I did it. I finally mastered the chocolate chip cookie.
How? you ask. What's the secret? you say. Well, I'll tell you:
Refrigeration
Let me explain. The chocolate chip cookie has always been my arch nemesis of the dessert world. I'm a pretty darn good baker but when it came to the chocolate chip cookie, I could never seem to get it just right.
Growing up, we always had cookies of some kind in the house ... snicker doodles to gumdrop cookies and everything in between. I grew up helping my mom bake them and eventually it become my Saturday chore to make cookies. I learned to love making cookies, but I still struggled with my arch nemesis.
I remember one day my mom came home with a new recipe to try. She insisted that this was the recipe to solve the madness. So I gave it a shot. And guess what? They turned out perfect ... great tasting, nice and round, soft. We thought that was it, that life would be blissful with a perfect chocolate chip cookie and a glass of milk. And for awhile it was, till I tried the recipe again ...
Failure. Pure and utter failure. To my amazement, the recipe never worked for me again.
When I got to college I discovered the best tasting chocolate chip cookie recipe. It's on the back of the Western Family brand of chips. I said to myself, "Self, why not try this recipe out?" They are delicious! But, they always turn out flat. I think after years and years of fighting with the chocolate chip cookie, I finally settled for a delicious tasting cookie regardless of how it comes out of the oven.
A few weeks ago I was craving cookie dough. So instead of making some, I picked up some pre-made Western Family chocolate chip cookie dough at the store. It was delicious, of course, but deciding against making myself sick on raw dough, I baked some cookies as well. I assumed the dough was made from the same recipe Western Family promotes on the back of the chip bags. But when I took the cookies out of the oven, they were perfect. Golden brown, round, soft for days, and delicious.
So I started to wonder what the difference was between my pathetic cookies and these brilliant ones. The big obvious answer was that this store bought dough was hard from being in the fridge. When I rolled the dough into balls, they stayed tight. And the dough was cold so when placed in the oven, it took longer for the dough to fan out. I concluded that the next time I made chocolate chip cookie dough, I would put the dough in the refrigerator and see if this would put a stop to my rivalry.
My husband loves chocolate chip cookies so it wasn't long until I made some dough again. But this time, the dough went in the fridge over night. The next day I baked two dozen and to my wonderful pleasure ... they came out golden brown, round, and soft for days! And of course, absolutely delicious, especially warm right out of the oven. The perfect chocolate chip cookie!
The battle is over; the war is won. I have mastered the chocolate chip cookie. Who know all it took was a little chill.
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Thursday, October 18, 2012
costumes galore
Most theatre departments and companies have what you call costume storage. And most of these costume storage spaces are full of costumes. Go figure. However, I think you would be surprised by just how many costumes there actually are. At least I was when I saw Utah State's costume storage. I guess I would have to describe most costume shop people as ... pack rats ... They save everything because they never know when they are going to need it again.
Last year Utah State got a new costume shop adviser. I think she has the same response as me when she saw the costume storage ... because seriously, there are a lot of costumes. This year, she approached my husband about having a costume sale to get rid of the excess of costumes. They would split the profits with TSA if they helped out. They agreed and the sale was on.
When I first heard about the idea, I thought it was great but I didn't think it would be a huge success. But with Halloween right around the corner, maybe it would strike up some interest. TSA was in charge of promotion so they posted fliers around campus and around town. The costume crew spent hours getting ready. The night before, several students helped pack the dance studio full of ... stuff - clothing, purses, hats, shoes, and other random items.
The sale was last Saturday for six hours. We arrived in the morning and looked around. I was surprised by how much cool stuff there was. Everyone around me were trying hats on and getting excited over period clothing. I immediately found a hat that I fell in love with.
The longer we stayed, the more people showed up. It was great to see people interested. My husband and I search through everything. It felt like an awesome yard sale, except it had items from the last few decades ... and everything was ten dollars or less. We found a few great items but sadly didn't have enough money to pay for it all. So we put it aside and left to grab some more dough. When we came back later that afternoon to pay and help clean up, so much was missing! The costume shop adviser said they had a steady stream of people all afternoon ... and that sometimes it got so packed that you could barely move around. She had also dropped the price of everything to twenty cents. Twenty cents! My husband and I found a few more things to buy at that price.
Overall, it was a huge success! The department sold over 80 percent of the items and made some room for more costumes in the future. The costume shop adviser wants to do this again in the Spring. If she does, you won't want to miss it.
Last year Utah State got a new costume shop adviser. I think she has the same response as me when she saw the costume storage ... because seriously, there are a lot of costumes. This year, she approached my husband about having a costume sale to get rid of the excess of costumes. They would split the profits with TSA if they helped out. They agreed and the sale was on.
When I first heard about the idea, I thought it was great but I didn't think it would be a huge success. But with Halloween right around the corner, maybe it would strike up some interest. TSA was in charge of promotion so they posted fliers around campus and around town. The costume crew spent hours getting ready. The night before, several students helped pack the dance studio full of ... stuff - clothing, purses, hats, shoes, and other random items.
The longer we stayed, the more people showed up. It was great to see people interested. My husband and I search through everything. It felt like an awesome yard sale, except it had items from the last few decades ... and everything was ten dollars or less. We found a few great items but sadly didn't have enough money to pay for it all. So we put it aside and left to grab some more dough. When we came back later that afternoon to pay and help clean up, so much was missing! The costume shop adviser said they had a steady stream of people all afternoon ... and that sometimes it got so packed that you could barely move around. She had also dropped the price of everything to twenty cents. Twenty cents! My husband and I found a few more things to buy at that price.
Overall, it was a huge success! The department sold over 80 percent of the items and made some room for more costumes in the future. The costume shop adviser wants to do this again in the Spring. If she does, you won't want to miss it.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
always an aggie
Here at Utah State it's Homecoming week, filled with traditions, and football, and excitement ... and street painting.
Aggie Bull-evard goes right through the middle of campus and each year it gets painted by the different clubs and organizations. Every club gets a 10x10 space to paint their logo and/or incorporate the Homecoming theme - which this year is "Celebrate! Once an Aggie, always an Aggie." The street painting is a contest so there's only a two hour time limit to paint. The winners are for best overall, best incorporated theme, best artistic, and best greek.
My husband reserved a spot for the Theatre Student Association and was in charge of the design. He spent a good amount of time on it last week. After bouncing ideas off of me and other students, he finalized his idea. So Saturday, we were out and about buying supplies. We stopped at Home Depot for paint and such and Wal-Mart for cardboard. My husband decided to make a cut-out of the design beforehand to save on time ... which ended up working really well ... except for it filled up our entire living room and lasted most of our Saturday.
Once we had the cardboard laid out, my husband measured and traced and cut. And I helped, of course. We spent quite few hours on it. To make the time pass, we watched the Utah State v. Colorado State football game ... which they won ... go Aggies!
The painting was going on Monday night. Also going on Monday night was Legally Blonde rehearsal, which takes a good hand full of the departments students. My husband tried to recruit people to come help paint via emails and texts, but no real commitment came from it ... except for mine. It was just going to be me and the street. I was nervous to take on the challenge, I'll admit. We got there just before 6pm to get settled in. And to my great surprise, a theatre student showed up. She is in Legally Blonde but said she'd help for ten minutes or so before rehearsal. So it was the three of us tracing the design in chalk on the street.
Once rehearsal time came along, our friend left. My husband called the director and asked if he could stay since I was the only one there. Thankfully, the director let him stay for an extra hour. Huge relief off of my shoulders. As we were painting, we found that we had to use lots of paint to fill the gaps, and paint does not dry quickly on the street when there's clumps of it. But it started looking really cool. People would pass by and say, "Oh, I get it. Theatre masks in the 'U'. That's cool."
Shortly after we started painting, we had two more students show up to help us. Awesome! It made the job go much more quickly. The four of us had some difficulty painting on top of wet paint, which we had to do because of the time limit, but we got the job done. It was a lot of fun.
Overall, the street painting was stressful and fun ... two things my husband and I seem to be pretty skillful at. :)
Aggie Bull-evard goes right through the middle of campus and each year it gets painted by the different clubs and organizations. Every club gets a 10x10 space to paint their logo and/or incorporate the Homecoming theme - which this year is "Celebrate! Once an Aggie, always an Aggie." The street painting is a contest so there's only a two hour time limit to paint. The winners are for best overall, best incorporated theme, best artistic, and best greek.
My husband reserved a spot for the Theatre Student Association and was in charge of the design. He spent a good amount of time on it last week. After bouncing ideas off of me and other students, he finalized his idea. So Saturday, we were out and about buying supplies. We stopped at Home Depot for paint and such and Wal-Mart for cardboard. My husband decided to make a cut-out of the design beforehand to save on time ... which ended up working really well ... except for it filled up our entire living room and lasted most of our Saturday.
