Catching Up: Class, Tonys, Articles and More.

Let's play catch up!

The Wedding Class....
....is mostly why I've been away. It was a wedding intensive class that began this past Sunday through Wednesday (where I graduated to Pomp & Circumstance, ha) and lasted from 8:30 - 5:30 every day in the city. And paranoid me left at 6:30 every morning to ensure I would beat traffic and make it to class on time.

And while I was rather terrified to go through the first hands on experience (since this was my first time around other designers) everything went okay. I learned a lot and it was really kind of nice to have a four-day designing focus, rather than multitasking computer, order taking, satisfying customers, etc. Not that those things are bad. Just that it was nice to strictly soak up some design wisdom and let some of it gel in my head a little better. Especially for wedding work.

I did solidify a few styles (one of which we just used today in the shop) and learned a few crazy things as well. For one, I never thought I'd be able to complete a composite flower which is several flowers put together to form one large bloom. So she showed us how to make a glamela (glad blooms) and we completed one and then she quickly showed us a composite rose. And it looked easier than I expected. So while we had some extra time on our hands this morning I wanted to make one while I could still remember how: 

 

In this picture it kind of looks like one giant bloomed-out rose, but that's kind of the whole point too.  That's actually three roses put together. I would love to make more of these, I think they're really beautiful. (And I was so excited to make one.)

Anyway, I essentially was coming home, eating dinner with grandma, rewriting my notes and crashing.

But I saw some awesome girls....
.... and had a chance to spend the night with them before my class started.  :) I spent the night with the Puckett family and played games and sang karaoke and had a general blast. Maybe I can sneak over there one more time before summer is up. ;)

Did I mention the Tonys are this Sunday?
Oh wait, I haven't.
Um.
I'm just not excited this year. I'll watch them (and blog inner-monologue style) but I'm just not anticipating them this year. I wasn't really last year either and they pleasantly surprised me and gave me lots of hope, but look at this years Best Musical lineup:
Once
Newsies
Leap of Faith
Nice Work if You Can Get It

Now. Not that I'm not excited for Newsies to finally be on Broadway (although, honestly, I'm not all that crazy about some of the new music I've heard) and not that I don't think Once can do well there (although, honestly, it is pretty slow in some places.) But the top three are all based off movies and the last one - while it has a new story - is essentially a Gershwin review. Where's the originality? It's nowhere. At all. And it just kind of depresses me a bit.
Okay, so it was a slow season for new stuff. How about the revivals?
Evita
Jesus Christ Superstar
Follies
Porgy & Bess 

I am VERY excited to see Porgy performed because it features none other than Audra McDonald and Norm Lewis (ahh!) but I've also heard amazing things about the supporting cast as well. That one, I'm stoked for. But the others? How many times has JCS been revived recently? Evita? Nothing new. Follies? Great show from what I've heard (my shame, I don't know that one as well), but again, played a lot.

And I'd tell you about the plays, but sadly I know nothing about them. So consider the rest of it strictly referring to musicals, because I'm telling you up front I just haven't kept up with the plays. 

This article that was posted today makes me sad: For Broadway Fans, A Moment in the Sun. It mostly discusses how nice it is for Broadway to be mainstream for a little while (and it is) and how shows like Glee, Smash and High School Musical have been the main backbone for that happening.
While I haven't been able to get into those shows, I don't have a problem with them. In fact, I like that Glee does pull a lot of old showtunes and breathes new life into them for a new generation. My problem with the article is not that our "moment in the sun" is because of these television shows. My problem with the article is when you continue reading it gives the impression that Broadway is gleaming right now with success. Newsies is finally on Broadway. This is the highest grossing year ever. We are awesome.
I'm really frustrated with this. This is a terrible year for musicals. We've been in an originality drought for awhile now, but really? Not a single show? I mean, at least in the past we've had Memphis (that's a joke.)

I'm not upset with the television shows that the article claims: "I trace this surge in popularity back to 2006's "High School Musical." Sure, I despised it (and the endless sequels) with a fervent passion, as any true musical nerd would. It turned our beloved world into a pop singer-filled, Disney Channel-style, teenybopper show." but within our own community. Why aren't we encouraging and supporting good, original art and pushing for it to be on the Great White Way where there's a better chance a larger community will see it? Why aren't we calling foul for this? Why aren't we helping promote or demanding a higher quality? Why isn't someone at least trying something instead of just rewriting movies with songs?
Probably for the same reason I haven't raised a fuss this year. Because we have in the past and now we're tired and a bit jaded with the whole thing.
I do realize there is a lot happening in smaller venues now, off-Broadway and way way off-Broadway and that's great. But I also wish we could open back up that larger market where the creative shows could potentially gain more attention and maybe one day create more of a demand for thought provoking and high quality work.
Ah well, a girl can dream.

And let me reiterate - turning a movie into a musical isn't bad in and of itself. I just wish it wasn't seemingly every show right now or that they would do something new with it. Lion King is the perfect example. Its a movie to a musical and while it's not a perfect overall show, it is excellent in so many capacities. Puppetry work? Absolutely worth the hype. The opening number? Outstanding and worth every laud. Scenery? Music? Lovely. This is a great example of breathing new life and making something truly theatrical from something that's been done before. I realize that kind of brilliance can't happen every time - that's why its so special - but its an excellent description of what I hope for in movies turned musicals and why they can be good. 

