Random Thoughts

1. October is almost over.... so sad. I love October. The leaves changing are absolutely glorious...
2. The play is over. It was a great run. Lots of people had lots of laughter. I survived.
3. I'm spending the day with Christian tomorrow. We will carve a pumpkin.
4. I still miss our former pastor & Cindy.
5. Things are going well at church. The new pastor & his family are here. They are great people. Their kids have joined my choirs. Dawn is going to be a friend, I know.
6. Use your brain ~ vote McCain. Heard that at a rally last week. It stuck.
7. Meg was just here. Surprise visit. I love seeing her.
8. Cali loves Meg too. She plays with her.
9. I really need to make my Christmas cards. Dyan, Meg? Pick a day. Let's make cards!
10. This year, Thanksgiving will be at Dyan's, and Christmas will be at Meg's.
11. The Christmas Eve party will be at my house. Will anyone come?
12. I'm roped into hosting the dinner drama cast / crew party. My house. November 22nd. Lots and lots of people.
13. I need to send out e-invites for that party.
14. I'll make a huge pot of cheddar-corn chowder & a big pot of spiced cider. Everyone else can bring the other stuff.
15. I love working out with Shannon. But I only have 4 sessions left. Sad.
16. Money is tight, so I won't be purchasing any more sessions for a while.
17. I need to purchase our Cabo flight tickets.
18. Everything is all paid for and good to go for our cruise vacation in December.
19. Our new pastor uses the same benediction that Tim used. I always think of Tim when he says it.
20. I need to clean my house!
21. I need to do my laundry!
22. I'm having a stay at home ALL DAY today. Love it.
23. The Kaleidoscope Children's Choir will be singing on Sunday morning. Love those kids. xxxxoooo
24. If you're able to, check out Julie's blog. Her kids are so adorable in their halloween costumes. Especially Cora. She's the cutest Raggedy Ann I've ever seen! Just adorable!
25. I might have to copy that pic of Cora and post it on my blog. Everyone needs to see her.
26. I went to the chiropractor the other day and had a deep tissue massage on my upper back, shoulders & neck. Felt so good, but I'm completely bruised, I just know it. Had an adjustment too. Felt great! Didn't scare me this time!
27. I love watching FoxNews. Fair and Balanced.
28. It's so sad about that special ed. teacher in New York. So sad. Her poor parents. Pray for them.
29. I was able to share part of my testimony with one of my choir moms last night, who desperately needed some encouragement. The Lord is so good. He provides for our every need.
30. Christian is so cute. He's such a little man! His language is blossoming, and that is totally fun. I can't wait to dig out pumpkin guts with him tomorrow. Fun will be had by all!

And that is my life so far...

It's Almost OVERRRRRRR....

Okay, so tonight is closing night! Woo hoo! Last night's performance was probably the best one yet... the crowd was at capacity, and was very appreciative! I got a big woohoo from the crowd at my curtain call bow... fun times! My trainer, Shannon, and her friend, Lauren came! It was great having them there! And they dressed up in 1960's style clothes! They looked adorable! What fun! This really has been a fun, if not exhausting experience. Will I do it again??? Well, asking me that is sorta like asking a mother right after delivering a baby sans drugs if she'll have any more children. Right away, you're tempted to scream NOOOOOOOO, but after a while, the memories of the pain goes away, and you get pregnant again! LOL Maybe I will, maybe I won't.... Can't really say right now.

