Acting

I recently rediscovered my love of the stage. When I was a kid, I participated in the summer acting workshops at our little community theatre. I was in every play possible in Jr. High. In High School, I had a great part in the one act play my freshman year. It was wonderful, and I was pretty good. Even won awards! That play should have gone all the way to State, but that's another story for another day.
But my sophomore year, I was given a tech role, threw a 15-year old diva hissy fit, and quit. Then I got a boyfriend, joined the Army, and went to college. I briefly considered getting back in to acting while at UNT, but I was intimidated by the depth of talent on that campus. Additionally, everything the school did was musical in nature. I cannot sing. I have lots of stories to support that, but again, not relevant today.
This time last year, Jonas asked to do some acting, so we enrolled him in a children's theatre company and he performed in Alice in Wonderland in November. Such stage presence! He had a supporting role as one of the royal cardsmen, and carried it like he was headlining the show! I think he's been bitten by the bug, and I will completely support it. Even if it gives him nothing more than the courage and presence to stand in front of an audience and communicate clearly, it's a great skill to learn. And get this- the boy can sing, too. Good to know the bad vocals gene isn't passed on like the taco-tongue gene. (You know the one?)
Anywho, he wanted to audition for Winnie the Pooh in January, so I took him down to let him have it. They were also casting adults in some roles, and asked if I wanted to read, since I was there. Imagine my surprise when I was cast as Winnie himself!
I had a blast! I had forgotten how much I love being in front of people, how easy it is for me to slip in to another character. And to sweeten the deal, I was able to participate in a hobby with my son.
Currently, I am in a production of Harvey. We are performing this weekend and the process has been wonderful. I must have been in some sort of funk, or even minor depression over the summer, as I found myself sleeping a lot, and having no self-control over my eating habits. But since Harvey has started, I am thriving on 5-6 hours of sleep at night, lost 6 pounds without trying, and couldn't be happier.
So last week, I had an epiphany. I need to act more often. In fact, I need to act as much and as often as possible. I know it's a little late to be deciding what I want to do when I grow up, but I think I finally have. I want to be an actor.
Today has been a very good day toward this goal. I auditioned for the director at College of the Mainland. He can't use me in their current production, but invited me to try out for a future show. Then, my wonderful, darling, talented friend Julie (who I want to REALLY be when I grow up) got me connected with a new theatre in Friendswood. I have an audition next Tuesday! As a bonus, Jonas gets to try out for their kid production of Cinderella. They're looking for a Prince Charming, and I think he may just fit the bill!
I see lots of future posts about acting...mine, Jonas', maybe even Carleigh's, as she is now asking to try her hand at it, too. That makes me very happy!

A little late to the party, but here just the same

A few months ago, several friends were talking about some funny minivan commercials they had seen. I recognized the commercials to which they were refering, but honestly didn't think they were all that funny.



But today, I stumbled on the video that goes with those commercials. And now I see the light!



I was laughing so loud that my dog came over to the desk to investigate!



I have never been a minivan hater, but my husband is. I may have to show him this video, and see if he doesn't change his mind. =)

Mind if I brag on Jonas for a bit?

You see, my son and I have the most volatile relationship of any relationship in this house. I can adore him and dislike him within a 30 second window. He can cuddle up to me and flatter me within 10 seconds of saying something snotty and sarcastic. We love each other very much, and push each others' buttons daily. I have struck him in anger (God forgive me) and begged him to forgive me. He is only 9, and I sometimes wonder what the next 9 years will bring us, if we've already seen so much strife. But then, then we have a weekend like this past weekend, and all my concerns slip away.

For his birthday party, we went to Putt Putt Funhouse, and invited 4 of his friends. It was low- key and fun. The kids hit the jackpot, literally, when they played a game that must have been on the fritz, as it continued to dispense tickets long after it should have stopped. In total, Jonas gathered over 2400 tickets! And the other kids all agreed they should pool their tickets and give them all to Jonas, as he was the birthday boy.

When the kids emerged from the ticket-redemption place, they each were wearing large multi-colored hats, similar to the Cat in the Hat. Each hat was a different color combination. Jonas had chosen to use his tickets to get each kid something, instead of keeping them all to himself. I was proud, to say the least, and the kids were thrilled.

In a separate incident, we were talking about why we call 9/11 Patriot's Day. Jonas asked why those people wanted to kill so many people. I explained, "Those men believed that people who don't think the way they do are sinners, and must be killed." Jonas replied, "Well, that's ridiculous. They'd have to kill everyone in the entire world, including themselves, as we are all sinners. The only perfect person is Jesus."

Did your jaw drop open like mine did? That's a truth many adults don't get in their entire life, but my 9 year old stated it just as confidently as he was saying his shirt was green.

I thank God for that first-born of mine, and for his bright mind and kind heart. I don't doubt that he will teach me as i try to teach him.

Jonas turns 9, and other evidence that I am getting old

There will always be moments in a generation that cause us to look at one another and ask "Where were you when...". My parents had the first moon landing, JFK's assassination, and maybe Pearl Harbor. I say maybe to December 7, 1941, because my parents were very young then. My generation has, so far, the space shuttle Challenger disaster, the space shuttle Columbia tragedy, Michael Jackson's death, and 9/11.

I personally like my 9/11 story best of all, because it resulted in my son's arrival. And every year, millions of people are reminded of the horrors that happened that day. I'm lucky enough to tell a whole lot of them that some good came of that day too, and introduce them to Jonas. He's a sweet hearted boy, who is smart and funny. He also is about the most hard-headed stubborn kid I've ever known! We've had several run ins as he's gotten older, because guess what? I'm stubborn and hard-headed, too. I love that boy. But watching him grow reminds me that I'm getting older, too.