Actually, I think I hate that article. I think its dumb. And seriously, how does an article entitled "Broadway's Moment in the Sun" not include....

....the upcoming Les Mis movie.
The Les Mis trailer is still gorgeous and I'm still a bit shocked it looks so perfect. This would be such a hard show to get right and I'm so excited by all the pictures! December seems just around the corner.

And yet, there's one nail biter beforehand. 
The Dark Knight Rises marketing keeps throwing me from one side to other. I thought the Catwoman poster was stupid, yet I love all the tv spots I've seen lately. So I'm hoping its actually awesome and the marketing team has just been confused this whole time. Or if not awesome, at least solid. Please, Nolan, I want a solid ending to a good trilogy. Pleeeeeease.

However, my boss is awesome and when I begged to please, could we please be done with the wedding work by 7:00 so I can go see this movie, please oh please she laughed and said of course. So Dark Knight Rises opening weekend, here I come. Mwee!!

Let's make up for that last article.
I can assure you, this one will do it. This is a story about how a five-year-old boy and his mother got onto the Avengers set, was able to take pictures with some of the cast and how awesome they were treated by all the cast members and crew. I love it. It's super cute, really heartwarming and very "aww" worthy.
The picture of him with Loki alone is worth it. (It's at the top, I won't spoil it.)

Have you heard that saying about the thunderstorms being a good omen for Thunder?
Cause I'm sure sick of it. EVERY. WEATHERMAN. EVERY. FORECAST.
But I am glad they won, I'm thrilled for them and I'll watch the finals. They actually make watching the game fun and intense to watch, which isn't saying I usually say in context with basketball. Ever. I think these are the first full games I've ever watched where a family member wasn't playing in them. So go Thunder! You are awesome. You actually have made me enjoy basketball.

That's the majority of what you've missed. We are launching into wedding season now which will keep me busy, but not like this past week. Hurrah! I should be as back as I ever am.

Things.

1) The Tony Nominations Happened?
Apparently they were announced today. I just happened to visit Playbill. I guess my body still has some sort of internal Tony clock that tells me when to check in. 
Anything of interest? Um... Newsies is up for Best Musical along with Once, but honestly other than that not much catches my eye. Peter & the Starcatcher is up for Best Play. Porgy & Bess is up for Best Revival. Yeah, I'll still check in at Tony time, but there's nothing here that really makes me want to keep up outside of those. Once received the most nom's this year clocking in at 11. Which doesn't surprise me either.
Sigh. In the Heights, I miss you. Miranda, come back. (Or Ahrens & Flaherty. Or Guettel. Someone, come back!)

2) It is May. And I hate May.
May, can we let bygones be bygones? You mostly don't like me. I mostly don't like you. You've set me into stressful fits of rage the last two years in a row. It's true, that was more related to work issues. The computer & whatnot. But let's just chill this year. Truce? Truce?

3) So you're preparing for Mother's Day, huh?
Actually, right now we're in a flurry of activity revamping our (entire) wedding process. It's becoming a huge investment all across the board and due to a sudden deadline we have to have part of it done by the end of this week. And then I need to update & revamp our portfolio. And then comb back over all our social media to see if it's a solid representation of us. And then make it through my wedding class in June - which I'm super excited about - but its still a touch intimidating.
Though I did learn that apparently all these classes are done only through the OKC center. Which means people fly from all over the nation to attend these classes. Cool!
And yes, Mothers Day is next week so that'll take precedence very soon. We're very busy for currently not having any daily work to do.

4) But I do get to see Holly tomorrow!
Holly and I are having a Trigun day. Season 1! The happy season! And then Phoenix Diner! It's a plan. I'm excited.

5) Again. My Kids are Freaking Cute. 
And just in case there was some part of you that doubted my kids are indeed the cutest. ever.

Pic shamelessly stolen from Amy. Great shot, Amy!

LOOK AT THAT FACE.

Seriously. Happiest face ever. I love this little now-somehow-five birthday baby. :)

6) The Moose is Back.
There is a theatre in NY called The Beautiful Soup who is reviving Moose Murders. Moose Murders, which opened in 1983, is the Carrie of plays. The big flop. The original of flop-dom. The show that played 13 previews, and opened and closed on the same night. 1 performance.

Personally, I love that they're doing this. Maybe it's just because I want to see Bring Back Birdie. But I've often thought I'd love to be near a theatre that once a season revived a major flop (or terrible show.) And whether they play it for laughs or try to attempt it legit, their intent could change depending on the show. Just giving it one more life.

They even made a trailer for it. I love it.



7) Oh, and speaking of "The Flop...."
There will be a cast recording of the recent Off-Broadway revival of Carrie! YAY! I'll get to hear Marin Mazzie tackle "And Eve Was Weak" which is very exciting.
Sadly, the song list does not include "Out for Blood." Somehow the song about hacking a pig got cut.
Oh, Carrie. You make me smile.