***
Saturday... slept in 'til 9. Of course, I was up until after midnight... Got up, washed my face & went to breakfast with Don. Now I'm home, checking email... doing laundry, cleaned up the kitchen, and am drinking a nice cup of coffee. Gotta get my shower at 3, and ready to be at the church by 5. Tonight will be a late night, since we do part of the set strike afterwards. I have a LOT of things to bring home. I have my pictures of my ancestors on one of the tables on the set... my paternal grandparents, and then pictures of both of their parents. One is dated back to the 1800's... it's so cool to have them on the set with me. And, my dining room chairs are on the set, along with Don's reading lamp, and then there's all of my costumes. Ugh... alot to fill up the jeep with afterwards. I talked Don into coming tonight, so he can help me afterwards. He's a good guy, so he's coming. I'm so glad to finally have someone else do the driving! LOL

***
Monday Dyan & I, along with Christian Michael Swim will be going to Jamesport. I need a day away... and that's a fun place to go. It's an Amish community, about an hour and a half from Kansas City.... Love going there. I love the Amish lifestyle, the simplicity of it. Sometimes I wish I was Amish. I'd probably get bored, tho...

***
My shin splints are killing me, and my right elbow is all swollen from arthritis. I can hardly move it. And when I finish chasing an old guy around on the stage with a bunny rabbit, I can barely walk. I'm quite pathetic. Don is finishing cleaning out the hot tub, so I can have a good soak in it... ahhh, I can't wait! I got shin splints from running during my workouts... they're on the inside of my calves. I sat with ice packs on them all day yesterday... Oh, I love my husband! He just rubbed some stuff into my elbow, which is all swollen... that icy stuff... ya know? Love it....

***
And that's my life so far...

Here We Go Again......

Okay, so yesterday was delightful.... I stayed HOME ALL DAY!!! Woot Woot and Wicked! ;-) Christian & Dyan came over and hung out for the afternoon.... wicked fun. I did some laundry, cleaned some, and just basically decompressed. It was great.

But....

Today the craziness begins again! I have to get dressed in a second and get to the gym to work out. Then it's off to the grocery store to get a few things... like FOOD... and then home again to do my choir planning, get a shower, and take off for church around 3ish... I have KCC rehearsal and then a run-through for the play. It will be a late night again.

Thursday, pedicure at 10, shower at 3, leave at 4:30... pick up Kate on the way and call time is 5. We have a performance Thur. night, Fri. night & Saturday night. It's really difficult to do anything much during the day, since I wait to get my shower so late in the afternoon. Ugh.... it will be over soon. But, it is fun. Just busy...

***
So, Don & I WERE going to take off for Branson on Sunday afternoon.... Not gonna happen. Apparently Silver Dollar City is BETWEEN festivals and will be closed next week. Oy.... that stinks. So, no itty bitty vacation for me next week. Instead, we'll go down there on Nov. 14th, stay at a Bed & Breakfast that I found online and have been chatting with the owner about, and then we'll spend the day on Saturday at SDC, and it'll be all decked out in their Christmas stuff... should be fun. Note to self: Don't wait so long to go to SDC next year! I love the harvest festival stuff... Oh well... *deep sigh*

***
Gotta go.

***
And that's my life so far...

Okay, so this is life....

Busy, busy, busy.... that is my life right now.... but the busyness is quickly coming to an end..... thank Goodness!

Opening Night was a smashing success.... I was scared to death prior to my first entrance... the part of the Ambassador is daunting to me, and quite terrifying... My lines are sorta random, and not connected to the lines before mine... so it's strictly memorization... and my brain is old. LOL But, the role of the "neurotic" chef was not a problem at all.... loved that. It's such a hoot to play such a fun character... I just noticed, I do this....... all the time, that dot dot dot thing... oh well. Live with it.

I performed my parts in the play flawlessly... albeit nervously at the very beginning. I'm so glad that I cannot see past the edge of the stage... bright lights and all.

I enjoyed Saturday's performance so much more.... I was completely at ease, and really enjoyed the pre-performance chatter & getting the stage makeup on, and costumed, hair done up in a bee-hive with a flip, totally 60's... Hilarious!

***
No rehearsals on Monday & Tuesday.... BUT... I have handbell rehearsal on Monday at 7. That will be alright. I love playing bells, and it's alot of Christmas music, so that is fun. Love, love, love Carol of the Bells...

