling branch of a tree and he solved the crime by profiling the tree...and then he painted the tree using pointillism.

Weird.

Beware of Charging George

Last night, Craig and I sang a duet in our voice studio's recital.  We were about halfway through the song when I looked up and saw George heading up the aisle towards us.  He was being chased by Shauna.  She grabbed him, he started crying, and she hauled him out of the room.  Craig and I both managed to keep singing while we were laughing.  There is nothing cuter than an almost 2 year old on a mission to get to his Daddy!

The other side of the story was that George figured out that his Daddy was singing and crawled under Shauna's legs before anyone realized what he was doing.  Shauna had been holding Rebekah, and she had to literally throw her at Neal & Amanda in order to go after George.  Poor Becky!

I only wish Robin could have gotten all of THAT on video.

My Harry Potter Adventure

I've never been one to get overly excited about midnight showings of movies.  I could always be patient and see the movie during normal daytime hours.  But this is the last Harry Potter movie!  (Well...the next to last, anyway.)  This called for some Super Geekdom!  Plus I didn't have to work early the next morning, so I figured I'd give it a go.

My job was to save a place in line for 3 other people who were working late.  I discovered that some friends of mine were in line early, so I headed out to the theater about 9:30 pm.  It wasn't too cold, which was nice.  It was fun to hang out with some of my high schooler friends and help them rehearse for their pending "Anything Goes" auditions.  I was shocked when they started herding people inside at about 10:30 pm.  Just as the line starting moving, I got a call from my cousin saying that he wouldn't be able to make it after all.  (Long story...sick kiddo...)  As I was being herded inside, I called my mom regarding the extra ticket.  She decided that she'd just pay my brother for the ticket and just not use it.  (That's all part of that aforementioned long story.)

So, I end up in the first theater they were filling up and the rest of my party was still 15 to 20 minutes away from arriving.  They REALLY frown on seat saving on nights like this, so I had no idea what to do.  After a frantic call to my sister and a conversation with a theater employee who grew up down the street from me, I opted to wait in the lobby until everyone else arrived and then we'd find a theater.  (They were showing the movie on several screens.)

Everyone arrived about 15 minutes later and we found a theater with open seats.  We ended up having to sit a little bit closer than I normally prefer, but it wasn't too bad.  It was now an hour and fifteen minutes until the movie began.  We had time to kill!  And when they started playing the pre-movie stuff on the screen it was on a very short loop, so we had to see the same trivia over and over and over again.  "YOGI BEAR!!"

FINALLY the movie began.  AND IT WAS GREAT!!!!!  My only complaint was that the camera was a little shaky at times.  I don't know if they was a directorial choice, but it was a little weird.  Other than that, GREAT MOVIE!  When it was over...GAH!  We have to wait until July now!  (I've read the books, it's not like I don't know what happens, but STILL!!!)

I got home at 2:45 am.  4 hours past my bedtime.  But it was TOTALLY WORTH IT!!!!  It was a fun evening and I'm glad I went, even though I am super tired today!!!

And special mention must be made of the great staff at the Metrolux 14 movie theater.  They handled the crowd wonderfully, were very organized, and very professional!  Good job, team!

Adventures in Theatre: What's Going Through My Mind

Ever wonder what is going through an actor's mind as they walk on stage?  Sometimes it's their lines, sometimes it's their blocking.  Sometimes it's what they are going to do after the show.  Well, I'll tell you what went through my mind last night as I walked onstage for my last big number of the show ("Something Wonderful" from The King and I):

"Wow, all of these people are going to watch me and pay attention while I'm singing.  I hope I don't screw up."

There you have it:  we're all just worried about screwing up.  Well, maybe that's just me.

Adventures in Theatre: Covering a Role with No Rehearsal

I am currently in a production of A Grand Night for Singing at the Jesters Dinner Theatre.  We opened last Saturday.  The Tuesday prior to that I was asked to cover another role at one performance a week after opening.  Since the show is all music and limited dialogue, I agreed.

First you have to understand that the show is written to be performed by 3 women and 2 men.  We have expanded that to 10 women and 3 men, and all the women are double cast.  The show is a Rodgers and Hammerstein review and is literally one song after another.  I was not feeling totally comfortable with my own role yet, but I felt that I could probably handle the other role.  I would have no rehearsal, but I would be able to watch at least once.  Well, it didn't turn out quite like that.

We were supposed to open on Friday, but we canceled that night and had rehearsal.  We ran through the show twice.  On the first run through, I played my regular role.  I was about halfway through the 2nd act when my double got sick and went home.  So I did the 2nd run through as well (meaning, I couldn't watch the other role.)  She was sick on Saturday as well, so I ended up doing both performances that weekend. 

I had been trying to figure out what to do to learn the part.  Should I try to learn it while still working on my own part?  I ended up focusing on my own role for the weekend.  Then after the show, I had one of the girls show me just what I would need to do.  I wrote some of it down, but not all.  I spent the week singing through the new songs.  One thing that was freaking me out was that I would have to sing the alto line for a trio that I was usually singing 2nd soprano in.  But I practiced it and I could at least sing SOMETHING that was in the chord (whether it was correct or not!).  The one solo I had to sing, I would be holding a baby.  So I copied the music down to a small piece of paper and hid it on the baby. I knew the song, but not enough to feel comfortable winging it.  (I was raised on R&H, but this was from a show that I didn't know before!)

I was in panic mode all week, trying to sing through the songs and remember the choreography.  Finally, Friday arrived.   (I had a hard time going to sleep on Thursday night.  Thank heavens for Tylenol PM!!)

It was go time.  I had my binder with the music and I just had to take it one song at a time!  Luckily, some of the other people knew where I needed to be.  They were very helpful!!!  But once I got out on stage, I sometimes had no idea where I needed to stand.  So I just picked a spot that looked open and went with it.  This is what I pretty much did for the rest of the show.  I survived the duet, only doing about half the choreography, but letting my acting skills carry me through.  The trio was...interesting.  I sang the wrong part a couple of times, but I guess it sounded okay.  The solo was great, except that I had to turn the paper over and I don't think I was very surreptitious about it.  Oh, well.  Finally the end of the show came and I was still alive!!  I had survived!!!  It was a high stress, high adrenaline show for me...but I made it through!