8) But Once Upon a Time doesn't.
This is actually the first time I've discussed Once on here I think. I almost hate to now.
Look.
.....
Look.
I've been watching this show all season. Because it's bad.
I'm sorry if you like this show.
But....it is bad. Laughably.
However, this weeks episode was not necessarily laughably bad. It was just downright painful.
And despite the fact that I've been watching this show because its bad, this episode was so bad that I don't even know that I'm willing to finish out the series. Even though we're only two episodes away.
Because it was THAT BAD.

Can you even comprehend that level of terrible? Because I sure couldn't

Thank goodness for the Dark Knight trailer.

On a Timer: Go! Gotta run, gotta run now....

Ahem.

I have not left the blogosphere, but I have had Less Than Much to talk about lately. Also, sadly, blogging usually takes at least 45 minutes to an hour of my time and I have not been willing to give it that. Nor should it usually take that long.

And I did promise my body I'd be in bed by 11:00 tonight. However, due to the I Must Start Posting Again drive I'm giving myself a 15 minute abstention, as well as a 15 minute timer. It is 11:01. What can we discuss in 14 minutes.

1) My Town is Stupid.
This should really be its own post. But in Friday's paper it was announced that my town would be closing 3 of our 4 tornado shelters due to the fact that they don't meet the Disabilities Requirements Act. That's fine - I understand they need to be updated - but update them. Instead the article informed us that a) not only did the fourth shelter not meet the requirements either and that b) it only holds "about 100 people" but that c) instead we should prepare for alternative action. Like getting in a closet. Or bathroom.
I'm not kidding.
Look, how many times recently have we heard of a town "needing to be underground to survive." Too many. And while its true that our particular town hasn't had that particular event yet, we live in Tornado Alley. I'm aware that most of the time getting in a closet will do it, if you even need to do that - but come on. For those rare times you do need to be underground, you will regret it deeply if you aren't. There is no excuse for any town in our state to be without underground shelters. It is foolish.

2) I Love Lynn Ahrens and You Do Too.
Apparently one of my favorite musical lyricists (of Flaherty/Ahrens fame Ragtime, Once On this Island & Seussical) has continually worked on SchoolHouse Rock since its inception. (Thank you, Wikipedia!) So if you loved the songs The Tale of Mr. Morton, Interjections! or Interplanet Janet then you do too. (She's worked on lots of others. Those were just the ones I remembered the best.)

3) Now for the Ultimate Question.
I finished reading Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy for the first time. While I didn't realize it wasn't a stand alone book (and was surprised by that), I have borrowed the Complete version so I'm good to go. It was very refreshing, very fun and I'm excited to read the other books since I think I'll know less of the jokes ahead of time. (They were still great, but the ones that really made me laugh out loud were the ones that caught me off guard.) Marvin is still my favorite, although I love Trillian, and I love the Genuine People Personalities built into the computer system. The doors were my favorite. I'm looking forward to the next one.

4) I Miss Godzilla.
I must break out Final Wars soon. Anyone want to watch a Godzilla movie with me? Or we can watch a new one? Pleeease?


Down to three minutes. 

And I'm blanking! I'm blanking!

5) A Whole Class on Weddings.
My bosses were able to get me into the Teleflora Education Center's Wedding Class in June. It's a four day intensive study of all things bridal bouquet, consultations, pricing and wedding work and I'm pretty excited to take it.

Aaand just barely over a minute!

How I Spent My February: Hibernation & the Mockingjay dilemma.

Tomorrow will be the first of March. And the high will be 80 degrees.

It's a little confusing to a be a tree in Oklahoma currently. They actually started blooming about two weeks ago (I have photographic proof, but they're on my phone whose {who's? whose?} battery is dead.) So you can imagine that by now they're in full bud stage - the Bradford Pears are particularly all almost completely white.

I'm excited, mind you. I haven't missed winter one iota this year. The last two years were especially grueling in the cold and snow department, so I'm all for a mild winter. The only problem is the lack of moisture - there has been some rain, but not enough to ease our drought situation and my biggest concern is summer fire danger.

Grandma has also pointed out that if its 80 this early in March (and we were hitting high 70's this week as well), how hot will this summer get?

Still, I'm not complaining. For the first time this winter has actually been bearable at work.

February's been an odd month this year (outside of the before mentioned weather.) With the exception of this past week, I have visited almost no one. Sure, Valentine's Day stole about a week and a half, but barring that it's been curiously quiet. I've spent most of my days at home, and usually curled up quiet in my room. (Oo, that's been nice.)  Surprisingly, other friends and familia have started mentioning the same phenomena occurring to them as well. Where did everyone go this month? Hey, where have you been? Why have I seen no one? etc. Curious. Anyone else felt that way? I think I pretty much hunkered down and hid the whole month for no real reason.

But the weather is glorious and, despite all the high temperatures, spring itself is actually nearing now.  People seem to be waking back up and coming out of hibernation. I'm thrilled to see the grass greening up again and the flowers starting to come around.