The painting was going on Monday night. Also going on Monday night was Legally Blonde rehearsal, which takes a good hand full of the departments students. My husband tried to recruit people to come help paint via emails and texts, but no real commitment came from it ... except for mine. It was just going to be me and the street. I was nervous to take on the challenge, I'll admit. We got there just before 6pm to get settled in. And to my great surprise, a theatre student showed up. She is in Legally Blonde but said she'd help for ten minutes or so before rehearsal. So it was the three of us tracing the design in chalk on the street.
The design is a clock with an 'A' in place of the numbers. It represents always being an Aggie. The finished product turned out great and we were pretty proud of it. Sadly, we didn't win anything.
Overall, the street painting was stressful and fun ... two things my husband and I seem to be pretty skillful at. :)
Sunday, September 23, 2012
a hidden talent
Guess what everyone? I've written a play. A full, over an hour, one act play.
My husband's theatre-ness is finally rubbing off on me.
This wasn't out of the blue ... well, kind of. The Theatre Student Association (TSA) has a Halloween show every year as a fundraiser for the club. In the past they have done skits or student written shows with a Halloween theme. My husband, who's the president of the club, came home one night last week and was telling me that no one had shown interest in doing the show yet.
The next day, I was bored. So I put my fingers to the keyboard and started typing. All I knew was that it had to be a murder mystery of sorts and include dancing pumpkins, (it's a tradition thing.) And from there I couldn't stop. My mind just kept turning. After about two hours or so, I had seven characters, a location, a basic plot, and sixteen pages of script.
The next day ... fourteen more pages. I was so excited and hyped up that I just kept working on it. I would show pieces of it to my husband and he would get excited too. We would talk about the plot as it got more and more complicated. I would spend hours writing and re-writing as my husband was at rehearsal. I had another student look at it and give me pointers. I told my family about it and they all thought it was an interesting idea. I even had to cut a character out because my plot was getting too complicated. I kept working and typing and after about six days I had a finished play.
Before I finished it though, I had to submit it to TSA for consideration. And when I submitted it, I was the only play that had been submitted. But then I found out that a comedy group had asked TSA if they could perform for the Halloween show with a series of skits. And then the next day, another murder mystery show had been submitted that was shorter than mine and completed. I had competition.
My husband called me one night from rehearsal and said that the verdict was in ... the TSA presidency was going with both of the other shows. Even though I was a little heartbroken, I could understand why. The other shows were cheaper to produce, thus giving them more profit. Plus, the other shows would be easier to do in such a short amount of time. But still, it was hard to motivate myself to finish the show after that because I had written it specifically for Halloween. But I did; I finished it, and I am now in the process of perfecting it.
I'm going to resubmit my play in the spring and hopefully see it come to life on stage. In the meantime, I'm going to try my hand at writing another play, one without so many limits.
Who knows? Maybe I have a hidden theatre talent.
My husband's theatre-ness is finally rubbing off on me.
This wasn't out of the blue ... well, kind of. The Theatre Student Association (TSA) has a Halloween show every year as a fundraiser for the club. In the past they have done skits or student written shows with a Halloween theme. My husband, who's the president of the club, came home one night last week and was telling me that no one had shown interest in doing the show yet.
The next day, I was bored. So I put my fingers to the keyboard and started typing. All I knew was that it had to be a murder mystery of sorts and include dancing pumpkins, (it's a tradition thing.) And from there I couldn't stop. My mind just kept turning. After about two hours or so, I had seven characters, a location, a basic plot, and sixteen pages of script.
The next day ... fourteen more pages. I was so excited and hyped up that I just kept working on it. I would show pieces of it to my husband and he would get excited too. We would talk about the plot as it got more and more complicated. I would spend hours writing and re-writing as my husband was at rehearsal. I had another student look at it and give me pointers. I told my family about it and they all thought it was an interesting idea. I even had to cut a character out because my plot was getting too complicated. I kept working and typing and after about six days I had a finished play.
Before I finished it though, I had to submit it to TSA for consideration. And when I submitted it, I was the only play that had been submitted. But then I found out that a comedy group had asked TSA if they could perform for the Halloween show with a series of skits. And then the next day, another murder mystery show had been submitted that was shorter than mine and completed. I had competition.
My husband called me one night from rehearsal and said that the verdict was in ... the TSA presidency was going with both of the other shows. Even though I was a little heartbroken, I could understand why. The other shows were cheaper to produce, thus giving them more profit. Plus, the other shows would be easier to do in such a short amount of time. But still, it was hard to motivate myself to finish the show after that because I had written it specifically for Halloween. But I did; I finished it, and I am now in the process of perfecting it.
I'm going to resubmit my play in the spring and hopefully see it come to life on stage. In the meantime, I'm going to try my hand at writing another play, one without so many limits.
Who knows? Maybe I have a hidden theatre talent.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
rehearsal schedule drama
Wonderful news everyone! My husband was cast as Emmett Forest in Legally Blonde the Musical!
Thank you, thank you.....yes, we are both extremely excited! We sang to the songs all the way to St. George and back in preparation for the audition. Not only was this the part he wanted, but it will be a good challenge for him. And as this is his last year at Utah State, this will also be his last performance for the school's main stage shows. What a great part to end on!
But wait....there's more news. There have been some changes made to the rehearsal schedule. My husband will now be rehearsing three and a half hours a day instead of three and six days a week instead of five.....Yea!
I hope at this point you are sensing the sarcasm in that last bit, because it really doesn't make me jump for joy. So they need the extra practice time. No big deal right? It'll all be over in two and a half months. I can handle that....I think.
I don't mean to make this a sob story but I just wanted to share some things that I go through as a theatre wife. I grew up in a home where we always sat down as a family to eat dinner. It was important to my parents and became important to me. So I struggle with the idea that my husband isn't home for dinner. Eat earlier, you say? Well we would if I wasn't working and he didn't have other responsibilities. Before rehearsals ended at 10pm, we would eat dinner when he got home around 9:30pm. Not too bad I guess. But eat dinner after 10pm? Crazy I say! My husband told me that he would not be offended if I ate dinner without him. Sad thought! Who wants to eat a lovely cooked meal all by themselves six nights a week? Not me.
And what happened to the deal that the theatre department has him during the week and I get him on the weekends? Who broke that deal, huh? I sure didn't. The weekends were for me and him to regroup and spend some quality time together. But no, you decided to take a part of my weekends away too. And what about our family that lives an hour and a half away that we usually drive down to see once a month? What about them? They won't be seeing him any time soon.
But it's only for two and a half months. It'll go by quickly. And for that time, I'll put on a happy face and be supportive. We'll have late night dinners and make the most of our weekends. Honestly, I am excited for him and I am willing to support him in this. It just stinks knowing that he's gone just a little bit longer and a little bit more than usual. However, it'll all be worth it when I see him up on that stage, acting and singing his heart out. He is great to watch on stage! Until he kisses the girl....
But for another time, another blog.
Oh the life of a theatre wife. :)
Thank you, thank you.....yes, we are both extremely excited! We sang to the songs all the way to St. George and back in preparation for the audition. Not only was this the part he wanted, but it will be a good challenge for him. And as this is his last year at Utah State, this will also be his last performance for the school's main stage shows. What a great part to end on!
But wait....there's more news. There have been some changes made to the rehearsal schedule. My husband will now be rehearsing three and a half hours a day instead of three and six days a week instead of five.....Yea!
I hope at this point you are sensing the sarcasm in that last bit, because it really doesn't make me jump for joy. So they need the extra practice time. No big deal right? It'll all be over in two and a half months. I can handle that....I think.
I don't mean to make this a sob story but I just wanted to share some things that I go through as a theatre wife. I grew up in a home where we always sat down as a family to eat dinner. It was important to my parents and became important to me. So I struggle with the idea that my husband isn't home for dinner. Eat earlier, you say? Well we would if I wasn't working and he didn't have other responsibilities. Before rehearsals ended at 10pm, we would eat dinner when he got home around 9:30pm. Not too bad I guess. But eat dinner after 10pm? Crazy I say! My husband told me that he would not be offended if I ate dinner without him. Sad thought! Who wants to eat a lovely cooked meal all by themselves six nights a week? Not me.
And what happened to the deal that the theatre department has him during the week and I get him on the weekends? Who broke that deal, huh? I sure didn't. The weekends were for me and him to regroup and spend some quality time together. But no, you decided to take a part of my weekends away too. And what about our family that lives an hour and a half away that we usually drive down to see once a month? What about them? They won't be seeing him any time soon.