And now I have to do my regular role tonight.  Good thing I have a 40 minutes drive to the theater and I can sing along with the CD!!

Theatre....always keeping me on my toes!  That's one reason I love it so much!

An Argument Against Unisex Names for Kids

I don't mean to offend anyone who has a unisex name or have given their child a unisex name.  But I just have to share what just happened, which is an example of a consequence you may not have realized:

I am at work and I just got a call from a child wanting to audition for our next show.  My audition form asks for their age as well as their gender.  Normally, I have the parents calling.  They say "I'd like to set up an audition time for my son/daughter".  That makes it easy.  But this kid that called right now was named Billy (Billie?) and was 13.  I honestly could not tell if this kid was a boy or a girl.  And I didn't really want to ask.  How rude would that be?  "Billy, are you a boy or a girl?"  Nooooooo....so not gonna ask that.  Could have been Billy and his voice hasn't changed yet.  Or could have been Billie, short for Belinda?  I don't know.  So I just left that column blank.  No harm, no foul.

So, before you name your son or daughter with a name that could go either way...think of me talking to them 13 years down the road and not knowing what to put down in the "Gender" column and being too nice to ask.

Please don't be offended, especially you...Billy....Billie....Billi?

My Performance Dates for "A Grand Night for Singing"

I'm sure you've all been waiting for this information.  Well, here you go:

November 5, 7, 13, 20, 21, 27
December 3, 5, 11
January 7, 9, 15, 21, 23

I will also be in the show on November 12, however I will be covering another role and will not be singing my regular songs.  (And I'll be singing a completely different part on a trio I normally sing, so that should be...interesting.)

The schedule may change slightly, so it's always a good idea to check with me before you come.


Other important information:
Jesters Dinner Theatre
(303)682-9980 for reservations

Pricing:
Dinner/Show:  Adults: $32,Students/Seniors (60+): $30, Children (12 and under): $23
Show only:  Adults: $20, Students/Seniors (60+): $18, Children (12 and under): $15

Please let me know if you have any questions!  I hope to see your smiling face in the audience!

A Year in My Life Blog

Sometimes I have these really great ideas.  Most of the time I don't follow through. I just had this great idea and I hope that I will follow through.

I have created a separate blog called "A Year in My Life".  My plan is to write something every day.  Or at least have every day represented.  I'll still blog here, but I wanted to separate the other blog.

I will start on January 1st.  It will seriously be a year in my life.  I've seen some people that do a "How do you Measure a Year" project, and I think this will be similar.  I really hope that I follow through.  I've gotten really bad about writing in my actual, physical journal.  I really hope that blogs last forever.  I do much better about blogging than writing in my journal.

If you want to follow my "A Year in My Life" blog, it's http://mylifein2011.blogspot.com
Don't look for any posts for awhile.  I'm going to take my time getting the layout done and then I'll start blogging on January 1st. 

Ode to a Marching Band Geek

It's over so fast.  And then time flies.  Suddenly it's 15 years since you were drum major.  11 years since you performed your last marching show in college.  6 years since you watched your youngest sibling march in his last marching show in high school.  Where does the time go?

I look back on my years in marching band with fondness.  4 years in high school, 4 years in college.  Hours spent in rehearsal, hours spent on the bus, hours spent at football games.  Sunburns, blisters, sore muscles, sweat stains, grass stained shoes, three pairs of gloves to keep fingers warm, 3 layers of clothes under the wool uniform, numb lips, 9 minutes on the field, the cheers from the crowd, the music, the marching....it's all adds up to 8 wonderful marching season in my life.  It didn't always feel wonderful at the time, but looking back I wouldn't trade those Falls for anything!

To everyone currently in marching band, don't take one second of it for granted.  It will be over so quickly.  Live in the moment, soak it all in.  You won't be able to be in a marching band forever.  Some of you may work with marching bands, but you won't be able to be out there marching forever.  It ends.  Enjoy the time you have now.  Someday you will look back with wonder at that crazy time in your life, where you literally ran around a football field in scorching heat, wearing a wool uniform, while playing your instrument, aiming it in the direction of the press box, even though your body is moving a totally different direction.  People told you that you weren't an athlete and you laughed at them thinking, you do what I do and then tell me I'm not an athlete.  I've been there.  I've walked that walk.  I definitely marched in your shoes.  I wish I could do it again, but I physically can't.  (Not only am I out of shape, but I spent my senior marching season in college with intense knee pain that magically went away when marching season ended.  I don't want that pain coming back, thanks!) 

I still play my flute and piccolo and will forever, but I will never march again.  It's a time in my life that I will never be able to relive.  So please, enjoy the time that you have.  Drink in the experience.  It's going to be gone before you know it!

Political Ads in Real Life

I'm so sick of the political ads on TV, radio, and in the mail.  Can it PLEASE be November 2nd already?!  Seriously, it's out of control this year.  It's RIDICULOUS!!!!

But I had a funny thought today.  What if we starting acting like those politicians in our everyday lives?  What if we did random mud-slinging advertisements against people we competing against?

For example:  What if I was up against another person for a promotion at work and I started putting up signs where I knew the boss would see them that said "Mr. X steals people's food from the refrigerator in the break room.  Do you want a THIEF as your Project Manager?" or "Mr. X routinely parks in handicapped spaces in the parking lot.  He also runs down little old ladies on the cross walk.  Now he wants to bring this reckless behavior into our company's middle management.  Stop Mr. X NOW."

How stupid would that be?  And yet, it's okay for these politicians to sling worse (and often false or semi-false) accusations back and forth?  It's so lame.