I did spend February reading - that's partially why I stole myself away. I blitzed through Catching Fire and Mockingjay which are the final two of the Hunger Games trilogy. I highly, highly recommend reading the first two books - but I don't know if I can recommend Mockingjay! It's a shame because Book 2 gives you no other option but continuing on. Who knows, you may really enjoy the third one (if you like books that make you blindingly angry and incredibly depressed, cough). After finally calming down, I do see some solid arguments for it and I may reluctantly even agree with some of them. But mostly my review of Mockingjay comes down to very irrational "hush, I don't care." :)

Sadly, I can't really say more than that without breaching spoiler issues. And since this book is so popular right now - not to mention the upcoming movie - that I'm being super careful. If you liked Mockingjay - especially that last third of the book - I would genuinely like to hear from you. I'm still trying to piece out whether I think its critically a good book or not. Unfortunately with this one, I can't separate out my initial blast of emotions from the overall piece. (Obviously.) And I recognize that. So I'd like help in sorting out any thoughts.

I have now started Hitchhikers for the first time. A coworker sweetly loaned me her Complete version with all five books. That is enjoyable, but admittedly going more slowly. (I'm only about five chapters in.) If nothing else, Hunger Games made for some gripping reading and it did have me on the edge of my seat. I devoured each in three days. They were also the first set of books in a long time where the images just flickered across my mind. That was how reading used to be and I miss it. It was a pleasure to have that happen that again. 

Coming up in March: getting to see SLT's Hairspray, the tour of Screwtape Letters and - if you can believe it - the Phantom sequel Love Never Dies on screen (bwahahaha! March 7th, if anyone wants to come with! in OKC.)  Excitement.

2011 Year-in-Review: Part 2

I hope everyone is home safe & sound from New Year's Eve and that everyone had a blast whatever they may have been doing. Mine was great: Will was actually in town and so we went to the Barons game with Holly & Sam. The Barons lost, but that last period was so fun to watch that I'd really like to make another game sometime where they actually show up the whole game. And obviously the company was fantastic. However, we were in Bricktown and it was not only packed but cold & incredibly windy, so we opted to duck out of the elements and into a nearby IHOP where we ended up ringing in the new year. Which was pretty funny as the wait staff were singing and dancing their way to whatever song was on the radio here & there throughout the restaurant.
Also, we went to Spaghetti Warehouse before the game where I had this tiliapa & shrimp on angel hair pasta and it was delicious. I MISS YOU GARLIC BUTTER & BREAD. I MISS YOU LOTS.

Ahem.
And so without further ado: the last of my 2011 wrapup.

6) Train & Maroon 5
In all seriousness, this was one of the most fun nights of the year for me. Regina had never been to a concert before and so when we were able to get so close (compared to the usual) I was super excited. We were giddy. It was great. While I enjoyed both bands, I would really love for Maroon 5 to come back through especially now that I know some more of their songs.

5) FIF Freak Out
Truth: When I first heard FIF was getting back together I was excited and sort of worried at the same time. Not that I didn't think they could be great again - and I even believed that they would never do it unless they could be - but since they left at the top of their game, well. I just would rather they go out on a high note then try to come back and fall apart. And then they did the smartest thing they could have done: they released a song on their Kickstarter page, an incredible song. And though I nervously hit the play button I was already leaping up and down when the horns first started because as crisp and clean as they were I knew they were really back. Within 45 minutes they had reached their goal of $30,000 and as of now they're almost to $180,000. When they reach their goal date in January they will as to date be the most funded music project in Kickstarter history. This rocks.
 
4) Roadtripping
I went on three solitary roadtrips this year and I've learned that that is awesome. Not that I never want to roadtrip with people again or anything, but I loved getting to just be by myself in the car for hours on end. I need & I crave solitude. Eight hours in a car is just about perfect. Besides, at the end of the roadtrip there was always wonderful people that I was super excited to see. So I'm glad I've discovered that I can do it.

3) The Weight Loss
I really haven't talked about this too much on my blog, mostly because I'm really bad about saying "Hey, I'm doing this!" and then I stop. (In which case, I'm slightly afraid of happening now.) But I am super pleased with this and so I want to risk it. In 2010 - due to all sorts of stress and events - I gained at least if not over 25 pounds. And in the first half of 2011 I lost it and have so far maintained that loss through diet & exercise (and My Fitness Pal which is brilliant and I could never have done it without it.)  Am I at my dream perfect weight? No, but I'm at a very happy weight and that I'm learning is far better. I can still eat sweets and enjoy some of my favorite foods without feeling guilty and I'm slowly learning how to choose (and want to choose) healthier options. I really wanted to go the slow & steady route this time and rewire my brain how to eat and that takes time. I'm just now at the point where my brain recognizes "Hey! You just ate fries with four meals in a row. You should probably stop that. Your body wants something healthier." and that's awesome that its getting there.
Really, in 2012 I hope to at least maintain and continue to slowly shift my focus to make small but important healthier choices. Trim and maintain is more the endgame this time, whereas last year I was just desperate to drop that weight.

2) Christmas
I've already blogged about this Christmas once, but its easily worth mentioning again. This has been the first Christmas I have not had to battle off depression in over ten years. And this has been the first New Years that I have not battled off intense depression in the same amount of time. I'm just at a total loss of words about it. I don't even really know how to respond except this: God is good, He is kind and He is merciful. I fully recognize this is by His hand and I pray I'm wise enough to let it soak into my skin and return it through praise.