But it's only for two and a half months. It'll go by quickly. And for that time, I'll put on a happy face and be supportive. We'll have late night dinners and make the most of our weekends. Honestly, I am excited for him and I am willing to support him in this. It just stinks knowing that he's gone just a little bit longer and a little bit more than usual. However, it'll all be worth it when I see him up on that stage, acting and singing his heart out. He is great to watch on stage! Until he kisses the girl....
But for another time, another blog.
Oh the life of a theatre wife. :)
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
s'more-less
My husband and I decided to have one last vacation before school started. One of the many adventures of our two week vacation was to camp for a night in Zion's National Park. We were staying with my husband's grandparents for the week but took one night to camp in the great out doors.
We got to our site kinda late and decided to make s'mores and call it a night. But as we were setting up, my husband called out, "Honey, where are the marshmallows?" Pretty sure I had seen them as I was packing, I claimed that they were in our bag. However, as we continued to search all our stuff, no marshmallows turned up. So it was either stay put s'more-less or head back to the house to get them.
Seriously, who ever wants to be s'more-less?
We didn't bring our car into the park so we had to brainstorm on how to get back to his grandparents. I knew there was a shuttle that went into town that passed by his grandparent's house. We headed over to the Visitor's Center in hopes that it wasn't too late to catch one. We got to a shuttle station and asked the driver if he went into town. He kindly redirected us to the other shuttle station....the one that went into town and not up the canyon. So as it was getting darker, we headed to the other station.
Once we got to the station, we waited for the next available shuttle with a few other folks. It arrived and we asked how late the shuttles ran and if we would be able to get back into the park. The shuttle driver assured us that we would be fine....if we hurried. Determined to get our s'mores, we climbed aboard and enjoyed our ride through town.
The shuttle arrived at it's farthest destination. We described the house to the driver only to hear the words, "Oh the West's!" She not only knew them, but was kind enough to drop us off in front of their driveway. We thanked her and ran inside. And of course, once we were inside, there were the marshmallows, sitting on the bed, where I had left them, as I was packing.
Relieved to find them, we grabbed the marshmallows, headed out the door, and giggled all the way back to the shuttle stop where we waited patiently with a bat for the shuttle to pick us up....It almost missed us. The street light decided to go out leaving us in darkness. Thankfully we were seen last minute. We hopped on and enjoyed the ride back into the park.
Walking back to our campsite, we talked of yummy s'mores and how this tiny, fun adventure would all be worth it. We weren't allowed to have fires so we were using our camper stove to roast our 'mallows. We started setting up our camper stove and the ingredients. It was only then that I heard the devastating words:
"Honey, where is the propane tank?"
I gave up. Even though I searched the tent for at least five minutes, I just knew it was back at the house, sitting on the bed, where I had left it, as I was packing. I felt like I had failed; we were going to be s'more-less. And the shuttles would be done in less than a half hour....not enough time to run back again. My husband did the best he could to cheer me up with words but nothing worked. Finally, he sat me down, put a marshmallow on a stick, lit a match on his zipper (which I didn't even know was possible), and toasted it. Catching on and smiling a little, I pulled out the grahams and chocolate. We each had one and enjoyed our s'mores under the starlit night.
S'more-less no more.
We got to our site kinda late and decided to make s'mores and call it a night. But as we were setting up, my husband called out, "Honey, where are the marshmallows?" Pretty sure I had seen them as I was packing, I claimed that they were in our bag. However, as we continued to search all our stuff, no marshmallows turned up. So it was either stay put s'more-less or head back to the house to get them.
Seriously, who ever wants to be s'more-less?
We didn't bring our car into the park so we had to brainstorm on how to get back to his grandparents. I knew there was a shuttle that went into town that passed by his grandparent's house. We headed over to the Visitor's Center in hopes that it wasn't too late to catch one. We got to a shuttle station and asked the driver if he went into town. He kindly redirected us to the other shuttle station....the one that went into town and not up the canyon. So as it was getting darker, we headed to the other station.
Once we got to the station, we waited for the next available shuttle with a few other folks. It arrived and we asked how late the shuttles ran and if we would be able to get back into the park. The shuttle driver assured us that we would be fine....if we hurried. Determined to get our s'mores, we climbed aboard and enjoyed our ride through town.
The shuttle arrived at it's farthest destination. We described the house to the driver only to hear the words, "Oh the West's!" She not only knew them, but was kind enough to drop us off in front of their driveway. We thanked her and ran inside. And of course, once we were inside, there were the marshmallows, sitting on the bed, where I had left them, as I was packing.
Relieved to find them, we grabbed the marshmallows, headed out the door, and giggled all the way back to the shuttle stop where we waited patiently with a bat for the shuttle to pick us up....It almost missed us. The street light decided to go out leaving us in darkness. Thankfully we were seen last minute. We hopped on and enjoyed the ride back into the park.
Walking back to our campsite, we talked of yummy s'mores and how this tiny, fun adventure would all be worth it. We weren't allowed to have fires so we were using our camper stove to roast our 'mallows. We started setting up our camper stove and the ingredients. It was only then that I heard the devastating words:
"Honey, where is the propane tank?"
I gave up. Even though I searched the tent for at least five minutes, I just knew it was back at the house, sitting on the bed, where I had left it, as I was packing. I felt like I had failed; we were going to be s'more-less. And the shuttles would be done in less than a half hour....not enough time to run back again. My husband did the best he could to cheer me up with words but nothing worked. Finally, he sat me down, put a marshmallow on a stick, lit a match on his zipper (which I didn't even know was possible), and toasted it. Catching on and smiling a little, I pulled out the grahams and chocolate. We each had one and enjoyed our s'mores under the starlit night.
S'more-less no more.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
one of my little adventures
The Bear Lake area is known for its famous raspberry shakes. And I've lived 45 minutes away for five years and never had one. With the thought of moving out of Utah in the next year, I've being thinking of all the things we haven't done that we need to do before we move. And getting a raspberry shake is one of them.
My husband is wonderful to put up with all my little adventures. (This raspberry shake thing wasn't the first and won't be the last.) He had Tuesday night off from performing so we jumped in the car and drive north through the canyon. It was actually great to sit in the car and spend some quality time with my husband just talking....and avoiding the cows crossing the road.
I did a bit of research before we went on our journey. I typed "Bear Lake raspberry shakes" into the Google bar and discovered a blog. It's by a family that taste tests all the raspberry shakes in the Bear Lake area to see which has the best. So I took their advice and decided to go to with their most recent winner, Quick 'n' Tasty.
When we pulled in to the Garden City, my husband turned to me and asked, "So, where are we going?" I had "forgot" to look up the address to the Quick 'n' Tasty because part of the adventure is to not know where you're going, right? But don't worry, we didn't have to look far. On the corner of the first intersection was the Quick 'n' Tasty with a sign outside that said 'Famous Raspberry Shakes' and a long line of hungry people.
Once we got out of the car and stood in line, I took a look down the street. There were at least three other restaurants with a raspberry shakes sign outside their shop. Good to know if we didn't find the Quick 'n' Tasty we'd still get a shake. Better to know we were at the best tasting one.
Again, my husband is wonderful and made a date out of my adventure by buying us dinner. We got chicken strips, a double cheeseburger, home style fries, and of course, a large raspberry shake. We got our shake first and started nibbling at it. One word: YUM! The food came next and it was all delicious. We ate outside and enjoyed every bit!
So was it worth it? In big, bold letters....YES! The raspberry shake was amazing and I would make the drive for another one. Of course, sharing the adventure with my husband made the trip one hundred times better.
Monday, July 16, 2012
my first opera experience
So I saw my first two operas this past week. I never thought I would see an opera. My parents never went to see operas and Tim Taylor from "Home Improvement" made them seem unbearable. So when my husband asked me if I would come see Faust, I wasn't thrilled about the idea. He told me a bit of the story line - a guy selling his soul to the devil to be young again - and I thought, "Hmm, that could be interesting." Another concern I had about going to an opera was the language barrier. My husband assured me this wouldn't be an issue since subtitles are projected for the audience. Still, I was worried that I would miss all the action on stage because my eyes would be glued to the words. So with some doubts and concerns, I made my way to the theater.
Upon walking in, I received a program. And to my lovely surprise, inside that program I found a synopsis of Faust - as well as all the other shows. I felt a sigh of relief wash over me. I could now read what the opera was about before it happened so that I wouldn't be completely distracted by the subtitles. I did have to pause for a moment however, and think, "Wouldn't reading the synopsis ruin the surprise of the show for me?" Then I thought to myself, "Self, it will be hard enough to read the subtitles and watch the show at the same time and try to keep up on the story line. Why not give yourself the advantage and read the synopsis?" Okay, but only one act at a time.