I think I'm going to create a commercial the next time I'm up against someone in an audition:

"Remember when Ms. X played in last year?  She forgot her lines and routinely sang off key.  Her dancing was atrocious!  Is this the kinda of actress you want playing in ?  This ad has been paid for by the committee to cast Angela as ."

There would be some video and sounds clips, maybe a few picture interspersed that were clearly taken out of context.

I would NEVER get away with that!  So why is it okay for politicians to do it?!?!  WHAT THE HECK!!!???

It's that time of year again...

It's almost Election Day.  You know what that means!!  FREAKING ANNOYING TV ADS!!!!!

I'm getting so sick of every other commercial being one candidate slamming another candidate.  Can't anyone play nice anymore?!  (John Hickenlooper!!!  Kudos to Mayor Hickenlooper for running a clean campaign!)

But the rest of them?  SERIOUSLY, PEOPLE!!!  You make it really hard for me to know who to vote for.  I don't know who to believe.  And if you approving ads that slam your opponent, I don't want to vote for you, either!!!

Candidate A is pure evil.  He wants to kill Candidate B.  See what he has to say about killing Candidate B:  "Yes, we should do that."  Do you want a murderer in Congress?  The Committee to Annoy the Crap out of Voters approved the content of this advertisement.

There is an ad I keep hearing on the radio that makes me laugh.  I won't give any specifics, but suffice it to say, they list of two things that a particular third party supports and they are inferring that these things are bad.  I laugh when I hear it, because my reaction is "And what's so bad about that?"  It's just funny.

Is it November 3rd yet?  The ads will go away.  I CAN'T WAIT!!!!

Art Controversy leads to Opera Awareness

Without going into the details of the controversy, suffice it to say: there is a painting at the Loveland Museum and Gallery that is quite the stir. It's opening up a lot of debate here in town.  Based on what I have heard, I have no desire to go look at it. I wouldn't have gone even if I hadn't heard about the controversy, actually.  I'm not really an Art Gallery kind of girl.

But that's not why I'm writing this blog.  Something kind of funny has happened due to this whole thing with the museum.  There are literally hundreds of people at the City Council meeting tonight.  I was at the City Council meeting tonight to, at least at the beginning.  I was there because there was a proclamation read declaring the week of October 29 - November 7, 2010 as Opera Awareness Week in Loveland, in conjunction with National Opera Awareness Week.  There were a few of us there from Loveland Opera Theatre to accept the proclamation (most of which I wrote, by the way), and Juliana gave a short speech.  Then the mayor said a few things.  It was really cool.

But what's funny is that all of those hundreds of people there for the museum thing heard all of this!   They probably wouldn't have heard it otherwise.  They probably would never have known that Loveland Opera Theatre even existed.  I still have no desire to go to the museum and see that painting, but I'm thankful to the protester for inadvertently raising Opera Awareness in Loveland.

We didn't stick around after our part was done tonight.  I'll watch the news tonight and see if they say anything about Opera Awareness Week.  Something tells me they won't.  I just really hope it doesn't get out of hand at the meeting.  There are a lot of angry people in this town right now.

P.S.  Can I just say that it's a little surreal to have your former high school band director be the mayor of your town?  It's also a lot of fun!  I mean, how many people did the mayor wink at during the meeting tonight?  :)

My Vlog Debut

No, I don't have my own Vlog.  (That's a Video Blog, in case you were wondering.)  I might eventually, but for now my computer's internal microphone is not working very well.

Today, I paid a visit to my friend CJ's Vlog!  Check it out:



I had a blast and I will probably making more visits to The Charles Kelly Vlog!

Nothing broke...and nobody cried!

Today, I had a glimpse of what it's like to be a mom!  All of you moms out there will probably laugh at this, but I don't care.  What I did today was a first for me, and I'm so glad that we all survived!

I babysat Emily, Rebekah, and George today while Craig and Robin went to a funeral.  Since tomorrow is the Loveland Opera Theatre Gala, I had a ton to do at work this afternoon.  So, at noon I piled the kids in the car and headed for Loveland.

(I should point out right now that I have only once, that I recall, taken all 3 kids in the car somewhere.  We went to McDonalds once and we all survived that.)

Our first stop was my house to pick up my computer.  Got the kids out of the car.  They came inside to say hi to the birds.  George rearranged Melissa's candles on the coffee table.  Nothing broke.  Nobody cried.

Next we went to my boss's house so I could drop off one thing and pick up another thing.  I left the kids in the car with the door open because I was inside for literally one minute.  (Emily even commented that I was really fast.)  Nobody cried.

Off we went to Art of the Rockies to pick up easels.  This was the place I was most worried about.   There are SO MANY THINGS that could have gone wrong in there.  Luckily, we instituted a strict NO TOUCHIE policy right off.  And I carried George most of the time.  Emily and Bekah were very helpful with the carrying of the smaller easels!  And they also discovered the Thomas Kincade Disney Fine Art painting of Cinderella, so that basically trumped everything else in the store.  So nothing broke...and nobody cried!

We managed to get all the easels in the car without breaking any of them.  Emily had to crawl under some of them to get to her car seat.  (Yes, she could have gone in the other door, but she was already halfway there before I realized what she was doing!)  We then waited about 10 minutes to pull out onto Lincoln.  Special thanks to the guy who let me in.  Traffic was INSANE!!!  (The protesters at the museum half a block away weren't helping the traffic flow, by the way.)

We got to Mr. Neats (Yes, it's not Mr. Neats anymore, but that's what we still call it.  Does it have an official name from the City now?  I have no idea.)  We had to park down the street, so it was a little bit of a hassle to get all of the easels, all of the kids, and all of our other stuff into the building.  But we did it!  Thank heavens for the stroller.  Otherwise, George might have wandered off.  But nothing broke, nothing got lost, and nobody cried!