1) A Change of Me
Ten points if you can name the musical reference! (Hint: It was added to the show long into its run.)
If you had told me at the end of 2010 that by the end of the coming year I would be wearing makeup I would've probably laughed at you, but only out of fear that you might be right. I was at the verge of becoming more and more accepting of femininity but not quite there. In truth it probably sounds like such a silly thing to agonize over, or even mention, but it really represented a lot for me. So in true introvert fashion I mulled and poked and prodded and pulled my hair out over the issue before I finally settled on an answer. And once I do then its usually settled.
Honestly, I don't even feel entirely comfortable talking about it on here yet - or even out loud much - because its still so fresh and new. I'm still discovering it, still poking around trying to feel out its corners. And don't get me wrong - I don't equate makeup as the defining characteristic of being feminine. But for me its a curious turning point and the physical change to a lot of internal groundbreaking from last year. It's silly, its fun and I find that most intriguing.

2011 Year-In-Review: Part 1

I wrapped up my 2010 year-in-review with this very truthful comment: I feel like a lot of 2010 was spent running in place.

Praise God, that is not the case for 2011. While 2010 was the breaking of old ground - and it took an entire year - I feel like 2011 was the year that things were finally able to grow again in that soil.

This was a great year for me.  At the end of 2011, I feel healthy & strong (which, as I half-joked to my aunt the other day, probably means I have cancer) and I'm just left a little taken aback by the focus and (mostly) normalcy that occurred this year. I know it's a total blessing.

But its the end of the year! And that means.... lists! (Ooo, I love end of the year lists!)

We're breaking this down into two segments since I want to get some sleep tonight. 

12) Work: Weddings, Weddings, Weddings
Seriously, wedding work completely exploded at work this year. We even had three awesome large ones that were just beautiful, gave us lots of great pictures and gave me a couple opportunities to go onsite and help set up. In terms of design, I really solidified a lot of the basic technique (I hope), feel confident on casket pieces and am finding myself wanting to stretch my design skills this upcoming year in sympathy work and strengthen my weaker points (mrr, corsages....). I guess you could say that should be your goal every year, but I feel more focused on not only what particular areas of design I want to grow and develop, but also how.

11) Weather to the Extreme
This was an insane year for weather. And indeed, that goes for all around the world, but what a crazy year for the Midwest! I mean, we started out with a historic blizzard, our state saw a 100 degree temperature difference in one day in February, then we had a huge tornado outbreak in May, and then a complete drought and heatwave through the entire summer. Now, for the moment at least, we appear to be in a mild winter. It'll be 70 tomorrow. If its too windy to rake leaves, I am seriously considering going to the Zoo. In December.

10) Secret Church
In October of this year, my church hosted a simulcast of Secret Church: Family, Marriage, Sex & The Gospel. (Though the session covered practically every form of relationships.) The session was seven hours long, but honestly, a lot of what I had been looking for. I've been wanting an in-depth study, but not necessarily a six or nine week course. Just a lot of time spent in the Word. If you're interested, all their videos are at the link above, broken up into (about) two hour segments. The only other one I've started was Who is God? in which the segments I watched went over the names of God. The next simulcast will be Easter weekend over the Cross & Suffering.

9) The Return of the Elephants!
SO HAPPY.
Not only did this even herald the return of the Zoo's fantastic elephants, but this time they also brought back a baby, Malee, and a beautiful new exhibit. Seriously, I can't rave over the new elephant habitat enough - its large enough to house several elephants, has already been the reason for their newest bull elephant Rex (from Canada!), has a breeding center and auditorium. The Zoo is also starting work on their new Asia exhibit which will also feature a breeding center for red pandas. I'm so impressed with the steps the Zoo has been taking to improve and grow and I absolutely cannot wait for 2019 when they break ground on a new Aquaticus. In the meantime, they've released their Master Plan so we can keep up with their latest ventures. (New Giraffe Habitat! Since they're in the oldest part of the Zoo, I'm excited they're on the list.)

8) Sudan Becomes a New Country
"South Sudan took a seat at the world's table early Saturday as citizens of the new country took to the streets to celebrate."
That sentence still blows my mind as much now as it did then. The fact that South Sudan was allowed to even vote on a potential separation, much less for it to actually be honored, is just never something I thought I would see. Sudan has managed since then to stay out of the news for the most part - or at least I haven't caught anything - so I definitely need to go back and do some follow up research to see how things have continued to go.

7) The Movie List
Favorite Movie: Hmm.... probably Thor, although Muppets & First Class are close behind it.

Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Harry Potter Deathly Hallows: Part 1
True Grit
Unstoppable
Tangled
Suckerpunch
Thor
X-Men: First Class
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Larry Crowne
Harry Potter Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Captain America: First Avenger
Cowboys & Aliens
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Muppets
Arthur Christmas
Alvin & the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked
Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows

Whew! Six more to go!

2010 in review.

I've been avoiding a 2010 year end post. In fact, I keep writing and unwriting it.

I thought it was a great idea at first - I love year end lists, I love recaps, I've been scouring through all the top news or top gadgets or top whatever to remember the year. My friends have summed up their year well.

But for me this is what I don't want to admit: I feel like a lot of 2010 was spent running in place.