***
Tuesday is a free day / night for me. Yahoooooooooooo.... I will be getting a pedicure that afternoon, and I'll even COOK DINNER!!!! Gosh, haven't cooked in weeks!! Imagine that...

***
Wednesday is a line only readthrough of the play. No costumes, no mics, no makeup, no lights... just the actors all reading through the play, or rather, speaking their lines through the play. Should be fine. Just gotta leave Kaleidoscope a bit early again. Six-thirty... so Dyan will be in charge of kcc for about 25 minutes. Should be fine.

***
Thursday, Friday & Saturday, all performances... with a call time of 5 PM. Dinner for the guests begins at 6:15, and the play begins at 7:30. Fun times. Then on Saturday, after the performance, we will start undressing the set... It will be a late night. Yup. Late.

Then I'll have to get up very early on Sunday to make it to church on time to greet the KCC kids... we're singing in worship this coming Sunday. "The Lord is My Light" is what we'll be singing... i love that song. Pure scripture. Love it.

***
Sunday afternoon, Don & I will hop on the Harley and ride to Springfield, where we'll have dinner at Lambert's, home of the "throwed rolls"... They have fried okra, which I love... After that, we will be riding over to Branson, and spending the night, possibly 2 nights. I'd love to go to Silver Dollar City... haven't been there since I was a child. I really need a break, and I really need to spend good quality time with my husband.

***
My dad, Micki & Lani, my step sis, came in town this afternoon. We spent the afternoon at Dyan & Jory's, and had dinner at Meg & Drew's. It was a very pleasant day... it was once again, great seeing my dad. I wish that he lived closer, I truly do.

***
And that is my life so far... (there go those 3 dots again!)

Opening Night

I'm trying to type right now, to update, but my eyes are all blurry after reading Meg's blog.... so bear with me....

***

Opening Night is tonight.... "Don't Drink the Water" by Woody Allen, a Dinner Drama hosted by my church and the First Drama Ensemble. It's been a whole heckofa lot of work.... but it's also been really fun. I feel very confident in my performance, and in my preparation. We had our dress rehearsal last night, complete with costumes & makeup, and no stopping to get lines.... and it all went very well. Call time tonight is 5 PM, sans makeup, because we have to get wired up before applying any makeup. That way the tape will stick to our faces. So, I'll go get my wires on, do my sound check, turn off the mic pack, then I'll get my stage makeup on, eat some dinner, change clothes & fix my hair. Dinner is at 6:15 for the guests, and the play begins at 7:30. Don is coming tonight... I think Dyan, Jory & friends are coming on Saturday... Don will come again next Thursday and will bring his mom, and also, Dyan is serving that night, so she'll see it again.... and I can't remember when Meg & Drew are coming. My trainer, Shannon & her friend, Lauren will be coming next Friday....

Anyway, Opening Night is finally here! The light is seen at the end of the tunnel of the dinner drama.... I can soon have my life back!

***

So, my dad called the other day. Apparently they're in Arkansas visiting, and plan on coming up here on Sunday. This is a very busy time for my family, but we'll do what we can to see him. Sunday, after church, I'm slated to sell tickets to the dinner drama, and then I have a Children's Council meeting, which usually lasts until 2 PM. So, we're sending Don, Jory & Christian home to greet my dad, Micki & Lani, to have lunch with them.... Dyan & I will join them after our meeting. Then we'll head to Meg's for dinner.... I want my dad to see both of my girls' homes... They're doing so well for themselves, and I'm a proud mama.

Not sure what my dad is planning on doing on Monday... probably will come to my house. I have a trainer appt. at 11.... so we'll see. He's driving back to Arkansas sometime on Monday. I may have to change my trainer appt. to sometime in the afternoon. I already gave Shannon a heads up on it....

***

I'm not nervous at all about the play.... which is a good thing, I hope!