The show started and the subtitles were projected. Now weather or not this was a blonde moment for me, I had a huge revelation occur during the first five minutes of the show - I read faster than the actors sing. And of course this is obvious once you think about it. I was amazed to find that I could read the words then watch what they were doing on stage and not miss a beat. I also found that the English translations were like cliff notes and made the show much easier to understand.
Now I don't know what I imaged the opera like, but it was probably something similar to a vocal performance - with a very poor story line. But to my amazement yet again, the opera has just as good of story lines as musical theatre. Faust kept my attention the entire time.
I caught up with my husband after the show and was happy to explain to him that I thoroughly enjoyed myself at the opera. It was very well done and I could read the show and watch it at the same time. He smiled, said "Oh good," and proceeded to tell me that we were going to see Tosca - the other opera - the following night. I was excited! My husband had also never seen an opera but I assured him that it would be great.
And it was great! I enjoyed Tosca more than Faust. The story line was about two lovers trying to save each other during the French revolution. Tosca felt more like a play in that their singing was presented as dialogue rather than a song to push the story along. Also, there was more interaction between characters. And it had its good share of funny moments. Although it was a tragic ending, it was a great story that kept my interest. (And no, I did not ruin it for those of you who are planning on seeing it because you can read all about it in the synopsis before the show starts. :)
I like the opera now and I can't wait to see my next one!
Kudos to all the performers, directors, and deisgners at the Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre Company. Tosca and Faust were incredible!
Upon walking in, I received a program. And to my lovely surprise, inside that program I found a synopsis of Faust - as well as all the other shows. I felt a sigh of relief wash over me. I could now read what the opera was about before it happened so that I wouldn't be completely distracted by the subtitles. I did have to pause for a moment however, and think, "Wouldn't reading the synopsis ruin the surprise of the show for me?" Then I thought to myself, "Self, it will be hard enough to read the subtitles and watch the show at the same time and try to keep up on the story line. Why not give yourself the advantage and read the synopsis?" Okay, but only one act at a time.
The show started and the subtitles were projected. Now weather or not this was a blonde moment for me, I had a huge revelation occur during the first five minutes of the show - I read faster than the actors sing. And of course this is obvious once you think about it. I was amazed to find that I could read the words then watch what they were doing on stage and not miss a beat. I also found that the English translations were like cliff notes and made the show much easier to understand.
Now I don't know what I imaged the opera like, but it was probably something similar to a vocal performance - with a very poor story line. But to my amazement yet again, the opera has just as good of story lines as musical theatre. Faust kept my attention the entire time.
I caught up with my husband after the show and was happy to explain to him that I thoroughly enjoyed myself at the opera. It was very well done and I could read the show and watch it at the same time. He smiled, said "Oh good," and proceeded to tell me that we were going to see Tosca - the other opera - the following night. I was excited! My husband had also never seen an opera but I assured him that it would be great.
And it was great! I enjoyed Tosca more than Faust. The story line was about two lovers trying to save each other during the French revolution. Tosca felt more like a play in that their singing was presented as dialogue rather than a song to push the story along. Also, there was more interaction between characters. And it had its good share of funny moments. Although it was a tragic ending, it was a great story that kept my interest. (And no, I did not ruin it for those of you who are planning on seeing it because you can read all about it in the synopsis before the show starts. :)
I like the opera now and I can't wait to see my next one!
Kudos to all the performers, directors, and deisgners at the Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre Company. Tosca and Faust were incredible!
Monday, July 9, 2012
chain reaction
With my husband being in four shows and working for a professional theatre company, you can only imagine the commitment he has. Sadly, because of this, he had to stay in Logan while I made my way to Salt Lake City for my five year high school reunion. It was great to see old friends and I enjoyed hearing what everyone has been up to in the last five years. It got me thinking though...what have I been up to the last five years?.....
Well, the first big thing was I moved out of my parents' house and made my settlements in Logan. This lead me to....
Attend Utah State University. I was accepted into the Interior Design program with a Sales and Marketing emphasis. After my first year, I decided to move back into my parents' house for the summer. This lead me to....
Go to Nauvoo for a week. My cousin was a performing missionary for the summer so I tagged along to visit with my aunt and uncle. It was a fun trip and also lead me to....
Meeting my husband who was also a performing missionary. Yes, you are not suppose to check out missionaries because, well, they are missionaries. But we noticed each other. I wrote him a letter...he wrote me back...long story short....
We got married! About a year after the Nauvoo trip and seriously, it was one of the happiest days of my life. We honeymooned to Park City and then cruised off the coast of Mexico. When we got back, I was still attending USU so I dragged him up to Logan. He was going to go into business but after we talked about it and I did a little pushing to follow his passion, it lead him to....
Become a theatre major, and me a theatre wife. He's loving every minute of it, and I enjoy watching him perform. It was great to go to school together for two years. But the day finally came when I....
Graduated from college with my bachelor's degree. It's a great feeling to have accomplished all that work for a degree that I'll probably rarely use. But thankfully, after some looking around I was lead to....
A job at an elementary school. I am working as an instructional aid part-time and loving it. I'm even considering getting my teaching certificate. These are the big things, however.....
There are a few small things I've done in the past five years. Paid bills; got my first car loan; painted my apartment; worked at a hotel, a call center, and a switchboard; went on several family vacations; tried countless new recipes....
But most of all, one of the most fun things I've accomplished is that I've seen more plays in the last five years than I had in the first eighteen years of my life....
And I look forward to many, many more!
I'm excited to see what the next five years has in store for me.
Well, the first big thing was I moved out of my parents' house and made my settlements in Logan. This lead me to....
Attend Utah State University. I was accepted into the Interior Design program with a Sales and Marketing emphasis. After my first year, I decided to move back into my parents' house for the summer. This lead me to....
Go to Nauvoo for a week. My cousin was a performing missionary for the summer so I tagged along to visit with my aunt and uncle. It was a fun trip and also lead me to....
Meeting my husband who was also a performing missionary. Yes, you are not suppose to check out missionaries because, well, they are missionaries. But we noticed each other. I wrote him a letter...he wrote me back...long story short....
We got married! About a year after the Nauvoo trip and seriously, it was one of the happiest days of my life. We honeymooned to Park City and then cruised off the coast of Mexico. When we got back, I was still attending USU so I dragged him up to Logan. He was going to go into business but after we talked about it and I did a little pushing to follow his passion, it lead him to....
Become a theatre major, and me a theatre wife. He's loving every minute of it, and I enjoy watching him perform. It was great to go to school together for two years. But the day finally came when I....
Graduated from college with my bachelor's degree. It's a great feeling to have accomplished all that work for a degree that I'll probably rarely use. But thankfully, after some looking around I was lead to....
A job at an elementary school. I am working as an instructional aid part-time and loving it. I'm even considering getting my teaching certificate. These are the big things, however.....
There are a few small things I've done in the past five years. Paid bills; got my first car loan; painted my apartment; worked at a hotel, a call center, and a switchboard; went on several family vacations; tried countless new recipes....
But most of all, one of the most fun things I've accomplished is that I've seen more plays in the last five years than I had in the first eighteen years of my life....
And I look forward to many, many more!
I'm excited to see what the next five years has in store for me.
Friday, June 22, 2012
pros and cons
Guess what I was doing last night and the night before and will be doing every night for the next two weeks? It's probably something none of you have ever done or dream of doing.
I was running lines with my husband.
Yep....thrilling. Most of you are probably thinking that running lines sounds like a drag. Sometimes it can be. However, running lines does have it's pros and cons.
Pro:
Currently we're working on the part of Fred/Petruchio for Kiss Me Kate. My husband is the understudy and needs to be memorized in case of sickness, injury, or sudden death, (let's hope not on that last one.) One of the great things about running lines with my husband is that I get to read most of the show in advance. So I know what to expect when I see the show.
Con:
I read most of the show in advance and I know what to expect when I see the show.
Pro:
But because I get to read the show in advance, I can ask my husband questions about parts I don't understand like "Why is she so angry at him?" or laugh at funny lines like "Oh Lilli, you're not going to whoops" or discuss certain parts of the story like "It's sad to think that during Shakespeare's time women had their place."
Con:
However, sometimes this can ruin the show for me because I already know the intricate details of the plot and don't get to watch it unfold onstage.
Pro:
My husband is a trooper and does really well at memorizing so many lines so quickly. But I have to admit that I have a very good memory, and sometimes I memorize the other lines faster than my husband memorizes his....if I'm really trying. And usually I end up memorizing his lines because I hear them repeatedly.
Con:
That just means for me that when I see the show, I know when an actor has made a mistake on his or her lines. This has happened a time or two before in other shows.