Overall, for me 2010 was the year of unmet expectations.
I want to be oh so careful saying that because please understand: This was not a bad year. This was not a year that shook me to my core. I have friends that really hit rough seas this year and I am very aware of that. And when I say unmet expectations its not a complaint. But that's simply what it was. Where I expected to be at this point in my life and where I actually was did not add up. And instead of dealing with it properly with God I ran around wildly. I was constantly busy with something. And it left me socially depleted.
It's not to say that I didn't enjoy times with those people, because I really did. But it wasn't helping the real problem. (Which to be entirely honest I'm still not sure what that is. Maybe at the end of 2011, I'll have that answer.)

Now for the other side of the coin.
2010 was not wasted entirely. I did gain some ground on all I just talked about. I realized ultimately I was telling myself (and everyone else and God Himself) that I was open to Him, but really I was telling Him exactly how I wanted it to go. And that was the crux of all the unmet expectations. I let go of Africa, for now. That was enormous. I have to let go of it for now. And honestly, that's the only one I'm willing to talk about on a blog yet. ;)

Enough. Let's talk about the fun stuff. Because hey, I was busy, so there was a lot of that! :)
The Awesome:
* In March (March 10th! I still have my calendar) Holly, Sam & I ventured up to Kansas, stayed with her parents, ate extremely fantastic pasta at Martinellis all to see Great Big Sea in concert for the first time. Which was awesome. They pulled songs from all their albums (which seems really rare now at concerts) and even played "Chemical Workers Song" which I never even dreamed they would play. I would travel again to see them in a heartbeat. They were wonderful. They are one of my favorite bands, but I had only heard them via cd's. I can assure you they are even better live. I loved them. You should go see them. They also played "Yankee Sailor." Swoon.
* We celebrated my grandfather's 80th birthday with a surprise bluegrass get together.
* Zoo with the Holly, Julie & the Ledesmas. Eating Chick Fil A. Playing in the park with Robbie. Staying up late with friends. Not counting getting lost in OKC cause that was really stressful.
* Zoo with the Nickersons, Philip & Eric. And the Meerkat King. Hysterical. I so wished I had had a video camera.
* VBS!
* Summertime with my cousins!
* Getting to go to Sulphur with the Plumbs & Pucketts!
* Rock Band 2 at Eric's with everyone. Singing with Brad and Philip really tops the list because it was oh so much fun.
* I finally read Till We Have Faces and Enders Game, both of which were outstanding and changed my top 5 list. I want to read more about Ender & Valentine please!
* Getting to enjoy Thanksgiving with my Oregonian family for the very first time. Traveling with grandma. Wii with Amanda. Eating Diane's fabulous cooking. Pestering Brian. The golden goblets. Flowers with Brent. Zoolights. The whole trip was phenomenal. All of it.
* My kids. All of them. The way their faces light up. The way they play. Their hugs. Little Khloe dressed up as Tinkerbell at her birthday. Amy & Kylie, growing up so fast and lovely. Holding Jace at the sleepover. Ashlyn & Carson being Ashlyn & Carson. :) Anna Banana is not Anna Orange and loves knock knock jokes. Videos of Robbie that always make me grin. Lexie in her 1st tutu. Ashia teaching me how to play WiiSports and watching her run. Video games & Alien with Kaden. Holding Tate for the very first time.
* The entire celebration of Tate gets its own mention. Taaaaaaate!
* Little Women with Phyllis & Amy.
* Christmas was really lovely this year. This year had that touch of magic over the whole week and I feel like I actually got to spend time with each set of family and friends. And the stocking with my name embroidered topped it off. ;)
* The very last week of December I settled over a year's worth of debating and pierced my ears. I'm really happy I did.

I know I'm missing things.

Work:
Whoa. Can you believe 2011 will be my fifth Valentine's Day?
I really developed a lot at work this year and I'm glad of it. Sure, May was chaos and the new computer system still makes me twitch at times, but its no longer making me tear my hair out. I also completed my very first wedding from start to finish and have strengthened my casket pieces. A few weeks ago a lady come in and asked if I was Sherri when I went to help her. I told her I was, but there was obviously no recognition on my face. She smiled. I didn't think much of it- this happens a lot and they either knew my parents or grandparents but when she left I asked my boss. He remembered that I had helped her pick out her son's casket piece. My heart melted. Whether that was the only reason she knew me or not may forever remain unknown, but that continues to sum up why I love my job. That moment was priceless.
Another lady came in, much earlier in the year (either this year or late last 2009). She knew exactly what she wanted and was having trouble conveying it and was very concerned that it wouldn't be what was in her mind. I was also afraid of getting it wrong. Even when you don't build a piece (which in this case I didn't), whoever does build it has to talk with the person who helped the family to ensure it's done right. A few days after the service the same lady came back in, approached me, grabbed my hands and thanked me extensively for understanding her. She had tears in her eyes. I practically had tears in mine. Can I use heart melting again? Heart melting. Butter.