***

I should bring my camera and take a pic of myself with my stage makeup on.... it's hysterical. I look like I belong at the 13th & Vine district!!! And I even have the shoes to wear from Priscillas! WHat a hoot!

***
Dyan & Jory's due date is May 27th, 2009. Yes, I'm gonna be a grandma again, and she's finally telling people.... She's almost 8 weeks along. They saw the heart beating again today at their appt. with the clinic.... All is well. But Dyan is feeling sick... poor thing. After the dinner drama, I'll be able to take Christian more, so she can have a break.... I don't mind doing that AT ALL!!!!

***

Yesterday, the pumpkin patch trip was so fun.... Christian was adorable... but there were so many school children there! So, note to self: Next year, go in the afternoon, and earlier in the month!!! We looked at the animals, fed some, played on the playground equipment, rode a tricycle on a dirt path.... rode a hay ride to the BIG pumpkin patch... where Christian proceeded to select the BIGGEST pumpkin he could find... so Grandma had to lug it back to the wagon, a very long way away, and through the muddy pumpkin patch.... I was soooooooo out of breath! Dyan bought 3 pumpkins, and I bought 3 sugar pumpkins for pies... It was a beautiful day.... sunny, crisp, cool, and perfect for going to the pumpkin patch. I'll post pics sometime....

***
And that's my life so far...

I Want My Life Back!!!

Oy.... life is so busy.... I just want a day! Just a day to read all day if I want to... a day to play with my sweet Cali, to go to Dyan's house and play with Christian... I want a day to sleep if I want... to get my HOUSE CLEAN... I need help!!! I'm quickly falling behind on my normal things...

My life is sucked up by the Dinner Drama.... Opening night is Friday. Tonight was the first night with everyone using their costumes and doing changes. My only rough change is coming onstage in one costume, going to a blackout, then coming right back onstage in a completely different costume. You ought to see me backstage... I'm hurling off clothes left & right... I have my jammie pants under my black pants, and my cami under my sweater... and I kick off my high heels, strip off my black pants & sweater, wrap up in my red satin robe & slip on my slippers which I bought from Priscillas, of all places! I was so embarrassed to go into that store, I tell ya... but they had what I needed, so I hoped that noone recognized me going there... and I quickly asked for the shoes I needed, paid for them and got the heck out of Dodge! Anyway... that is my very quick costume change. And we worked on curtain calls tonight...

I'm so tired....

And tomorrow isn't any better.... I have a meeting all day at Naz. Publishing House, for this advisory group I'm part of, dealing with children's music.... that meeting is from 8:30 - 4. Then I need to hightail it to church, get all dolled up so that Lindsey can take a picture of "The Ambassador" for putting up on the set... and I need to finish the stenciling.... When will I eat dinner? Who knows? Probably like tonight.... it will be NOTHING...

Rehearsal Wed. night, Thur. night is Dress Rehearsal... and Fri. is Opening Night.

***

Thursday, Dyan, Christian & I are heading to the pumpkin patch... Carolyn's Pumpkin Patch in Liberty... it's a family tradition. We'll ride the hay wagon to the pumpkin field, find the perfect pumpkin, pick it, and bring it home. Fun times... I need some fun times.

***
I miss Don. I came home tonight at 10:30, and he was too tired to even cuddle.... drats. I need some cuddle time....

***
Please pray for my friend Julie... she's having a rough time right now...

***
And that's my life so far...

A Saturday AT HOME!!!

Boy, it feels so good to have a Saturday at home all day!!! I'm so tired of being away from home... Really. I am!