Then last night, some cast mates and I went out to have a drink after practice. I think those of us with acting in our blood are goofier than the normal person, but it sure makes for a fun night out! The "wow, I'm old" moments of the night were thus: the waiter asked for my ID, but then said he was just kidding. Ouch. Then, we decided to leave because the music was too loud. What?? Seriously, it was depressing. The final blow came when, after a few shots of very good tequila, the lawyer in the group started telling us how to best avoid a DWI conviction. That simply is NOT a conversation we would have had 15 years ago. We thought we were invincible back then, and never would have thought past the drink in our hand.

But I'm not sad or discouraged. Growing older just means we're getting more right than wrong. I'll take that! And then I'll go play putt putt golf tonight with my son to celebrate his 9th birthday!

A Year???

Uh, hi. Not sure if you remember me or not, but I used to post to this blog. Yeah, I even think my name is on here somewhere. Ring a bell? Yeah, it's me. Sorry for the extremely long break.

I think the blame lies with Facebook. I got caught up with the lives of other people, spelled out in quick bursts, and forgot the joy of spelling out my own life in long, drawn out fashion.

But I'm back. Maybe it is the insomnia that has kept me up the past few nights. It might be the tumbling thoughts in my head that are begging to be hashed out, flung on to paper (er, screen?), and analyzed for clarity and consistency and content. Oh wait. That's what I do for a paycheck.

I don't want to promise that here. Here, I want to be inconsistent. I want to ramble and not be clear at all. Sometimes. Here, I want YOU to dissect the content and let me know what you think.

Do we have a deal? Great! Let's get started...

I need a camera. That picture on the front page is OLD! No one in my family looks like that anymore! I've missed the last year of events in my kids' lives because we don't have a camera. We have a camera phone, natch, but someone needs to teach me how to download the result of that. Anyone? Let me know...I'm not too proud to beg.

I'm going to stop there for now. Ease myself back in to this. I have a lot to say (can I get an amen?), so don't fear. I'll be back. =)

Summer is almost over

But we have crammed all kinds of excitement in to it! The kids spent 3 weeks with my parents, 2 weeks with Craig's parents, are water-logged from all the swimming we've done, and have driven 4 different cars over the past month.

Rental #1- the night before we left for NE Craig was side-swiped in the Stratus. Not wanting to risk taking an injured car over 2000 miles the mext morning, we rented a Jetta. It was nice. Had some great acceleration.
Rental #2- on our way home from NE, the kids and I were caught in a storm on the highway. Traffic was at a standstill as the wind blew and hail fell. And then the trailer next to us was blown over and landed on us. Thank God we were all okay. So the next day we got in to a new rental, a Kia Rondo. This one has lots of room, is almost a crossover, but has horrible acceleration and I will be glad when the Stratus is out of the shop.
Rental #3- we decided to take advantage of the cash for clunkers deal and traded in the 1994 Honda Passport for a Nissan Altima. Soooo pretty! And the A/C works!!!! Happy day! But the day we signed all the paper work the car wasn't ready, so we took another Nissan Altima home. It was wonderful, but nerve wracking. Not our car! And two kids...
New car #1- we picked up our new Altima yesterday. It's so purty! And did I mention the A/C?

We will break in said car this weekend as we head to San Antonio to my cousin's birthday party. My parents will meet us there. My cousin Shauna will be in town from San Fransico, so that will be neat!

And even after school starts on the 24th, we have travel plans. My brother's 40th birthday party is the 29th and Craig is going back to NE for his 20th high school reunion. Whew!

Funnies from my kids

The kids are spending 20 days with my parents this summer. They left on Father's Day and will be back on 7/10. It's been a surreal time away from them. Craig and I have both gotten a lot done in their absence, but goodness we miss them.
My mom had a funny story to tell on the kids the other day. My parents live by a body of water and the kids have spent countless hours swimming, jumping, diving, etc. in that water. Needless to say, they have turned very brown, and very blond. Well, my mom is not a fan of white pasty skin, and told me should couldn't handle Carleigh's white tummy and back anymore. You see, we've only let Carleigh wear one piece bathing suits. I personally am scared to death of the signalization of girls at younger and younger ages, and I plan to do what little bit I can while I can to guard Carleigh from this. So- bikinis are not an option. My mom would argue that I have never been comfortable in a bikini so I've projected this on to my daughter, which may hold a small grain of truth, but it doesn't matter. I want my little girl to be a little girl for a lot longer, and I don't think bikinis contribute to that.
Apparently, my mother and I had never had this conversation, because she took Carleigh to the store to buy her a new bikini. At first, Carleigh scanned the choices and was deep in thought. She commented on how pretty some of them were, but then she stopped. She told Pepe, "I can't get one of these. I don't have boobs yet."
Let me tell you that I have NO idea where Carleigh got this idea. But it's funny anyway!
Then Jonas sees Pepe is going to check out and buy the bikini they have picked. He immediately asks, "Pepe, did you call my daddy and ask him if that is okay? He doesn't want Carleigh to have one of those."
I can tell you that we have NEVER had the "no bikini" conversation with Jonas. Why would we? But apparently he is more observant than we give him credit for, because he made the connection. And he stood up for what he believed to be right. I am so proud of him for trying to protect his little sister, and for speaking up.
Can't wait to get them back next week. I miss the little punks.