Hump Day

Last night, other cast members were commenting on Facebook that they missed not seeing the cast and being at rehearsal. It solidified for me that I am not cut out for this. Because sitting home with my family, eating dinner and watching the voice, was exactly what I wanted to be doing. It's good to feel comfortable at home, I suppose. Just as long as I don't go and get all boring about it.

Tomorrow is dress rehearsal, and then Friday and Saturday nights are shows. C-man has a home game Saturday. We can do this!

Is it the weekend yet?

• I really want a new camera. I mean really want a new camera. I've got my eyes set on a new Nikon D750. Now if my wallet would sudden fatten up a little so I can get it. Maybe I'll get it before our Spring Break trip.
• C-man went home sick from school yesterday. I've been feeling crummy, too. I'm hoping it's a quick virus we kick. He definitely seemed better today.
• Although he went to bed early. (Thanks for being so far ahead at the half, Packers!) The sleep definitely helped.
• I went through Act I of my lines today, since we haven't had rehearsals. I've still got it in my head, and should be fine on Thursday. I'll cover Act II on my commute home.
• If one more person posts that stupid privacy post on Facebook, I'm going to quit the whole damn thing. If you don't have the good sense to realize it's ridiculous, it only takes 10 seconds to google it and find out it's a hoax. And even if you don't do that, for the love of God, take it down once you're told it's fake! Ahhh! Don't let the hackers win, people!

Superly Eclipsed

• Monday again. I was in a good mood until I got to work.
• I've noticed a pattern there...
• My body is getting all kinked up again. Rain is coming.
• The blood moon was cool. Way cooler than I'd expected, actually.
• The Packers play tonight. I hope it's not a nail biter.

A much needed break

• C-man is still thrilled about his touchdown yesterday. He equated it to getting a puppy.
• Which makes me happy, because touchdowns are much less bitey.
• The play went well last night. I did all my pieces.
• Unfortunately, a cast member tossed the wine glasses and they crashed all over the floor.
• That's been my warning to everyone nightly - don't push off the tables, because they're rickety.
• It flustered a cast member, and she jumped 4 pages ahead. We made our way back eventually, and I threw in a random line about broken plates to cover, and we moved on.
• At least the audience was small.
• I'm so exhausted and creaky today. Beasley woke us up at 9.
• At least I don't have rehearsals until Thursday. That'll be a great break.
• But the rest of today is going to be la-azy. So much to do around here, but screw it.

A good day

Today, C-man ran the ball in for a touchdown. The first run was a bit short.

But they gave the ball to him again, and the second run made it in.

He was a very, very happy boy

His tackling wasn't too shabby either.

In other news, I made it through opening night. A couple of hiccups, but for the most part, it was great. It didn't hurt that the audience was into it, too. I'm back at it again tonight. I suppose I should look at my lines...

Home Opener

Well, here we are. Opening night. We did our last rehearsal last night, but it was technically a soft open because we allow people to come watch. There were about 20 people in the audience. It was nice to hear the laughter. Not so nice when someone would still forget a line... But you know, that's live community theater.

I'm much less nervous this go around than I was last time. I don't know if that's a good thing or not, based on everything I've read about nerves and presentations, but whatever. I'm not going to start worrying about not worrying now! And I'm sure I won't be as easy going as last night once it's show time.

It'll be nice to have family in the audience. Beerman is flying home, so we'll see if he makes it on time.