However, last night, was a blast! It was Christopher's 40th birthday party, and we played Laser Tag! Talk about FUN!!! Our family has known Christopher & his family since 1990, in California. His mother is a good friend of mine, and was my choir mentor... She taught me alot about children's choirs, and continues to do so. Anyway, as a surprise to Christopher, his whole family from California came in for his birthday.... his mom, dad, both sisters, brother in law and of course his niece and nephew. It was so great seeing them all.... We gathered at their house, along with a few more friends, had cake & icecream... and then headed to the laser tag place. OMGosh, it was so much fun! I loved it.... and worked up quite a sweat! Oh, and Roger blasted ME 11 times!!! Oh, the nerve! And Emma kept coming around the corner and shooting me! LOL I liked this better than paintballing... much less painful! The room was really dark, and all you could see was the blinking lights of the other players.... so cool! So, thanks, Carolyn & Christopher for the extreme fun last night.... I really needed this, after my week of intense rehearsals for DDTW.

So, back to my Saturday.... what will I do??? Well, I slept LATE... 9 AM.... oh yeah... felt so good. Now I'm blogging.... gonna get some breakfast in a minute. Then I"m gonna wash my face & get dressed, finish the bills / checkbook. After that, I'm going to pot my mums.... YES, finally! And I'm going to clean up the deck. Then I'm going to repot my house plants and put those watering globes in them... Then I'm going to do some straightening up around here.... And tonight, for dinner? Ribeyes & artichokes.... doesn't get much better than that!

I love Saturdays at home.....

And that's my life so far....

Another Monday....

Yes, it's another Monday morning.... the start of a new week. I got plenty of sleep last night, which felt good, and got up this morning to go to the gym. I did my workout with Shannon... and it felt so good. But, I did it in my socks, and not my shoes. You see, last Friday night, Don & I rode the Harley down to the American Royal. So, therefore, I had on my riding boots. Never had a problem with them before. But... I wore them with some old, cushy socks. I didn't think it would be a problem. Well, we walked and walked and walked, all over the place, looking for one of our vendors, and schmooze with them. Our company sponsored a BBQ chef, and we had our own spot down there, with our company's advertising and all. Everyone did that! Well, we finally found who we were looking for, but I could hardly walk. I just knew that I was rubbing off all of the skin on the back of my ankles. Turns out I did. My ankle is just raw.... and oozing, and very nasty looking. Poor thing.... But, the BBQ was good! So, we schmoozed with some vendors, and then SLOWLY walked back to our spot. Once there, I didn't care, I just took off my boots and socks and ran around barefoot. We had a nice time down there, and several customers & people who work for us showed up.... it was a nice party. I've never seen anything like the American Royal BBQ contest before.... it was MASSIVE.... and smelled so wonderful! And the eating was so delicious... We left around 10:30, and rode through the power and light district, then the Plaza, and then home... it was a lovely autumn ride...

So, I worked out in my stocking feet.... lol. And noone noticed! Too funny.... But the workout felt so good.... I missed last Friday since I was so sick...

***

Okay, so we have a new pastor. I really like them. I know from talking to my friend, Cindy, that it's kinda difficult sometimes to be a pastor's wife in a new church, difficult to find a kindred spirit. I remember things that she'd say, and I remember praying alot for her, that she'd find her kindred spirit. I miss them so much, still. But I know that they are happy in Idaho, and so I am happy for them. Anyway, I wasn't going to let that happen to our new pastor's wife... so we met for coffee last Thursday and chatted for about an hour and a half. It was so nice, and I can tell right off the bat that I really like her. And Don was one of FIVE people in our entire church who helped unload them, move them into their apartment, so they got to know him pretty well that way. I really like our new pastoral family. And they've just jumped right in with both feet! Dawn was singing in the choir Sunday morning, and Katherine has already joined the Kaleidoscope Children's Choir, and just last evening, Christopher joined the youth choir, and brought 2 more boys with him, Tyler & Elliot. What a hoot! It just feels so good to have a pastoral family again, as it's been almost a year since our dear former pastor & his wife left for Idaho. Having the new pastor here helps in the grieving process, that's for sure. I think our church will survive all of this, and just last Sunday, we had a whole slew of new members join. It was a great sight... God is moving once again in our church. It's so good to see His blessings on our church body. And we had a packed house... wonderful.