Pro:
Even though running lines takes at least an hour or more a night, it does mean that I am spending time with my husband.
Con:
I'm spending time with my husband....running lines....oh, the things I do as a theatre wife.
Pro:
I'm not an actress. My husband may convince you otherwise but if I were an actress, then Kristen Stewart would be pure genius on the screen. I've done a few acting tid bits in my lifetime, including two scenes for my husband's directing class one semester. However, I do enjoy pretending I can act. (Sir Ian McKellen on Acting -Yes, I am referencing this video again. :) So one of my favorite parts about running lines is making up accents and pretending to be the different characters. Lilli has a western accent. The gangsters have a New York accent. Paul is boring. Ralph is always tired. Hopefully by doing this my husband will admit that I am fun to run lines with.
Con:
If I practice too much, my husband may finally admit that I am good enough to be in a play and persuade me to do a show. Don't get me wrong, I love the theatre....I'd just rather be in the seats than on the stage.
We have fun running lines. Sometimes it's a drag and sometimes it's entertaining. Overall, I love my husband so much that I will sit on the couch, cuddle up to him, be the characters, and run lines...over and over and over....
I was running lines with my husband.
Yep....thrilling. Most of you are probably thinking that running lines sounds like a drag. Sometimes it can be. However, running lines does have it's pros and cons.
Pro:
Currently we're working on the part of Fred/Petruchio for Kiss Me Kate. My husband is the understudy and needs to be memorized in case of sickness, injury, or sudden death, (let's hope not on that last one.) One of the great things about running lines with my husband is that I get to read most of the show in advance. So I know what to expect when I see the show.
Con:
I read most of the show in advance and I know what to expect when I see the show.
Pro:
But because I get to read the show in advance, I can ask my husband questions about parts I don't understand like "Why is she so angry at him?" or laugh at funny lines like "Oh Lilli, you're not going to whoops" or discuss certain parts of the story like "It's sad to think that during Shakespeare's time women had their place."
Con:
However, sometimes this can ruin the show for me because I already know the intricate details of the plot and don't get to watch it unfold onstage.
Pro:
My husband is a trooper and does really well at memorizing so many lines so quickly. But I have to admit that I have a very good memory, and sometimes I memorize the other lines faster than my husband memorizes his....if I'm really trying. And usually I end up memorizing his lines because I hear them repeatedly.
Con:
That just means for me that when I see the show, I know when an actor has made a mistake on his or her lines. This has happened a time or two before in other shows.
Pro:
Even though running lines takes at least an hour or more a night, it does mean that I am spending time with my husband.
Con:
I'm spending time with my husband....running lines....oh, the things I do as a theatre wife.
Pro:
I'm not an actress. My husband may convince you otherwise but if I were an actress, then Kristen Stewart would be pure genius on the screen. I've done a few acting tid bits in my lifetime, including two scenes for my husband's directing class one semester. However, I do enjoy pretending I can act. (Sir Ian McKellen on Acting -Yes, I am referencing this video again. :) So one of my favorite parts about running lines is making up accents and pretending to be the different characters. Lilli has a western accent. The gangsters have a New York accent. Paul is boring. Ralph is always tired. Hopefully by doing this my husband will admit that I am fun to run lines with.
Con:
If I practice too much, my husband may finally admit that I am good enough to be in a play and persuade me to do a show. Don't get me wrong, I love the theatre....I'd just rather be in the seats than on the stage.
We have fun running lines. Sometimes it's a drag and sometimes it's entertaining. Overall, I love my husband so much that I will sit on the couch, cuddle up to him, be the characters, and run lines...over and over and over....
Saturday, June 16, 2012
agendas
Auzi made his first trip to Salt Lake City this weekend. He did great and ran so well. It's nice to have a car that works....completely.
Since my husband had been rehearsing all day, I drove down to Salt Lake. As I was on I-15, I noticed ahead of me two Penske trucks with a car on a trailer following each one. I figured they must be moving and I wondered where from. Washington. They were on there journey somewhere south and we just happened to be passing them right then and there. They had their own agenda and so did we. But our paths crossed just for a moment.
Then I got to thinking....What was their agenda? Why were they moving? Did they get a new job? Did they want to be closer to family? Did they want warmer weather? Their agenda was grander than ours. We were just heading to Salt Lake for the weekend to be with family. And then we'd be back up to our home.
Then I got to thinking even more....Every car had an agenda. Was someone heading home from work? to work? Were they on their way to see their love? Were they heading to a concert? to the mall? or to a party? Or were they going on vacation? or to a family reunion? And just for a moment, all our agendas matched because we were heading south together.
Then it hit me. Sometimes I get caught up in my own agenda that I forget that everyone else has his or her own agenda. Even if they are my closest family or friends, I still don't know everything they are going through. And I definitely don't know what complete strangers are going through. But there are moments in our lives when our paths cross, either for a split second or a few hours or a lifetime.
So when our paths cross, what do I do with that time? To be honest, I don't always make the most of it. I would say most of the time it's taken for granted. A cashier at Hobby Lobby rings me up but I don't bother to talk or smile because I don't know them. I see my extended family for a few hours but don't talk to everyone cause I know I'll see them again. My husband is home for lunch but we sit on the couch watching X-Men cause we know we'll have time later.
But what if the cashier's mother just passed away. Or what if my cousins just graduated from high school and are heading off to college. Or what if my husband was bored of X-Men....wait, he wouldn't be bored of X-Men.....what if I wanted to talk to him. I don't know everyone's agendas and most of the time there's not much I can do to help out. But I can smile, or say "Thank you", or ask "Hi, how are you?", or tell them "I love you." A little thing can go a long way.
I'm not saying I'm going to be perfect. But I can make someone's agenda a little happier.
Monday, June 11, 2012
the inside scoop
I'm grateful my husband has a passion because it is so important to me to do what you love. And my husband loves acting! Being back on stage is seriously lighting up my husband's life. So I thought it would be fun to ask him some question about acting. Enjoy your exclusive inside scoop!
Q: What's it like working for the Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre?
A: The company's got a small town feel to it. You are taken good care of as an actor. They are very excited to have us working for them. It is a different atmosphere though because I'm musical theatre and most people there are opera. But I'm surrounded by a lot of talent and I enjoy that.
Q: What do you enjoy most about being an actor?
A: Performing. I really look forward to being in front of an audience. It's nice to have all the lines memorized and the work done and go out in front of an audience and just enjoy acting. I also enjoy being good at something. I'm better at this then anything else I do and it's nice to excel at something.
Q: What show are you most looking forward to this season? Why?
A: Kiss Me Kate. I've never done this show before and it's lots of fun. There are fun costumes, big dance numbers, and it's just a funny show.
Q: Is it hard to memorize all your lines and songs?
A: Faust is hard just because it's in another language. It's just jibberish and I don't know how to pronounce the words. But I've never had a problem with memorizing. I learn best on my feet, playing out the scene with the script in hand. Repetition.
Q: Do you get stage fright?
A: I use to when I first started acting. I see stage fright as freaking out right before a show, not remembering your lines or cues. But I still do get nervous....well, excited nervous. About 10 minutes before a show starts I get excited nervous, but once the curtain goes up and the show begins, I'm not nervous anymore. I just love being on stage.
Well, there ya have it. Some thoughts on acting. And if that wasn't enough, check out this funny video and see what Sir Ian McKellen has to say about acting.
So basically if you want to act, all you need to do is imagine and pretend....right? Go ahead. Give it a try. I dare you. :)
Saturday, June 9, 2012
summer plans
So my husband started rehearsing again. It's been a full semester since he's been a part of a show, and I can tell he's really missed show biz.
Last October, he auditioned for a few companies for this summer's seasons. When he heard back from the Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre here in Logan, (especially when he found out he got a part) he took the job. We've been really excited about this opportunity and now it's finally here.
This season, the UFOMT is doing Tosca, Faust, My Fair Lady, and Kiss Me Kate, along with a few other small productions. My husband is Zoltan Karpathy in My Fair Lady, the understudy for Fred in Kiss Me Kate, and ensemble for My Fair Lady, Kiss Me Kate, and Faust. And a couple days ago, they had in-house auditions for a small production of Girl Crazy....my husband got the part of Jake Howell. All I can say is, he's busy busy busy!
The UFOMT season started on May 30 with the first day of rehearsals. Shows start on July 12 and run through August 11. Rehearsals run Monday-Saturday, starting around 10AM and going to about 10PM. Daily schedules are given about a day in advance. My husband isn't gone all day, but anywhere from 1-3 hours at a time, 2-4 times a day. It's kinda hard to plan a life when you don't know what to expect from your job each day....but we manage. And of course, he's loving every minute of it....from singing, to dancing, to learning French.