Movies:
There wasn't a lot of movies I really wanted to see this year, but for the most part I really enjoyed the ones I saw. How to Train... is probably my top pick.
Alice in Wonderland , w/ Kris & Kylie
How To Train Your Dragon
Iron Man 2 , for Julie's party
Robin Hood, w/ Philip, Kelly, Brad, Regina, Holly, Sam, Eric, Cambria
Toy Story 3, w/ grandma!
Despicable Me , um. See Robin Hood list.
Inception w/ Holly & Sam
Scott Pilgrim vs.The World w/ Jesse
You Again w/ Amy & Phyllis
Red See Robin Hood list.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader w/ Regina

Really? I feel like there was more than that. Am I missing something?

Alright. That's it. Sweet dreams 2010. You were real. You were great. You were really great. But now it's goodbye. It's not goodbye. It's just goodbye. (Thanks Elizabethtown, you summed that up nicely for me.)

Hellooo 2011!

Tis the Season...

I had (originally) planned on blogging for each day of Christmas Week. It's full of activity this year and I was hoping to respond to each night.
But since it is so full, I usually come home and crash afterward instead. With no days off this week at work, and with all the activity, I'm purposely trying to get extra rest (despite the fact that work has been, bizarrely, slow.) So. Recap.

Sunday: The Christmas Service
Sunday was nice. We've canceled drama rehearsals for the month (for which I'm grateful despite how much I enjoy them) and I spent the afternoon at home. Woot.
That evening was our Christmas service at church. All in all there were 22 of us - a small gathering, but there. When Gary asked for twelve volunteers we suddenly realized to our amusement we would have more onstage than in the audience. I love my little church.
The past few years we've always had a very serious candlelit service, which is beautiful and I always enjoy it, but this year was much more lighthearted and a nice change. There was one candle at the front, one that is there for every Christmas service and made me smile - one candle to remind us of Christ. We opened with requested favorites such as Jingle Bells, Have a Merry Little Christmas, Silver Bells, Rudolph... And then Pam spoke up that we had not sang Rudolph with the opening lines of the reindeer names, so we started the whole song over from the very beginning. :)
And Gary asked us for our favorite Christmas memories and after prayer he read the Christmas story, pulling from all the gospels to complete it. We sang a few more requested Christmas carols - this time ones from the hymnal - and Gary finished up by reading another story of the birth, this time by Max Lucado. The final piece of the evening was darkening the church and lighting our candles in the quiet. In the midst of the the flickering glow I marveled at the churches that met like this in the past and meet like this today - hidden away for their safety, with only candles. For a moment a palpable connection with believers already gone and others now tucked in pockets of the world. A reminder to remember my brothers and sisters in chains.

Monday: A Double Celebration with Friends
The annual Christmas party! Christmas Party Part 1 was held at the Nickersons house where feasting was commenced. Turkey, the garlic mashed potatoes, stuffing, cheddar biscuits...it was all deliiicious. Philip, Kelly, Eric, Cambria, Holly, Sam, Brad, Regina and myself all gathered around their table. And after cleaning up....
Christmas Party Part Deux! The Hinsons household. Old photos from college graced the television, we reminisced, unwrapped gifts and spent the rest of the evening relishing each others company. And there was an aaamazing double-layer dark chocolate cream-cheese icing cake with dark chocolate chips by Holly herself. Yum. Yum.

Tuesday: Bricktown Bonanaza
This evening after work I made a trip up to Bricktown - I had to leave a little late due to a very unexpected family piece right at ten till five. But Imy graciously finished it and I was able to leave and arrive just in time to see the kiddos getting their pics with Santa. Then it was off to Chelinos for the 12 of us to devour (in my case) delicious quesadillas.
During dinner a man making balloon art came up to the table and delighted all the girls with varying shapes. Anna & Amy received a ladybug and teddy bear respectively that could be worn on their wrist (this was very cool! I had never seen that before) while Ashia requested a motorcycle and a very eager Ashlyn loved her puppy dog. They were really well made and I thought it was wonderful how four balloons totally made their night. Balloon man was awesome.

Anna: Knock, knock!
Who's there?
Anna: Um...rock!
Rock who?
Anna: Rock-aren't-you-glad-I-didn't-say-banana!? Ahahahaa!Knock, knock!

Good times, good times. Finally soaking in the season, I'm ready for the rest of Christmas week.

Bonus feature! Christmas videos!
Every Christmas as a kid I watched the Sesame Street Christmas episode several times. And while I do remember them singing Feliz Navidad while ice skating, mostly I watched it for the Cookie Monster segment. That was my FAVORITE. And for a few years I could never find it on youtube, but you can noooow.... :)







Also awesome this week: the lunar eclipse happening on the winter solstice that hasn't happened in some odd 400 years. It was totally worth getting up for - but if you're like me and didn't - here's a time lapse video of it out of Florida. It's worth the watch clocking in at just over two minutes.

Help me out, yeah, you know you gotta help me out...

Confession. I started Christmas shopping last Thursday. Started.
...
This is actually very unlike me. Thankfully, the lovely Holly was willing to go along for the ride and we dashed from store to store. I can now safely say a mere few days later that half of my shopping is done. Yes.

But for most of the people I hadn't bought for I had hit a brick wall on ideas. This was...unfortunate. So tonight began Operation: Beg. Text messages went out. Pleading for ideas. And I'm grateful that all of you responded. :) You should have seen the happy dancing occurring with each message. It was gleeful. I'm sorry I had few ideas for you in the first place. I wish I had a good explanation. Next year I'll try to be more on game.