***
I'm sipping on my Starbuck's, grande latte, 2 pumps of white chocolate mocha, no whip.... and it is soooooooo good...

***
Today, I have to get the house back in order, since it's fallen out of order from all of my busyness with the dinner drama & my being so sick last week. The order of the day is to clean the kitchen, straighten the living room, do a load or two of laundry, enter my bills on the computer, enter my checkbook entries & EFT's, and then pay some of those bills. God is so good to provide for our needs.

***
Youth choir rehearsal last night was incredible! I had 4 new kids join... one soprano, Sarah, and 3 tenors, the guys, afore mentioned. We worked really hard on the song that we're going to sing on Sunday, "Hymn of Promise" by Natalie Sleeth, one of my all time favorite composers. It's a song about there being a time & season for everything, and only God knows what the future brings. And through God, we have a hope for eternal salvation, and our future is secure with Him! I'll print the words later.... they're really profound. We have our choir outfits all chosen - for the girls, black slacks or skirts, white t-shirt or tank top, and a turquoise cardigan. The boys will be the same, except for the skirt part, and the cardigan. They'll wear a matching sweater vest over a white t-shirt. Nice looking.... I can't wait to see it all put together. This has been a dream of mine for a long time, to get an actual CHOIR started for the youth of our church. It was so fun teaching them their parts and hearing it come together. Very different from KCC.

***
I ramble on... time to stop.

And that's my life so far...

More Random Thoughts....

1. I'm wiped out...
2. Last night was fun... Don & I hopped on the Harley and rode to Kemper where the biggest BBQ contest in the entire world was taking place. Our company sponsored a cooker... and we had a party in our tent there last night. Totally fun... I've never seen anything like that.
3. Note to self: Don't plan on doing any more big walking in the harley boots... I rubbed the back of my ankles raw... it was really pathetic.
4. Going barefoot in our bbq booth while drinking a cold corona is kinda fun! ;-P
5. Riding on the Harley through downtown Kansas City at 10:30 at night is kinda fun! The Power and Light District is so pretty at night.
6. The Rockettes are coming to KC... but on nights that I can't attend because of concerts at church.... *deep sigh*
7. I did alot of errands today.... shouldn't really do errands without a specific list. I bought things that I probably should have waited on... impulse buying... but it is fun!
8. Bought a stencil for the dinner drama set.... gonna stencil on Monday.
9. I cannot miss my piano lesson on Monday.
10. I cannot wait to get my life back.
11. Still haven't potted my mums yet... they're waiting patiently.
12. I absolutely love being a grandma! But, I don't look like a grandma, do I???
13. I'm tired...
14. Big day at church tomorrow.... Sunday School, worship, selling dinner drama tickets, all church picture, potluck, stapling the skirt on the dinner drama stage, youth choir rehearsal at 4.... and coming home at 6 to collapse in my big comfy leather chair with my feet elevated on my ottoman, vegging out in front of the TV. Sounds good...
15. Sarah Palin did an AWESOME job the other night.... GO SARAH... she actually GETS it.... what real Americans live through, and how we think!
16. I really need to spend some time at the bench.... ya know, practicing my piano... Paula will be so disappointed in me....
17. The dinner drama is finally coming together... and they're getting their lines. I've had mine for a long time... but then again, I don't have 2000 lines to memorize! Sheesh!
18. I really ought to start cooking again...
19. I've been asked to serve on some sort of Mission committee at headquarters... finding out more info. It's a Mission Training Coach thing...
20. October is here already, and I have yet to put up my Autumn decorations! Mercy me....
21. I went to order a large mirror for over my fireplace... but the glass place is closed on Saturdays.... ugh.
22. I ought to wake Don up and go to Home Depot.... need a mirror for the bathroom and wooden blinds for 3 windows...

And that's my life so far...