I got the kids settled in a back corner and they watched a movie on my computer.  The fruit snacks from Grandma were then passed out.  They had definitely earned them!!  Once they were set, I got to work.  They did okay.  I had to corral George a couple of times.  And we had one potty run.  But they did really well until Craig and Robin came!  Here's a picture of  my little helpers:

We all survived!  I'm so proud of the kids for being good and being good helpers!  It was a fun day!  And nothing broke.  And nobody cried!

Define "Eclectic"

I think that my Netflix queue displays an accurate definition of the word "eclectic", as pertaining to my taste in movies:

Just sent back: The Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy
Coming next:  Amelia
The rest of the queue:
Me and Orson Welles
The Secret Life of Bees
Kung Fu Panda
The Jane Austen Book Club
Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue
X-Men Origins:  Wolverine
The Boys are Back
Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Sherlock Holmes
Alice in Wonderland
Juno
Victoria and Albert
The Longshots
The Matchmaker
The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill...
Fame
Dreamgirls
Be Kind, Rewind
Autumn Hearts: A New Beginning
Vanity Fair
Jane Eyre
Hans Christian Andersen
Ghost Whisperer: Season 1
Yes Man
Avatar
Star Trek: Generations
A Room with a View
Adam
I am Legend
Glee:  Season 1
Rigoletto
The Cosby Show: Season 1
Return to Snowy River
Chicago
Memoirs of a Geisha
A Good Year
Fun with Dick and Jane (Original, not remake)
School of Life
Everybody's Fine
Grace is Gone
I Hate Valentines Day
Nadia
Princess Caraboo
That Thing You Do
Prelude to a Kiss
The Accidental Husband
La Vie en Rose
The Devil's Arithmetic
Martian Child
Ice Castles (Remake, not original)
Tuck Everlasting
Castle: Season 1
Castle: Season 2
Blast from the Past
Babies
All About Steve
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
The Derby Stallion
Riding in Cars with Boys
Extras: Season 1
Our Family Wedding
Mostly Martha
Picture This!
Creation
Iron Man 2

Yes, I have a bizarre and very ECLECTIC taste in movies.  At least, movies I get on Netflix.  I am much pickier about which ones I see in the theater.

From the "Weird Things I've Seen on the Road" File

Yes, I have seen the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile.  That is definitely in this file.

Anyway...

Twice this week I have seen a rather odd sight.  A car that had a set of longhorn steer horns on the hood.  And on the back...well...let's just say a replica of a bull's family jewels are dangling there.  Now some of you might be saying that it's not that unusual to see something like that in the West.  Really?  Well, what if I told you that this was not a truck, but a FORD FUSION.  Yes, that's right.  A new, silver, FORD FUSION.

Seriously, this is ridiculous.  If I see it again, I promised Neal that I would take pictures.  I almost took pictures the first time I saw it parked in the Kinkos parking lot, but the owner came outside right then.

Crazy!!!!

Quote of the Day

This was too funny to only relegate it to the Quote Goat:

Paying gigs are few and far between, but your friends only have one, sometimes two weddings max.

-Angela

The Pirate Names

Some names are the same, others have been changed.  But the insanity is real.

Flintlock Lynn = Amanda
The Warbling Wench = Angela
The Dread Brian Roberts, aka The Black Spott = Brian
Dirty Bart Forthright = Craig
Bella Donna = Donna
Marlinspike Brown = Ian
Calypso Mel = Melanie
The Scarlet Nightingale = Melissa
Skinny Bones Johnson = Neal
Old Man Randy = Randy
Gentle Robin Forthright = Robin
Shauna O'Malley, the Pirate Queen = Shauna
Stephy O'Brian, the Galley Wench = Steph

Aye, 'twere a grand International Talk Like a Pirate Day party indeed!

From the "Weird Dreams" File

I've been having some really bizarre dreams lately.  Here's my dream from the other night:

I was riding in an RV with Katherine Heigl and Snooki and we went to the beach.  Then The Situation showed up and we were talking about his chances on Dancing With the Stars.  I said that I don't watch the show for the celebrities, but only for the professionals.  (Which is true.)  At some point, Katherine Heigl became Carrie Underwood and we were talking about which style of marching band was better:  Drum Corps or B.O.A. (Bands of America).  And I was telling Katherine/Carrie where to go to get her oboe refurbished.  I was recommending my real-life band instrument repair friends.

Not really sure what that means.  Maybe it just means that I am strange.  Yes, I think that's it!

Thank you, Gmail

It seems only fitting that my e-mail account would be pillaged on International Talk Like a Pirate Day.  I was on my way home from church when my phone dinged that I had an e-mail.  I was super confused, because it was showing 14 returned e-mails.  What?!  I hadn't sent anything to anyone all day, let alone in the previous 10 minutes.  Turns out, someone hacked my account and sent spam to 14 of my top contacts.  But Gmail, being all big on crazy things like SECURITY, caught it!  They didn't allow the e-mails to send, so I got error messages for each one!  When I got home, I tried logging onto my e-mail and they had put a hold on my e-mail account until I got a verification code sent to me via text message.  Once I got logged on, I had to change my password.  Then later tonight, a thing popped up that showed me the recent activity on my account.  It said if this didn't look like my activity, I should change my password immediately.  Whoever it was that hacked my account is apparently in New Jersey, but it also said something about Korea.  What?!  Whatever.  I changed my password and I'm very grateful to Gmail for being on top of things, security-wise.  Gmail Security, I SALUTE YOU!!!

I still can't understand how anyone could have figured out my password.  It's ridiculous!  (Seriously, my password is a crazy combination of letters and numbers that I would think would be nearly impossible to figure out, but whatever.  I'm sure they have computer programs for that kind of thing.  Crazy, stupid people.  Get a life.  Seriously.)

The vlog that must be a blog, due to technical difficulties

My friend CJ has started doing a vlog.  (That's a video blog, in case you were wondering.)  You can watch it here:  http://www.youtube.com/user/seigejay722

Well, one that he posted was a 25 Questions thing.  I wanted to do a video response, since I have a webcam on my laptop.  However, the internal microphone is rubbish.  Picture's fine, but the sound is no bueno.