Thursday Thirteen

1. I just signed a permission slip for C-man to go to the Milwaukee Film Festival on a field trip. Must be nice.
2. Tonight is our first night on stage in front of an audience. Technically, it's a rehearsal, but we'll have people there.
3. I'm feeling better about things. My play husband knows his lines a bit better, so at least that's positive.
4. Tomorrow is football picture day. Beerman is still in Denver at the Great American Beer Festival, and I've got curtain call at 7 p.m. I don't know how I'm going to get the team photo, darnit! I guess I'll have to pay the photographer like the rest of the world.
5. I find it so interesting that everyone feels they should comment on the Pope now that he's in the States. I don't think I've ever commented about Thomas Monson or Justin Welby, so find it fascinating that everyone wants to weigh in on Pope Francis. Maybe it's just a testament to his impact.
6. I am loving his anti-death penalty and help the poor speeches, though.
7. I'm running on fumes these days. I get home from rehearsal after 10, and then can't calm down enough to go to bed until midnight. Coupled with not sleeping well at night anyway, and it's going to get ugly.
8. Sunday is going to be a long, lazy day in bed. Well, until it's time to go to the dog park.
9. At some point, I'm going to have to get to my bees again. This weekend is not going to be it.
10. I'm sort of in love with the new Taylor Swift song, Wildest Dreams. I can't decide if I like the song, or just the amazing cinematography in the video, but I can't stop singing it.
11. I can't get my hair highlighted for another week and was caught plucking grays from my head. Damnit.
12. Someone in my play is sick, so I gave her a 2 oz bottle of my honey. I didn't want to tell her that I don't give my honey away to just anyone. I figured for the good of her not getting me sick, though, it was worth it!
13. I'm working from home tomorrow because C-man is off school. That's going to be awesome.

Wordlessly Digging

I want my life back

• My play husband STILL doesn't know his lines. We have 3 days to get this together. After all this time put into this, it's going to be totally wasted, because he's going to make us look like idiots. I'm so furious.
• C-man is learning how to play tight end now. He's happy and nervous about it all at the same time.
• I'm now the admin of both the football and wrestling teams Facebook pages. That way I can upload photos easier.
• I feel a little bad that it's mostly 6th grade team photos for football, but what can you do? I've taken photos of the game prior to the 6th grade, at least...
• Monthly (weekly during the season), I create a new cover page for the wrestling page. This month is C-man.
• I guess I should probably show him that if I ever see him.
• I'm going to be really glad when this play is done. I want my life back.
• I need to get up to my bees. I have no idea when I'm going to have a day to do that, though.
• Speaking of weekends... Fall Fest is planned again. That's the party where we put up the 20x20 tent, heat it, feed people, and show a movie. We're showing The Great Outdoors this year. It should be great.
• Everyone is talking about the Japanese organization method in which you throw everything that doesn't give you joy. I've been slowly trying to get rid of things, because it sounds like a great idea. But there are a whole lot of things in my house that don't give me joy. This is going to take a while.
• It's Great American Beer Festival week for those paying attention to these things.
• 3 days until play day... This guy better pull it together.

Nonsense

• The Packers won last night. That was pretty great.
• Even though it was well past his bedtime, since Seattle was ahead, I didn't tell C-man to go to bed.
• As soon as the Packers pulled ahead, he got up, and declared, "I'm going to bed now since I don't have a stomachache anymore."
• C-man lost a molar yesterday, and declared officially he doesn't believe in the Tooth Fairy.
• Oh my gosh, I'm so glad we're past that nonsense.
• It's play week. I'm so glad this is on the home stretch. Let's just hope I remember all my one-liners, because I've got a lot of them!
• I woke up with a pain in my lower back this morning. A different one than usual. Here's hoping it goes away soon.

Lovely Day

After a trip to the dog park, we headed over to Covered Bridge Park for a picnic. After we ate, C-man fished, and I took photos of the covered bridge. It was a lovely day.

Now, we're going to settle in and watch C-man win his Fantasy Football leagues before the Packers game. (I really want to message the guys he's killing in his leagues to let them know he's only 10 and crushing them.) I can't believe it's back to work tomorrow. And on to the start of tech week/dress rehearsal for the play. Ack!!

For the love of football

C-man had another fun day of football. It was a gorgeous day, which made it even better. He, of course, sported the Aunt Terry supplied Batman gloves.

Which came in handy for his first-ever ball carry. This is him in the middle of the scrum, charging ahead for 5 yards. Kind of hard to get a decent shot of it. I'm sure there will be more, though.

Oh, the love for football is strong in this one.

It's a good day

It's Friday. I have no play rehearsal tonight. Beerman isn't traveling. C-man gets announced at halftime of the Nicolet football game. I'm working from home with Beasley on my feet. I worked out. The laundry is getting cleaned. My efforts to head off this sickness with Airborne, honey, and water seem to be keeping me on this side of healthy so far. It's a good day.