Me? What do I do now that it's summer and my husband is busy being an actor? Sometimes I feel like Rapunzel in "Tangled".....
Last October, he auditioned for a few companies for this summer's seasons. When he heard back from the Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre here in Logan, (especially when he found out he got a part) he took the job. We've been really excited about this opportunity and now it's finally here.
This season, the UFOMT is doing Tosca, Faust, My Fair Lady, and Kiss Me Kate, along with a few other small productions. My husband is Zoltan Karpathy in My Fair Lady, the understudy for Fred in Kiss Me Kate, and ensemble for My Fair Lady, Kiss Me Kate, and Faust. And a couple days ago, they had in-house auditions for a small production of Girl Crazy....my husband got the part of Jake Howell. All I can say is, he's busy busy busy!
The UFOMT season started on May 30 with the first day of rehearsals. Shows start on July 12 and run through August 11. Rehearsals run Monday-Saturday, starting around 10AM and going to about 10PM. Daily schedules are given about a day in advance. My husband isn't gone all day, but anywhere from 1-3 hours at a time, 2-4 times a day. It's kinda hard to plan a life when you don't know what to expect from your job each day....but we manage. And of course, he's loving every minute of it....from singing, to dancing, to learning French.
Me? What do I do now that it's summer and my husband is busy being an actor? Sometimes I feel like Rapunzel in "Tangled".....
I'm not locked inside, but after I've cleaned the house for the fiftieth time, I feel like I'm trying to find things to do. I guess this summer I'll be discovering some new talents and hobbies. :)
Sunday, June 3, 2012
a funny life
Life is funny. I don't really know how it is funny because it doesn't make us laugh but it does throw unexpected turns at us and I guess those can be funny. It all depends on how you look at it. But I will say this....life is funny because not all turns given are unexpected. Some turns we know are coming. But it always seems like when those turns are coming, life sends the unexpected turns our way.
About six weeks ago, my cousin was in town and we were having a discussion with my husband about vacations. I want to go to Walt Disney World and he doesn't want to spend the money. My cousin and I tried to argue that now is the best time to go because we have no major financial concerns. I then said, "It's not like everything is going to happen to us all at once." This was a Brian Regan moment when I started desperately chasing after the words that came out of my mouth. I seriously jinxed us.
We knew that our neighbors were moving and that the new ones moving in wanted to share internet with us. So it was our responsibility to get that situated. We previously had Qwest but decieded to try Comcast because of a friend's suggestion. Big mistake! The guy took over 2 hours to get it going, ruined my white hand towel after washing his greasy hands, and then proceeded to tell me that I did not have wireless internet but just an Ethernet connection. Also, we found that even with the Ethernet connection, the internet was slower than Qwest. And I'd have to spend another 50 dollars to buy a router. So it was back to Qwest.
The beginning of May we noticed that our car had a rattling sound. So we took it in. While it was in, we also had our oil leak fixed. We came back from a birthday weekend and drove the car out of the mechanic's lot. Within 10 minutes the car died. Thankfully it was already in our driveway at that point but it would not start try after try after try. So we had it towed back to the mechanic. After a few days and several tests, the only thing they could tell us was that they were perplexed and that they thought it was an engine problem. Really? Really?!
Although we made a good chunk of money last year, we were still expecting financial aid from the governemnt to help pay for my husband's education. It was the beginning of May and we still hadn't heard anything. So my husband checked into it and found that technically he had been in school for 4 years and no longer was eligible for financial aid. But if he filled out some paperwork stating why he was still in school and hadn't recieved a degree yet, they would consider giving him some money. So he did, and they did, and no money. Apprently they ran out....? We were suppose to have recieved an email in April explaining the situation but we never did.
About a year ago, I asked my landlady if we could repaint our apartment. And to my surprise she said yes. She even allowed me to choose the colors. (I guess my degree did come in handy.) Well, it wasn't until this Memorial Day weekend that we got serious about painting. We went to Home Depot, got the colors, approved the colors, got the supplies and 5 cans of paint, and started. Its been 6 days now, and with some parental help, we managed to paint the front room, the hallway, the kitchen, our bedroom, and the bathroom - ceiling and all - all on a budget of less than 400 dollars.
We decided that since our current vehicle was dead and we didn't owe much on it that we'd just pay off our loan. So we went into the bank and asked to do so. The nice young man helping us asked about our car. We told him the brief version and explained that since it was dead (and not likely coming back from the dead) that we didn't want to have to make any more payments. Once the transaction was completed, the nice young man said, "Congratulations! You are now the owners of your car." We both looked at each other and mumbled, "Yeah, a dead one."
A dead car and 2 rental cars later, we managed to start looking for cars. We found several online that we liked and called on, but without a car we couldn't exactly go looking for one. My mother was sweet enough to let us borrow her car. The day she brought it up, we went to look at a few different cars around town. The first one we saw, we liked....a lot! So after talking and glancing at a few other cars, we told the guy we'd take the car. We ran into our bank at 5:55pm on a Friday evening and started work on a loan. Tuesday evening, everything went through on the loan and we became official owners of a Nissan. Wednesday we got it inspected and registered and Thursday we got it detailed. Can I just say that cars are expensive!
After a few headaches and phonecalls, I finally got Qwest wireless internet up and running. The problem now is that the only working phone jack in our house is five feet up the wall and in our hallway. And the cloest outlet without going through doors or behind ovens is across the room. So now we've got working internet but at the expense of a green cord running through our kitchen. We're still working on it.
I don't know if I can look back at May and laugh. But life, thanks for making May a funny month.
About six weeks ago, my cousin was in town and we were having a discussion with my husband about vacations. I want to go to Walt Disney World and he doesn't want to spend the money. My cousin and I tried to argue that now is the best time to go because we have no major financial concerns. I then said, "It's not like everything is going to happen to us all at once." This was a Brian Regan moment when I started desperately chasing after the words that came out of my mouth. I seriously jinxed us.
We knew that our neighbors were moving and that the new ones moving in wanted to share internet with us. So it was our responsibility to get that situated. We previously had Qwest but decieded to try Comcast because of a friend's suggestion. Big mistake! The guy took over 2 hours to get it going, ruined my white hand towel after washing his greasy hands, and then proceeded to tell me that I did not have wireless internet but just an Ethernet connection. Also, we found that even with the Ethernet connection, the internet was slower than Qwest. And I'd have to spend another 50 dollars to buy a router. So it was back to Qwest.
The beginning of May we noticed that our car had a rattling sound. So we took it in. While it was in, we also had our oil leak fixed. We came back from a birthday weekend and drove the car out of the mechanic's lot. Within 10 minutes the car died. Thankfully it was already in our driveway at that point but it would not start try after try after try. So we had it towed back to the mechanic. After a few days and several tests, the only thing they could tell us was that they were perplexed and that they thought it was an engine problem. Really? Really?!
Although we made a good chunk of money last year, we were still expecting financial aid from the governemnt to help pay for my husband's education. It was the beginning of May and we still hadn't heard anything. So my husband checked into it and found that technically he had been in school for 4 years and no longer was eligible for financial aid. But if he filled out some paperwork stating why he was still in school and hadn't recieved a degree yet, they would consider giving him some money. So he did, and they did, and no money. Apprently they ran out....? We were suppose to have recieved an email in April explaining the situation but we never did.
About a year ago, I asked my landlady if we could repaint our apartment. And to my surprise she said yes. She even allowed me to choose the colors. (I guess my degree did come in handy.) Well, it wasn't until this Memorial Day weekend that we got serious about painting. We went to Home Depot, got the colors, approved the colors, got the supplies and 5 cans of paint, and started. Its been 6 days now, and with some parental help, we managed to paint the front room, the hallway, the kitchen, our bedroom, and the bathroom - ceiling and all - all on a budget of less than 400 dollars.
We decided that since our current vehicle was dead and we didn't owe much on it that we'd just pay off our loan. So we went into the bank and asked to do so. The nice young man helping us asked about our car. We told him the brief version and explained that since it was dead (and not likely coming back from the dead) that we didn't want to have to make any more payments. Once the transaction was completed, the nice young man said, "Congratulations! You are now the owners of your car." We both looked at each other and mumbled, "Yeah, a dead one."
A dead car and 2 rental cars later, we managed to start looking for cars. We found several online that we liked and called on, but without a car we couldn't exactly go looking for one. My mother was sweet enough to let us borrow her car. The day she brought it up, we went to look at a few different cars around town. The first one we saw, we liked....a lot! So after talking and glancing at a few other cars, we told the guy we'd take the car. We ran into our bank at 5:55pm on a Friday evening and started work on a loan. Tuesday evening, everything went through on the loan and we became official owners of a Nissan. Wednesday we got it inspected and registered and Thursday we got it detailed. Can I just say that cars are expensive!