A summation of everything else:
* More poinsettias arrived in the shop today.
* We only have four grave blankets left and I am super pumped about that.
* A guy came in today just to let us know how thankful he was. Last Friday he bought a bouquet to take to his friend and he had never seen her light up like that. Aw.... that makes me smile.
* I'm about 100 or so pages into Game of Thrones.
* I've recently started listening to the Killers. Any suggestions? "Dustland Fairytale" is my favorite. (But "All The Things That I've Done" is on about its 20th play now.)
* I've attended both beautiful Amy's and snazzy Tate's birthday parties. Tate's party was Dr. Seuss. Look at this cutie. (I'm stealing the pic.)


* I listened to Amy's lovely piano recital in a room at the local library I never even knew existed. She did wonderful.
* I heard all about Carson's Santa visit.
* Phyllis, Amy & I went to see Little Women on at the local community theatre Saturday night. I approve of all of their renovations!
* But before that, Amy & I had a deliiicious dinner at Chilis.
* And at some point I went Christmas shopping.

The Labor Day Holiday

How to Create the Perfect Saturday:

Lunch with grandma? Check.
Going to Brad & Regina's? Check.
Out of town friends in town? Check.
ZOO!? Check.
COLDSTONE?! Check. (Birthday Cake Remix, baby!)
Holly & Sam arrive? Check.
Bohemian Rhapsody sung by everyone in the car? Double check.

And thus started off my Labor Day holiday. :) I've tried hard to use three-day weekends for major projects and I've completed a lot through that. (The mass purge of the filing cabinet and closet come to mind as recent accomplishments...) But this weekend was all play. Harvest Moon every night. Staying home Sunday and Monday. Completing small tasks on larger projects. McAlisters Deli. It was so nice.

Of course, the Zoo is always a personal favorite, but this was such a strange trip. I thought a lot of the exhibits would be lively due to being the last major summer holiday and the parking lot was packed. (Seriously, we finally sat for several minutes waiting for a family to deal with strollers and iceboxes just for the spot). But we mostly saw...exhibits? Very few animals. Mostly just their exhibits. :) We did get some fun interaction with the gorillas, and the giraffes are always lovely (elephants still in Tulsa, but next year!). Even the Sea Lions were off somewhere else. No chimps. Few wild dogs. Can't find the otters again.
However, price of admission was all worth it just for Philip & Eric filling in the meerkats inner monologues. I wish I had direct quotes, but I don't, and no amount of attemping to reprise it will do it justice.

I haven't had Coldstone since Vegas when I tracked it down in the Excalibur. It was wonderful.

And then everyone sat on the patio of Coldstone for, um, two hours? reminiscing.

Of course, everything that was on hold over the summer comes back into full swing this week. My boss told me to rest over the holiday and that we would have to come back ready to go on Tuesday. Now we'll start our holiday work -- preparing for our annual open house, Thanksgiving, Christmas silks, etc. Wednesday night Bible Study returns this week at 5:30. Drama will start back up this coming Sunday. There are no less than four birthdays this week alone and several more in the coming weeks. I'm excited for all of them.

Hello fall! Let's begin again. How are you?

May Recap: Now is the month of maying...

...or at least of meltdowns.

The May Recap: The Complaint.

This month has been entirely too stressful. Prepare to be overloaded with garbage. (or you can skip reading completely, which is also okay with me since I don't really want to recall it either).

Unfortunately for May, it happened to follow April, which was also entirely too stressful. April was my boss being hospitalized and near death, computer chaos, trying to somewhat manage the shop and being overwhelmed with social gatherings of whatever kinds. May has been Mothers Day, crazier computer chaos, boss still recovering, Memorial Day, being overwhelmed with social gatherings of all kinds, dance recitals, proms, graduations, weddings, learning to take weddings... May is also the annual emotional minor crisis of Mothers Day & dad's birthday, which happened to fall on the same day this year. And this year that was just particularly worse because I was already so worn that I was not mentally capable to handle the anniversaries. I have broken down in tears more times than, well, okay, since December, but nonetheless I have let it all spill over moreso than usual. My emotions have been completely disrupted. I have missed my parents so much the thought of them has plagued me daily this month, or actually more accurate, the thought of what it would be like to have parents at all. Blah.

There. Release.

Other stuff also happened. I don't remember it all and I'm sure you're grateful.

So, seriously, May? Seriously? Notably, it's always my worst month. While December is also busy and emotional, May doesn't have the joy of Christmas or the afterglow of Thanksgiving. In school, it was always finals stress and getting out of the dorms and what do I do now plus the emotional loss. Now, especially because of where I work, it's end of year arrangements and Mother's Day, the second (if not largest sometimes) holiday of our year. This year was almost a bit more than I could take.

But today...was good. Today was glorious. I did not leave the house. I did not get out of my pajamas. I had a lovely healthy lunch and dinner with my grandma, and then brownies to top it off, played video games all day, made progress on my pictures overhaul and essentially hid in the shelter of my room. Also, I'm going to bed. At 11:30. Ha. Take that May. This is me sticking my tongue out at you.

Hello June! Lovely to see you. Care for some coffee? Tea? Brownie? I'll play nice if you will, I promise.