So, I'm responding via my blog, where sound is not necessary!

1.  Do you have any pets?
No, I do not personally have any pets, but I live with my cousin Melissa and she has 3 birds, plus 2 more at the moment that she is bird-sitting.

2.  Name three things in your general vicinity.
Scrapbooking supplies, a bottle of water, a package of DayQuil Sinex

3.  What's the weather like today?
It was cold and rainy today.  Kinda gloomy.  I think summer is leaving us!

4.  Do you drive, and if so, have you crashed?
I do drive.  I've been driving for quite awhile.  And I have been in some minor fender-benders, but nothing serious.  Knock on wood.

5.  What time did you wake up this morning?
I can't remember when I woke up, but I got up sometime after 8 or 9 am.

6.  When was the last time you showered?
This morning.

7.  What was the last movie you saw?
In the theater, I think it was "Ramona and Beezus" and at home on DVD, it was "Date Night."

8.  What does your last text message say?
My last incoming is from Richard Butler reminding me to come help clean the church.  The last outgoing was to my brother, telling him that I had just picked up a silent auction item that my sister in law was going to want to buy.

9.  What is your ringtone?
It depends on who is calling me.  If it's family, it's "American Dancing" from The Light in the Piazza.  If it's friends, it's the last part of the overture for "Titanic: the Musical".  If it's my boss, it's "Ride of the Valkyries."  If it's someone who shall remain nameless, it's the last part of the overture for "Mary Poppins."  And if it's someone who is not in my phone book, it's "The Coast of Calicia" from the latest Celtic Woman CD.

10.  Have you ever been to a different country?
Earlier this year I visited the United Kingdom for two weeks!  Specifically, England, Wales, and Scotland.

11.  Do you like sushi?
NO!!!  I don't even like fish when it's cooked.  Do you think I'm going to eat it raw?

12.  Where do you buy your groceries?
King Soopers in north Loveland.  Most of the time.

13.  Have you ever taken medication to make you fall asleep faster?
Tylenol PM and NyQuil.  Not at the same time, though.

14.  How many siblings do you have?
I have 2 brothers, 1 sister, and 1 sister-in-law

15.  Do you have a desktop or a laptop.
Laptop

16.  How old will you be on your next birthday?
Nunya.  As in nunya business.  It's not polite to ask a lady her age.

17.  Do you wear contacts or glasses?
(Here is where I wish I was doing a video.  I am currently wearing my glasses and I was going to say no, then adjust my glasses and say "Oh, wait....yes.")  Yes, I wear glasses, and sometimes I wear contacts.

18.  Do you color your hair?
Sure do!  I color it basically my natural color.  Why?  Because I'm too young to have gray hair, that's why!

19.  What are you planning on doing today?
Well, today is almost over.  In fact, I should already be in bed asleep.  So I'll tell you about tomorrow.  Church in the morning (it's Stake Conference!).  Tomorrow is International Talk Like a Pirate Day, so we will be partying in the afternoon and evening, of course.  I also will be going to callbacks for Bye Bye Birdie at the Candlelight!

20.  When was the last time you cried?
Not sure.  Probably the other night when I couldn't sleep.  (I have a raging sinus infection right now, and I was miserable a couple of nights ago.)

21.  What is your perfect pizza topping?
Meat!  I love ordering Pizza Hut's Meat Lover's Pizza.

22.  Do you prefer hamburgers or cheeseburgers?
Cheeseburgers, definitely!!

23.  Have you ever had an all-nighter?
Yes, when I went to New York City a couple of years ago, we had to catch an early flight from LaGuardia, but we were staying on Staten Island.  We wanted to see one more show, so we got back to the house late and just packed up an left for Queens.  We got to the airport WAY too early, though.  But we pretty much stayed up all night!

24.  What is your eye color?
Blue!  Mostly...

25.  Can you taste the difference between Pepsi and Coke?
No, but I can tell the difference between Sprite and 7up.  Go me!

So there you have it.  This would have been much more fun to do via video.  Maybe I'll look into getting a good external microphone!

This survey is dedicated to CJ.

Reservoir Road Fire

There is a forest fire burning about 10 miles from my house.  I'm in no danger from the fire itself, but the smoke is causing my allergies and sinuses to go BEZONKERS!!!!

Here's a picture I took from my car yesterday at about 3:30 PM, at the intersection of Taft and 57th St.:

This afternoon, I couldn't really see any billowing smoke like this, but last night when I was driving home late I could see the glow from the flames.  That was kind of spooky!  Hopefully they will get the fire under control quickly and no more structures will be lost!  And then I can go outside and take my first deep breath since Labor Day.  (That's the day the Fourmile Canyon Fire started near Boulder, about 40 miles away!) 

I am so ready for the foothills to not be on fire.

Labor Day Weekend

Here are some pictures from our fun Labor Day Weekend in the mountains:

As you can see, the scenery was great, but the kids are ADORABLE!!!!!

Off to the Mountains

As Jane Austen once said, "What are men to rocks and mountains?"  (Mary Bennet said that in Pride and Prejudice.)

That being said, I am leaving for the entire Labor Day weekend and going to the mountains!  We have a cabin at Hermit Park.  It's going to be so nice to get away from town and just enjoy the beauty of nature!  And with Craig cooking, I'll be eating better than I do at home.

I'll be home on Tuesday morning, and I'll have lots of fun pictures to share!  I will not be checking my e-mail, logging onto Facebook, or Tweeting the entire weekend, even when we go down into Estes Park.  I won't be totally technology free, because I am bringing my iPod.  I can't go tune-free!

Have a jolly holiday weekend!