Thursday Thirteen

1. Last night at play rehearsal, we got to run Act I twice, instead of the whole show.
2. It's been my complaint the whole rehearsal season so far - we keep switching acts that we rehearse, so people don't improve their timing on the one we just ran.
3. It'd certainly help if one of the actors would just learn his damn lines, though.
4. I still got home at 10, but the second run-through was soooo much better that it didn't feel hopeless.
5. C-man was so happy when I came home. His assignment was to write a poem from the perspective of a coach to his team. He's certainly heard enough of those to be an expert!
6. He was also overjoyed because the football team is getting graded out now. A KnightCat sticker for a win and a Superman sticker for a great play.
7. He got a Superman for his sack.
8. A little recognition goes a long, long way with that one. He seemed really motivated.
9. I finally remembered to submit C-man's day camp expense for FSA reimbursement. I know it's our money, but it's a little like Christmas getting it all back!
10. Speaking of spending money on C-man, I've been monkeying around with his 529 plan. As long as the market doesn't take a total unrecoverable dump, I think he'll have a solid 4 years from us.
11. Which he tells me he doesn't need, of course, because he'll be on a football scholarship.
12. I saw Burt Jacobs (Life is Good) speak yesterday at work. (We're carrying the line in our stores now) He was by far, the best talk I heard in a while. I'm going to read the book now.
13. In my spare time.

Noooooooo!

Shit. C-man complained of a sore throat this morning. I'm starting to feel like hell. People have been home from work with this. Work. Life. Beerman's travels. This play.

I.Cannot.Be.Sick!

Too tired to write anything good

It's Monday. I'm at work. So I'm amazing.

• C-man won his first ever fantasy football matchup. It was really hard to root for Romo and Witten, but that's what put him over the edge. The things you do for your child's happiness.
• I woke up every hour last night. Except between 1:30 and 3:30. Those were two glorious hours.
• There will be coffee today. A lot of coffee.
• I'm down to less than two weeks until play day. God, I just want this over with. Horrible to say, but I'm just exhausted.
• I am never doing this again.
• I got another StitchFix shipment. This one was better than the last, but everything was sheer chiffon and floral print. It's 55 in Wisconsin. Sheer, floral chiffon? Fail.
• We went to a beer dinner last night for Beerman's work. When all else fails, I find turning the conversation to my bees creates an entertaining discussion.
• I love my bees.
• But for the record, wasps are not bees. Seriously, this nomenclature needs to stop. They aren't even the same family.
• Is it time for bed yet?

Weekendy

Football season officially started this weekend against Milwaukee Hamilton. The 6th grade team (which C-man is on) won 36-0. C-man wasn't a standout, but made a few good tackles. It was nice to see a win, though. And C-man was thrilled to be back in pads again.

For me, I continue to learn my lines, do the laundry, walk the dog, and clean the house. Oh, and cheer the Packers.

Weekend ahead

• Oh my gosh, it's finally here. I feel like I could bow down and kiss the ground Friday walks on.
• Tomorrow, the boys are drafting their fantasy teams.
• I'll be at my massage, which I totally need. I've been in so much pain.
• Stupid, stupid rain.
• Speaking of arthritis pain, the Jingle Bell Run registration is open. Come walk with me!
• Rehearsal was a bit better last night. Because we missed Monday (Labor Day), we have to rehearse tonight.
• I'm still never doing this again.
• Which C-man and Beerman are quick to point out has been said before, and yet here I am.
• Sometimes my family members don't know when to keep their mouths shut.
• And tomorrow, we start the football season. Let's pray for a safe and healthy one...

Exhausperated

• I'm so exhausted, the word doesn't even accurately describe what I'm feeling.
• Being in this play was a really bad idea. If I ever say I'm auditioning again, slap me.
• Beerman comes home tonight.
• There's no football tonight.
• What a relief.
• Last week a player brought watermelon for after practice and it was a huge hit. So this week C-man brought it for Watermelon Wednesday.
• I sent an entire cooler of watermelon, another family brought one, and they ate almost the whole thing. Hungry piggies.
• The Jingle Bell Walk is coming up again. Click on the link to the right if you want to join me on November 15th.
• C-man's first football game is on Saturday. I hope he does well.
• He can't wait until October when he gets to wear pink socks. In the meantime, he'll be sporting navy blue ones.
• Oh boy. Come on, weekend!