After a few headaches and phonecalls, I finally got Qwest wireless internet up and running. The problem now is that the only working phone jack in our house is five feet up the wall and in our hallway. And the cloest outlet without going through doors or behind ovens is across the room. So now we've got working internet but at the expense of a green cord running through our kitchen. We're still working on it.
I don't know if I can look back at May and laugh. But life, thanks for making May a funny month.
Saturday, May 19, 2012
the show that never dies
Whenever I think of my husband as an actor, I usually visualize him in one show: Seussical the Musical.
Every year the university puts on about 6-7 shows. Usually, one of these shows is a children oriented show. In the fall of 2010 they put on Seussical the Musical: Theatre for Young Audiences.
My husband was one of the lead roles - the Cat in the Hat. Anyone who knows my husband knows that he was born to play this part. The Cat in the Hat fits him like a glove. He's a kid at heart and loves to mess around. All he had to do was be himself....with a little over exaggeration....and he was the Cat in the Hat.
Seussical the Musical: Theatre for Young Audiences is just that....it's for younger audiences. It's shorter than the original Broadway version...minus a few songs and characters...to appeal more towards children. As such, the university made sure to advertise to the families of our city. They had ads on the radio, passed out fliers, and posted signs all over. My husband, along with a few other cast members, went to a few different elementary schools to perform a song or two. My husband also went to 2 different book stores to read Dr. Seuss books to children. And before one of the Saturday performances, the university held a carnival with games, prizes, and a magician.
Now normally the university's shows only last for 7 night performances. However, with the anticipation of crowds and children, they added a matinee on a Saturday. But once the show opened, it sold out almost every single night....so they added another matinee to the next Saturday....making 9 shows total. I saw the show 4 of the 9 times....and it's one of my favorite shows ever!
My husband was fantastic! He got great compliments....one from Mr. Michael Ballam saying that my husband was the best Cat in the Hat he had ever seen. All the children loved him. Some would say he stole the show....which he did, but that's also just the nature of his character. The other characters were just as incredible....everyone from Horton, to Mayzie, to the Whos, to the Sour Kangaroo. The show was a huge success!
But that wasn't the end of it. After the show ended, the cast had another elementary school to visit. And the following January, the college had a Grand Gala where the Dean asked Seussical to perform a number. Performances stopped there but Seussical will never die. It will always be a favorite of ours.
*If you want to see for yourself just how incredible this show was (or watch it again for those of you who went), my husband has posted a recording of a performance on YouTube. Type in "seussical the musical usu" and it's the ones it all caps - "SEUSSCIAL" part 1, part 2, part 3, etc. Enjoy!
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
characters
So my husband read my continuing to learn post and said, "That wasn't what I thought you were going to write." I admit that it wasn't what I had planned to write, but after several attempts, that's what I came up with. My husband and I talked and now here is another attempt at what I meant to write.
In the theatre world, actors come from all walks of life. Male, female, white, black, straight, gay, Republican, Democrat, American, Australian. Talented or not, they have come together for one thing....to act.
As an actor, you portray several different characters throughout your career. As a really good actor, you explore the world of each character so that you can better present that person on stage. My husband tells me that when he gets a role, he takes the time to invest in the character. Who is he? Why is he that way? What is his back story? That way, he can better connect with the character and present his story to the audience.
My husband has had the opportunity to discover the lives of so many characters in so many different situations....each character sharing his own story in his own way. He has found that by playing each character and learning to understand his story, he has become more open minded. More understanding of situations. More accepting of others.
As an actor, you may think you have nothing in common with the other actors in a show, but your passion of acting has brought you together. Actors can vary from gender to religious beliefs to political affiliations. But after endless hours of rehearsals, you get to know the other actors. You start to discover, who is my fellow actor? Why is he that way? What is his back story? And you begin to understand his situation and accept him for who he is.
I meet people from all walks of life on a regular basis. I hope that instead of judging quickly and passing someone by, I can take the time in invest in another life's, get to know who they are, and accept them for their differences. Who knows? I may find a lifelong friend.
In the theatre world, actors come from all walks of life. Male, female, white, black, straight, gay, Republican, Democrat, American, Australian. Talented or not, they have come together for one thing....to act.
As an actor, you portray several different characters throughout your career. As a really good actor, you explore the world of each character so that you can better present that person on stage. My husband tells me that when he gets a role, he takes the time to invest in the character. Who is he? Why is he that way? What is his back story? That way, he can better connect with the character and present his story to the audience.
My husband has had the opportunity to discover the lives of so many characters in so many different situations....each character sharing his own story in his own way. He has found that by playing each character and learning to understand his story, he has become more open minded. More understanding of situations. More accepting of others.
As an actor, you may think you have nothing in common with the other actors in a show, but your passion of acting has brought you together. Actors can vary from gender to religious beliefs to political affiliations. But after endless hours of rehearsals, you get to know the other actors. You start to discover, who is my fellow actor? Why is he that way? What is his back story? And you begin to understand his situation and accept him for who he is.
I meet people from all walks of life on a regular basis. I hope that instead of judging quickly and passing someone by, I can take the time in invest in another life's, get to know who they are, and accept them for their differences. Who knows? I may find a lifelong friend.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
mr. president
The Theatre Student Association of the university held their annual end-of-year banquet a couple nights ago. And it was a good time.
Every year the students put together a series of skits to show the year in review. This year's skits were the best I've seen. There were brief skits for each show that was done during the year, a rendition of Wicked's "What is This Feeling?" about ushering, and of course skits roasting the faculty. One faculty member complained about not getting roasted the previous year so this year he got his very own skit roasting his job, his personality, and his dog. It was hilarious, and he enjoyed it.
My husband played the lead role of Oscar Jaffe in the production of Twentith Century last December. The character is a bit of a drama queen as he is a famous Broadway producer. The skit, however, portrayed the character and therefore my husband as a major drama queen! It was great.
Awards are always a highlight at the banquets. The TSA gives away silly awards like The Best Hair Award....which went to the student who had to grow out his beard for over 6 months. But they also give awards for best lighting, best set design, etc. And of course, there are the acting awards. Each award comes with a silly prize from Wal-Mart but still gives the recipient a sense of accomplishment. My husband was nominated for best supporting actor and best actor but came away with no silly prizes.
Last year when my husband didn't receive any awards, I was a little disappointed. So being the loving wife that I am, I asked him to stop at the dollar store on the way home. I ran in and bought him a gift for each of his shows for the '10-'11 season. There was play-doh for Seussical, a sword for The Three Musketeers, and a dog puppet for The Zoo Story. He was overcome with emotion....well not really....but grateful for the thought.
But the most exciting news from the banquet last night was this: my husband has officially become the new President of the Theatre Student Association! He has been serving as the vice president and by so doing was president elect for this up coming year. As president, he and the other TSA council with help orchestrate workshops, provide funding for shows, and host socials to unify the students of the theatre department. I'm so proud of my husband. You may now all refer to me as the first lady of the TSA. Thank you.
My husband will be one busy man this next school year. But what's changed?
Every year the students put together a series of skits to show the year in review. This year's skits were the best I've seen. There were brief skits for each show that was done during the year, a rendition of Wicked's "What is This Feeling?" about ushering, and of course skits roasting the faculty. One faculty member complained about not getting roasted the previous year so this year he got his very own skit roasting his job, his personality, and his dog. It was hilarious, and he enjoyed it.
My husband played the lead role of Oscar Jaffe in the production of Twentith Century last December. The character is a bit of a drama queen as he is a famous Broadway producer. The skit, however, portrayed the character and therefore my husband as a major drama queen! It was great.
Awards are always a highlight at the banquets. The TSA gives away silly awards like The Best Hair Award....which went to the student who had to grow out his beard for over 6 months. But they also give awards for best lighting, best set design, etc. And of course, there are the acting awards. Each award comes with a silly prize from Wal-Mart but still gives the recipient a sense of accomplishment. My husband was nominated for best supporting actor and best actor but came away with no silly prizes.
Last year when my husband didn't receive any awards, I was a little disappointed. So being the loving wife that I am, I asked him to stop at the dollar store on the way home. I ran in and bought him a gift for each of his shows for the '10-'11 season. There was play-doh for Seussical, a sword for The Three Musketeers, and a dog puppet for The Zoo Story. He was overcome with emotion....well not really....but grateful for the thought.