Dancing With the Stars: Instant Reactions

I'm watching the live "press conference" announcement of the new cast of Dancing With the Stars.  Here are my instant reactions to the new cast:

• Brandy - should be good!
• Jennifer Grey - Well, we know she can dance.  And nobody puts Baby in a corner.
• Margaret Cho - she's funny!
• Audrina Patridge - Well, at least it's not Heidi Montag.  I'd have to stop watching the show if it was.
• Florence Henderson - Love her! 
• Bristol Palin - ugh.  Please get kicked off first.

What?!  I have to wait to hear the guys?  NO FAIR!!!!  I really don't appreciate ABC forcing Bachelor Pad on me just so I can watch this announcement live.  I have so many other things I could be doing right now.  Okay, I really don't.  *sigh*

• Michael Bolton - Interesting.  I hope he doesn't sing opera again.  That was a bizarre experience I hope never to repeat.
• Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino - Oh, dear.  Why do I see this ending badly?
• David Hasselhoff - I have this feeling that Len is going to hassle the Hoff.
• Kurt Warner - Excellent!
• Kyle Massey - Cool!
• Rick Fox - Wasn't he married to someone famous?

Looks like it's going to be an interesting season!  I can't wait to see which Pros will be on this time around.  It's no secret that I like the Pros better than the Celebrities!

The Live Emmys Blog

Okay, it's not quite live.  We started watching at 7:30.  Thank heavens for DV-R!!!!

• OPENING NUMBER ROCKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• I ♥ Jimmy Fallon.
• The Year in Comedy?  Apparently, this year was only about half funny.  Hmmm...
• I hope I'm as awesome as Betty White when I'm 88.
• Hey!  It's the PC guy again!  He's funny!
• If Jane Lynch does not win Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy, then the terrorists have won.
• YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!  Jane wins!!!!!!
• Not liking Lauren Graham's dress.  It's...uh...not pretty?
• Yay for Ryan Murphy winning best director!!
• I don't watch Big Bang Theory, but I understand that the Emmy is long-deserved for Jim Parsons.  Steve Carell should win next year.
• Edie Falco says "What?  I won?"  I love genuine reactions of surprise as opposed to "Yes, I won.  You may worship me now."
• Kim Kardashian...please don't sing.  Thank you.
• The Amazing Race.  The best reality show.  Ever.  Is there a question?  And it didn't win this year?  What is this "Top Chef"?  I don't follow.
• Why why WHY?!?!  Why do the Emmys snub Bones?!  NOT COOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• Every time I see Christopher Meloni, I think of him as Bob the Gym Teacher in Runaway Bride.
• I just realized that they never explained why the big statue only had 4 toes on Lost.  Hmmm...
• Michael Emerson and Terry O'Quinn didn't win.  Boo.
• Matthew Fox didn't win either.  Sad day.
• Too bad Hugh Laurie didn't win.  He always has the funniest speeches!
• Is that a pink piano.  Holy crap!  Is that Jimmy dressed as Elton John?  Good heavens!
• Loved the tribute to shows that went away.  
• Jimmy's Report Card so far:  A
• I like Tina Fey's dress.  Can I get it in red?  For free?
• Oh, my gosh!!  Wouldn't it be sweet, sweet justice if Conan won tonight?!  LOL!
• Ahhhh...there's just something so awesome about the Tonys winning an Emmy.
• I ♥ Ricky Gervais.
• I don't like January Jones' dress.  The skirt is bizarre.
• I ♥ John Krasinski!
• Claire Danes doesn't really make a great blonde.  Either that or her spray tan is a little off.
• Wow!  Alexander Skarsgaard is TALL!!!!  
• Just added "Temple Grandin" to my Netflix queue.
• I thought Jack Kevorkian was in jail.  Guess not!
• I ♥ Tom Hanks!
• Here we go:  Outstanding Drama Series.  Deep breaths, deeeeeeeeeeep breaths.
• Schmeh.
• Outstanding Comedy Series.  Heeee heeee hoooooooooooooooooo....
• Schmeh again.  Well, at least Jane Lynch and Ryan Murphy won.
• Jimmy Fallon's Report Card:  A

Aaaaaaaand....that's a wrap!

Blessings

The Lord works in mysterious ways.  And often times we are blessed for exercising a little faith.

I paid tithing on my severance pay, even though it was a lot of money.  There was no question!  I had to pay it!  I now have another part time job, but I'm still working, in total, about half the amount of hours I used to.  This is going to mean about half the pay (I'm working about 3 times as much for LOT as I was before, but my new job pays less that my old job.  I haven't figured out what it works out to.  Too much math.)  Anyway, I've limited myself to the bare necessities, with a little splurge now and then (for special occasions.)  I made a baby shower gift from scratch instead of buying something they registered for.  I've really tried to cut corners.  And I'm putting a little too much on the credit card, but I'm getting better about that.

So where am I going with this?  Well...here's the blessing:

I got my credit card statement for the card that is connected directly with my bank accounts today.  I got a cash reward.  So basically, I have about $25 of free money on that card right now.  HOORAY!!!!  Thank you for the blessing!!!  I don't know how I'm going to spend it yet.  Probably on groceries.  But I might use it to get my hair cut.  (That's one thing I can't do without!!!)

Just one more reason to know that Heavenly Father is watching over me during my time of lessened employment!

Why I Love "The Office"

From the Season 4 episode, "Chair Model":

Michael:  You know I used to think that I had this perfect person out there waiting for me, but now I know that's just silly. Because she's dead. What do you do.

Dwight:  Wait 'till next year's chair catalog comes out and find someone who's still alive. Yeah.

Funny!  Random!!!  LOVE IT!!!

Defining "Necessity"

So, since I lost my full time job, I'm a little short on cash.  I got severance pay when I lost the job and that went right into the bank.  It was the equivalent of a month's salary.  So now I have to stretch that money out over who knows how long.  It's been 2 weeks and I don't have a new job yet.  I filed for unemployment, but if that goes through it won't come for awhile.

I now have to go beyond Want vs. Need and actually DEFINE "Necessity."