When you go ahead and do dumb things

Last night's rehearsal was our first night off-book. Four of us are on stage almost the entire time bantering. Four others come and go. My husband didn't know a single line. It was awful. And all four of us who are on stage the whole time got our asses handed to us by the director and kept for an additional 45 minutes because we were so terrible even though we knew our lines but couldn't get them right because the cues weren't there. Meanwhile, I was paying for a babysitter and getting 9:30 p.m. texts from C-man because he needed me to help him with his homework. God, I hate group projects.

Being in this play was the dumbest thing I've done in a long, long time.

Getting through MonTuesday

• Beerman kicked up a nest of ground wasps this weekend while working on the fence. Since he's really allergic, I went to investigate.
• Damn, my hands hurt. Those suckers are going to die now!
• I did learn that the Nixall wash does help quite a bit. So at least my beekeeping forums are good for that.
• I'm supposed to be off-book for Act I at rehearsal tonight. Oh boy.
• I feel more confident in that than I do to be off-book for Act II next week. At least I speak a lot less in Act II.
• Thank God it's a short work week.

4 days off

Beasley's been run and bathed. I've been to the gym. C-man and Beerman are practicing football on the gauntlet equipment at school. The laundry is done. The sheets are changed. My lines are almost memorized. (I drop a few here and there.) Honestly, every weekend should be a 4-day weekend. We'd all be so much happier.

Another beautiful day off

We geocached yesterday. That was fun. We haven't done it in so long, it was nice to get back to it. Today was spent picking up the house, finding a spot for my bottles of honey, cleaning the fish tanks, going out for burgers, and me learning my lines. God, this is the death march part of the play process. Line after line after line. When I mentioned I had 30 more pages to go, C-man declared, "Well, get on your horse!" Indeed. C-man's heading to a friend's for an outdoor movie night. So much for only children being anti-social...

Happy long weekend!

May your laboring be little and the beer be cold. I'll just be over here. Drinking. And memorizing lines. Maybe not in that order. Okay, maybe it will be...

Thursday Thirteen

1. Whew, I'm tired. Last night rehearsals wind me up, and then I can't sleep.
2. C-man was observing that nap time is wasted on the K4 and K5 classrooms.
3. Beerman made it home last night, which was nice.
4. I've got the first third of the play totally memorized. Only 2/3 to go.
5. At least the last third is pretty minimal.
6. C-man quizzes me on my lines and I quiz him on his football plays.
7. I have to figure out what dress I'm going to wear.
8. Being fat doesn't help this. Maybe I should do a cleanse. Sigh.
9. I'm so happy I harvested my honey, but now I'm looking at all those bottles and wondering where to store them.
10. Speaking of that, I'm so tired of people asking for bottles. Get your own bee stings, people!
11. Not to mention, if I sold it for what I've got in it, it'd make me cry.
12. People keep coming to work sick. I'm so tired of sending them home. Just stay home, people!
13. I took Beasley to the park last night. I don't think I've ever seen a crazier, happier dog.

Half-way point

• Beerman comes home tonight. It'll be nice to be able to slow down a bit this week.
• I can usually handle when he travels quite well, but after having been away all weekend and having rehearsals all night - I'm a mess.
• I'm wearing a 4 year old dress today because nothing else was clean.
• I'm a frickin' disaster.
• So is Beasley. He didn't run this weekend, and he's out of control crazy.
• At least C-man is having a good week.
• He likes his teacher a lot. Hopefully it stays that way.
• I had him take a bottle of honey to her today. You know, just in case.
• Fur on shoes is a trend this Fall. Um... no.

And then it was Tuesday

Play rehearsals continue nightly. C-man doesn't have football on Tuesdays and Thursdays now that school has started, so he has to come with me tonight. Everyone has been asking where he is, since he was such a presence the last time I did this.

The good news in all of this is that I've got 33 pages memorized. The bad news, there are 107 pages to this play. I'm supposed to be off-book by next week for Act I. I think I'll make it. I keep rehearsing in my car with a pre-recorded version of me. Anyone driving by seeing me gesturing dramatically while driving must think I'm nuts.

Sorry, Officer. I was rehearsing.

I know I said I didn't need to do this again the last time I did it. I really should have listened to myself.