But the most exciting news from the banquet last night was this: my husband has officially become the new President of the Theatre Student Association! He has been serving as the vice president and by so doing was president elect for this up coming year. As president, he and the other TSA council with help orchestrate workshops, provide funding for shows, and host socials to unify the students of the theatre department. I'm so proud of my husband. You may now all refer to me as the first lady of the TSA. Thank you.
My husband will be one busy man this next school year. But what's changed?
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
continuing to learn
One thing I've discovered about myself, especially since being graduated from college, is that I love to learn. And what better way to continue learning than being married to an actor. Sure you can always be learning in any profession....we all learn something new everyday, as they say. I know I do working at an elementary school.
But being married to an actor gives me the opportunity to see, read, explore, and discuss all kinds of plays. And one thing I love about plays is that they allow us to put ourselves in situations that we would never encounter in our own lives. And what better way to continue learning than to put ourselves in someone else's shoes and see what we can learn from their situation.
Just like movies and books, we can explore a whole new world from the adventures plays have to offer. Have you even been inside a floating house and soared above the city? Have you ever been to Hogwarts and discovered all sorts of magic? Or have you even been to the land of Oz and viewed life before Dorothy and Toto ever arrived? I have.
I've learned that flying a floating house takes more that one person to be successful. And even if you don't like the other person steering the house in the beginning, once you get to know them they have a lot to offer you as a friend.
I've learned that magic can be a wonderful thing....or cause terrible pain. There is good and evil in the world. Sometimes good wins and sometimes evil wins. But with enough friends on your side, and enough courage to face the dangers, and having the secret ingredient of love, good will always prevail over evil.
And I've learned that judging someone based on what they look like, whether they have green skin or blonde hair, can stop you from learning who someone is on the inside. And on the inside, they may be a wonderful friend with a big and loving heart who only wants the best.
Seeing life through someone else's eyes can be exciting, challenging, or even humbling. But learning from their experiences can improve our own lives. I never want to stop learning.
But being married to an actor gives me the opportunity to see, read, explore, and discuss all kinds of plays. And one thing I love about plays is that they allow us to put ourselves in situations that we would never encounter in our own lives. And what better way to continue learning than to put ourselves in someone else's shoes and see what we can learn from their situation.
Just like movies and books, we can explore a whole new world from the adventures plays have to offer. Have you even been inside a floating house and soared above the city? Have you ever been to Hogwarts and discovered all sorts of magic? Or have you even been to the land of Oz and viewed life before Dorothy and Toto ever arrived? I have.
I've learned that flying a floating house takes more that one person to be successful. And even if you don't like the other person steering the house in the beginning, once you get to know them they have a lot to offer you as a friend.
I've learned that magic can be a wonderful thing....or cause terrible pain. There is good and evil in the world. Sometimes good wins and sometimes evil wins. But with enough friends on your side, and enough courage to face the dangers, and having the secret ingredient of love, good will always prevail over evil.
And I've learned that judging someone based on what they look like, whether they have green skin or blonde hair, can stop you from learning who someone is on the inside. And on the inside, they may be a wonderful friend with a big and loving heart who only wants the best.
Seeing life through someone else's eyes can be exciting, challenging, or even humbling. But learning from their experiences can improve our own lives. I never want to stop learning.
Saturday, April 28, 2012
support: a matter of attitude
support (verb): to undergo or endure, especially with patience or submission
I've had talks with friends before where they ask, "How do you do it?" And all I say is, "I don't know. I just do."
When people see me from the outside looking in, they probably see a supportive, loving wife who sacrifices so much for her acting husband. At least this is what they tell me. And I'm grateful this is what they see because it means I am putting up a good front.
Now don't get me wrong. I do see myself this way. Supportive. Loving. Sacrificing. But I'm far from getting The Most Supportive Wife Award. There have been times when he's come home at night and I'm angry because he was having fun rehearsing and I was painting my toe nails watching "Toy Story 3" for the 27th time. There have been times where I'll be sitting in the audience with my family or friends and my husband kisses another girl on stage and everyone looks over at me to see how I'll react. And there have been times when I'm jealous because he is at college doing what he loves and I got a degree that I'll probably never use.
For most of our marriage, I have complained that he loves theatre more that he loves me. This is half joke, half truthful feeling. And somewhere in the recesses of my mind, I believed that all this complaining would get him to change. And when he wouldn't change, my attitude would get worse and I would complain some more. It got to the point where my support became an emotional mess. I would tolerate him being gone and rehearsing with friends and doing what he loves because I love him. But I would be angry and jealous along the way.
It wasn't until about a month ago that I realized that my attitude about his career was seriously negative. Being supportive is all a matter of attitude. Sure I can be angrily supportive. But what good is that going to do? He's not going to feel supported and he's definitely not going to change. But if I can change the way I see things and have a positive attitude, that could make all the difference. I can see nightly rehearsals as an opportunity for him to learn and grow and for me to expand my hobbies. I can see on-stage kisses as nothing more than two sets of lips touching. I can see his degree as my degree because I was positively supporting him from the sides.
I'm not going to change overnight but I'm going to give it my all.
support (verb): to undergo or endure, especially with patience or submission and a darn good attitude
I've had talks with friends before where they ask, "How do you do it?" And all I say is, "I don't know. I just do."
When people see me from the outside looking in, they probably see a supportive, loving wife who sacrifices so much for her acting husband. At least this is what they tell me. And I'm grateful this is what they see because it means I am putting up a good front.
Now don't get me wrong. I do see myself this way. Supportive. Loving. Sacrificing. But I'm far from getting The Most Supportive Wife Award. There have been times when he's come home at night and I'm angry because he was having fun rehearsing and I was painting my toe nails watching "Toy Story 3" for the 27th time. There have been times where I'll be sitting in the audience with my family or friends and my husband kisses another girl on stage and everyone looks over at me to see how I'll react. And there have been times when I'm jealous because he is at college doing what he loves and I got a degree that I'll probably never use.
For most of our marriage, I have complained that he loves theatre more that he loves me. This is half joke, half truthful feeling. And somewhere in the recesses of my mind, I believed that all this complaining would get him to change. And when he wouldn't change, my attitude would get worse and I would complain some more. It got to the point where my support became an emotional mess. I would tolerate him being gone and rehearsing with friends and doing what he loves because I love him. But I would be angry and jealous along the way.
It wasn't until about a month ago that I realized that my attitude about his career was seriously negative. Being supportive is all a matter of attitude. Sure I can be angrily supportive. But what good is that going to do? He's not going to feel supported and he's definitely not going to change. But if I can change the way I see things and have a positive attitude, that could make all the difference. I can see nightly rehearsals as an opportunity for him to learn and grow and for me to expand my hobbies. I can see on-stage kisses as nothing more than two sets of lips touching. I can see his degree as my degree because I was positively supporting him from the sides.
I'm not going to change overnight but I'm going to give it my all.
support (verb): to undergo or endure, especially with patience or submission and a darn good attitude
Thursday, April 26, 2012
an actor as a husband
Being a theatre wife. Busy. Hard. Exciting. Never ending. These are just a few words to describe the life I lead. Being married to an actor is different. It's adventurous and has it's perks, as do most careers. However, my husband doesn't work 9-5, he doesn't fill out papers, and he doesn't sit in an office or cubicle. My husband has late night rehearsals, scripts to read, lines to memorize, and costume fittings.
And even when my husband is in a show and he's gone late most nights, and he's quoting the show, or he's talking about the show, or he's working on the blocking, or he's perfecting his accent, or he's complaining about his costume or make up or wig, or he's singing all day....seeing him perform on stage is all worth it! I fall in love with him all over again every time I see him perform.
I fell in love with him the first time I saw him on stage, even if I didn't realize it at the time. I noticed his good looks during the per-show as the cast sang in the balcony of the lobby. An attractive looking young man who could sing was worth my attention. Once the play began, I couldn't take my eyes off him. His acting, his voice, his looks....a deadly combination for a gal like me. This talented actor stole my heart and he didn't even know my name.
Almost four years from that day, I still fall in love with him on the stage. This is my blessing. This is my curse.
And even when my husband is in a show and he's gone late most nights, and he's quoting the show, or he's talking about the show, or he's working on the blocking, or he's perfecting his accent, or he's complaining about his costume or make up or wig, or he's singing all day....seeing him perform on stage is all worth it! I fall in love with him all over again every time I see him perform.
I fell in love with him the first time I saw him on stage, even if I didn't realize it at the time. I noticed his good looks during the per-show as the cast sang in the balcony of the lobby. An attractive looking young man who could sing was worth my attention. Once the play began, I couldn't take my eyes off him. His acting, his voice, his looks....a deadly combination for a gal like me. This talented actor stole my heart and he didn't even know my name.
Almost four years from that day, I still fall in love with him on the stage. This is my blessing. This is my curse.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)