Normally, I have no issues paying a lot of money for theatre tickets.  I say that I'll go without eating for a couple of days because seeing live theatre is "research".  But now, I'd have to give up eating for a week.  Makes me stop and consider: "do I REALLY need to see this show?"

I bought a book today.  I may be able to give up eating for a couple of days, but I CAN'T give up reading.  Especially because I have all kinds of spare time at the moment.  I can only watch so much daytime TV.

I bought a package of scrapbook paper and two scrapbook albums.  I am in the middle of scrapbooking my England trip and have "42nd Street" and my Yellowstone trip still to go.  Necessity.

We've talked about going to Elitches this summer.  I'm going to have to pass.  Can't afford it.

New clothes?  I can wait.  I'm good for now.

Movies...well, that's tricky.  I'm keeping my Netflix subscription.  It's only $10 a month.  And I watch at least 2 a week.  I'm getting those DVDs for cheap, yo!  But in the theatre?  I'm missing a lot.  Some I won't miss, but I'm letting most pass for now and I'll catch them on DVD.

I have cut fast food out completely.  I'll go hungry and wait until I get home, if at all possible.

If I run out of cleaning supplies, I'll just go make them magically disappear from my parents' house.  HEY-OH!

Gas for the car = Need

Rent = Need

I'm thinking I'll cut out buying soap.  Just kidding!!!!!

GOOD THING I DIDN'T BUY A CAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  (Although, the dealership that I almost bought the Aveo from called me today.  I told him that my car hunting had come to a screeching halt when I lost my job.  He said he was sorry to hear about my job, but he wanted to be sure to let me know that I was still approved to buy a car.  SERIOUSLY?!  Dude, I am making a 4th of what I was making before.  I'm pretty sure I'm not approved to buy a car.)

Anything else that comes up, I'll just put it on my credit card.  Oy.  So much for that whole "debt-free" thing.  *sigh*

Ironic Twitter Feed Funnies

I've found there are some funny trends that happen on Twitter and Facebook.  Because I follow a lot of people, there sometimes tend to be the most interesting things that post right next to each other on the feeds.  Sometimes 4 people in a row will talk about the same thing!  Other times, like what is currently on my Twitter feed, you get stuff like this:

grantimahara:  Ever wonder what 5000 maggots look like? #fromset #Mythbusters http://twitpic.com/2edy20
(posted 20 minutes ago)


reba:  Going to get a bite to eat.  Talk to you all soon.
(posted 19 minutes ago)

I'm pretty sure that looking at the picture of 5000 maggots would not make me want to go out immediately and eat lunch.  I guess Reba isn't following Grant, or she wouldn't be racing out for lunch, either.

Okay, so maybe you had to be there.  But it was funny to me!

Critical Opinions

There is something that has been bugging me for a really long time.  I don't know why it's bothering me so much,  but it is.  I can't believe how extremely critical some people are.  Who made them the judge of the world?  It's one thing to share your opinion, but it's another thing to openly bash someone or something.

I try really hard to see the good in everything.  I also try to remember that there are things that I don't like that others do.  Do I openly tell them that what they like is wrong or bad?  No!  For this very reason, I rarely discuss political issues. 

But what's really been bugging me recently is people who are very vocal about not liking a certain book or a certain movie.  They make it clear in no uncertain terms that the book/movie/whatever is horrible and how in the world could ANYONE like them?  Well, gee, I'm sorry that you didn't enjoy it, but what gives you the right to be so judgmental?  Do you know how much your comments might hurt the people who like what it is you are criticizing?  ESPECIALLY if it's an unprovoked attack.  It's one thing to be asked "What did you think about [fill in the blank]" and to reply with your honest opinion of why you didn't like it.  It's another thing to just come out with "[Fill in the blank] totally sucked and is the worst [fill in the blank] ever."  I just want to say "Could you do better?"  Seriously, if you couldn't do a better job, then keep your mouth shut.  You are in no place to judge.  (I could write an entire blog about why I think theatre critics should have some theatre experience.  But that's a blog for another day.)

I'm not saying that you can't have your own opinion, but just be careful about what you say.  You never know who's feelings you might hurt because they really liked what you didn't like.  Saying mean and hateful things just makes you seem like a jerk.  If we all liked the same things, the world would be very boring.  It's what makes the world what it is that everyone likes different things.  But just be conscious of the people around you.  Be respectful of other people and their opinions.  And seriously...follow the advice of Thumper's dad:  If you can't say somethin' nice, don't say nothin' at all.

Yellowstone in a Day!

Here is the Trip Journal from our weekend trip to Yellowstone.  Original journal entries are in bold and added commentary is in italics.  Oh, and it is our tradition to include the song that was playing at the time, so we have a soundtrack for the trip.

Friday, August 6, 2010

12:12 pm  "Life is a Highway" Rascall Flatts
Depart from Craig and Robin's house

12:32 pm "Clocks" Red Hot Chilli Pipers
Welcome to Wyoming...Farewell to Trees

12:41 pm "Bad Romance"  Glee version
Now entering Cheyenne

1:15 pm "Just Let Me Cry" Hilary Weeks
Pit stop in Chugwater.  Strangely, it looks nothing like Austria
Explanation:  When LHS did "The Sound of Music" in 2002, we used a backdrop that we lovingly called "Chugwater".  The center was some mountains that looked like the Alps, but the sides had some sandstone cliffs.  We covered up the cliffs for purposes of the show, but the name stuck.

2:05 pm "My Immortal" Evanescense
Huge rainstorm in Glendo.  We can barely see!!!  It lasted about 5 minutes or so.

3:09 pm "I Dreamed a Dream" Susan Egan
Gas stop in Casper.  Driver Switch!

4:45 pm "Lessons Learned" Carrie Underwood
Stuck in one land only traffic, 95 degrees outside!

5:00 pm "My Life Would Suck Without You" Glee Version
Pit stop in Shoshoni, WY.  We have been told to get milkshakes.  We didn't get the specifics as to WHERE to get them, so we got ice cream bars at the gas station.  Almost the same, right?

5:14 pm "Beyond My Wildest Dreams" The Little Mermaid - Broadway
Entering Boysen State Park.  Pretty sure boysenberries won't grow here.  Also, don't drink the water in Bad Water Creek.

5:23 pm "We Will Rock You" Red Hot Chilli Pipers
Sign - "Slow Flagger Ahead"  Laughed long and hard over that one.  Especially when we saw the flagger.  Not to judge, but he did look a little slow.

7:04 pm "True Colors" Glee Version
Finally in Cody...now to hunt for food!

7:24 pm "I'll Walk"  Bucky Covington
Got our tickets for "Quilters", now the hunt for food.  Wendy's drive thru.  Original, I know.

8:18 pm  "You'll Be in My Heart" Tarzan - Broadway
Arrival at Rex Hale Campground.  We got the camp set up with no problems.  Enjoyed s'mores and hot chocolate and went to bed around 10 or 10:30 pm.

Saturday, August 7, 2010

7:10 am  "Get Out and Stay Out" 9 to 5: The Musical
On the road for Yellowstone.  First epic fail:  We were going to have cereal for breakfast and I brought a quart of milk, packed in the cooler.  The ice packs kept other things cool and not the milk.  Lame.

7:57 am "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" Glee Version (Matthew Morrison)
4-Wheeling by Yellowstone Lake!

8:22 am "Tell Her I Love Her" Urinetown
Mud Volcano The first of many really cool thermal features in Yellowstone!

8:45 am "Heaven Help my Heart" Chess
First sighting of a "Dude Animal"

8:50 am "Forget About the Boy" Thoroughly Modern Millie
BEAR!!

10:15 am "Shine Like the Sun" 9 to 5: The Musical
Angela almost dies coming up from the Lower Falls.  Okay, so I wouldn't have actually died, but it sure felt like it.  That was over 300 steps down to the falls.  Going down was no problem.  Coming up was another story.  We didn't have our water (we hadn't realized what the hike would be!) and I got a little bit of altitude sickness (which I have never gotten in my life!).  When I finally made it back to the car, I drank a Gatorade and ate some beef jerky and then I was fine.  Seriously, though, it's super easy to see the Upper Falls, but a chore to get to see the Lower Falls.

Upper Falls

Lower Falls

10:45 am "Suds in the Bucket" Sara Evans
Angela develops a testimony of Gatorade.

11:16 am "Feel it Comin' On" Sara Evans
Stuck in traffic - turned the car off and read the paper.

11:38 am "Honey Bun" South Pacific
Elk spotted! Big deal. We have those at home.

11:47 am "Find Your Grail" Spamalot
Entering Montana, just because we can.

11:49 am
Entering Wyoming. YESSSS!

12:20 pm "Rasputin" Barrage
Bear sighting. Mama Bear, Brother Bear, Sister Bear. They were up on a hill, across the river. There was a traffic jam, because everyone just stopped their cars and jumped out. The bears were going in and out of the trees, so it was hard to get a picture of them.

1:40 pm
Old Faithful erupts.  I was a little disappointed.  We waited for a long time for it to go off and then it was not nearly as exciting as they have built it up to be.  Seriously, it looks bigger on TV.  It was still pretty cool.  But it was really funny because another geyser went off about 200 yards away before Old Faithful, and it was taller!

Preshow Geyser (We aren't exactly sure which one it was!)

Old Faithful

2:35 pm "The Impossible Dream" Man of La Mancha
Leaving Old Faithful

2:40 pm "Dream a Little Dream" Glee Version
Sign: "Craig Pass - Drive Defensively" We find this sign oddly ironic.

4:23 pm "Temporary Home" Carrie Underwood
Goodbye, Yellowstone! We will be back, because we didn't see a moose.

4:32 pm "Black Roses Red" Alana Grace
MOOSE!!!!!!

5:03 pm "Bohemian Rhapsody" Glee Version
Epic Fail at the campsite:  Fought a rain/windstorm to break camp early.

 5:45 pm "Devil Went Down to Georgia" 
Back in Cody, organized car.  On the prowl for food.

We ate dinner at an Italian Restaurant, then walked around Cody a little bit.  It reminded me a lot of Estes Park, except the street was wider.  We then drove back up to the Buffalo Bill Cody Museum, where "Quilters" was playing.  The show was FANTASTIC!!!  We love this show to begin with, and this production was wonderful!  After the show, we went to the cast party for a little while with Katrina and then it was getting late and we needed to figure out exactly where we were going to sleep that night.

11:00 pm
Search for hotel = fail. Sleeping in the car in the AmericInn parking lot it is.

Sunday, August 8, 2010

5:30 am "Somebody to Love" Glee Version
Leaving Cody.  Stopped for gas and breakfast.  Angela asleep in back.

6:12 am "Saints and Angels" Sara Evans
Sunrise!

6:16 am "Watching You" Rodney Atkins
Pronghorn!

7:00 am "Running Horses" Barrage
Angela wakes up in Thermopolis.

8:38 am "Vincent (Starry, Starry Night)" Josh Groban
Waltman Rest Stop - Switch drivers.  Shauna is falling asleep.

9:25 am 
Casper - called home

10:10 am "The Lord Bless You and Keep You" John Rutter version
Ran out of songs on Shauna's iPod.  Switched to Angela's

11:27 am "Jesus Once of Humble Birth"
Took scenic route through Chugwater, looking for a gas station.  Such a cute little town.  We took the "Business Route" but there were no businesses.  Is this false advertising?  I think so.

12:16 pm "Man in the Sun" Kenneth Cope
Colorado Colorado once again!

12:22 pm "I am Another Witness" Steven Kapp Perry
Larimer County!!

12:39 pm "Teach Me to Walk in the Light"
Wellington!  We stopped at Craig and Robin's house to drop off the stuff we had borrowed.

1:22 pm "Though Deepening Trials"
HOME!!  Trip odometer reads:  1218.7 miles!