receiving line comments: Spitfire

Well folks, another show has come and gone. For those of you who showed us some love--THANK YOU. For those who didn't-well it's your loss.

I'm a swiper (and incapable of creative thoughts of my own...) and I'm copying my sweet sweet Larissa. You see, she's started recording the things people say to her in the receiving line. I got a few during my most recent run with Spitfire. So many that I can't remember them all and I WISH I had written them all down. Here are the few I do remember off the top of my head:

• "You nailed the busy-body type"
• "I hope you're not that bad in real life"
• "Your hair is so shiny" No joke I was told this QUITE a few times.
• "Do you color it?" Asked this after above comment.
• Have you ever been to Manilla? The postmistress there is JUST like you!
• "I hated you" (I hope it was Effy they hated and not me...)
• "You were just so obnoxious...it made me so mad!"
• "You have such a great voice!" (Said to Mason-our Eli-who says NOTHING the duration of the show...everyone thought they were so funny.)
• "How in the world do you all keep your voices warm?"
• "What great comic relief you were!"
• "I could listen to you sing all day."-Aww thanks!!
• "I just loved to hate you."
• "Every time you came on stage I couldn't stop giggling."
• "You were just so fun to watch! You looked like you had so much fun!"
• "You all sounded so great together."-I'm assuming they were referring to Act 2's opener 'Come Alive Again'
• "I had never heard of this show, but I'm so glad I came! It was so good!"

Those were the few I could remember, but everyone who left seemed to really have a good time. I'm grateful for everyone who came out to support us and I hope you all had as much fun watching as I did performing. I truly believe this show was Kismet; we all clicked and got along so well. Although it was so stressful in the beginning it was also so much fun and one of the best theatre experiences ever. I will miss it and my wonderful cast mates, but I'm ready for my life to be my own again, to have my weekends back to actually go on dates with Mr. Wonderful, and tap. Can I just say how excited I am to see my tap peeps again!? I have missed them so!

i am

Last week kind-of-sucked. Why, you may ask? Well I was called some names by someone. Names in a million years I never thought I’d be called-and especially not by who said it.

They called me fake and judgmental.

I would be lying if I said it didn’t hurt. It did-and still does; but I think that was their point. Well, mission accomplished. All for giving them the honesty they asked for.

I’ve always prided myself as being the “what you see is what you get” person, but apparently in their eyes I am not. Apparently to them I am fake. And Judgemental.

Man, I’ve always hated that damn word. Judgmental. What an unfair term. Why? Everyone is judgmental by definition alone and somehow it has become a negative term filled with hate.

Judgment:

1: The process of forming an opinion or evaluation by discerning and comparing

The last week I have been stressing over what I am not; today I decided to focus instead on what I AM. Haters can go to hell.

I AM a daughter of earthly and Heavenly parents. I know they love me. I know they are proud to call me 'daughter'.

I AM a big sister. I may not always be liked by my siblings; but I always have their best interest at heart

I AM the sweetheart to a wonderful man who I am always striving to be worthy of

I AM a friend to many, an enemy to few

I AM an auntie to the most beautiful, smartest nieces and nephews ever

I AM a singer. I may not be the best, but I know I AM good.

I AM an actress

I AM a tap dancer

I AM a cook

I AM a ‘live and let live’ person

I AM fiery and passionate

I AM trying to be more patient

I AM giving-almost to a fault

I AM someone who takes accountability for my actions and tries to be better

I AM always trying to learn from my mistakes

I AM flawed, but it’s ok

I AM not afraid to stand up for myself and the people I love

I AM a Facebook junkie
I AM always trying to be a Christ-like example to others

I AM not perfect, nor do claim to be

I AM loud

I AM fun

I AM kind

I AM important

I AM an advocate

I AM a family person

I AM a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
I AM trying to be a good represenative of my faith

I AM not afraid to question ‘the norm’

I AM a teacher

I AM a supporter

I AM a believer in the arts

I AM a listener and an advice giver

I AM a pet parent

I AM a hugger

I AM a Disnelyand addict

I AM objective and rational-most of the time.

I AM always striving to be someone ‘who breaks the mold’

I AM me.

You know what? I AM not always going to be everyone’s favorite. But guess what? That’s OK. I go to bed each night knowing I was true to ME and the people who love ME. And that is the most important thing any of us can do.

a photo-a-day: week 1

Once again I took a page from Guy Smiley and in the interest of saving everyone's-well mainly my-sanity I think I'm gonna post once a week. The goal is every other day though. Here's last week's photos:

DAY 1: My view

My view day to day can get kind of tedious. Good thing I have Mr. Wonderful, Disneyland, and the ever changing photo in my digital frame to liven it up!

 DAY 2: Words

'Alice in Wonderland' has always been one of my absolute favorites. I find it fitting that I found a cover for my nook that has the first page of 'Alice' printed on it.

DAY 3: Hands.

I'm a sucker for strong hands. Always have been. Good thing Mr. Wonderful has the perfect pair! Look at how well he holds Miss Lexi!

DAY 4: A stranger

One of the things I love the most about Disneyland is the random people who come home with you in your pictures! This is one of my all-time favorites-the random Asian guy who looks like he's lost...

DAY 5: 10 AM

Part of my job includes having the Food Network on ALL DAY. Most of the time it's torture, but at 10:00 it turns into one big stress-fest watching chefs race the clock to make the most outrageous culinary creations on Food Network Challenge. If you've never seen it I highly recommend it.  

DAY 6: Dinner

Since I had a show last night and was going straight from work to the theatre I stopped at Cafe Rio and enjoyed the Monday special: Chile Rellanos. They were OK, but I have yet to have one that usurps my favorites at El Habanero...

DAY 7: Button

Here is a button from my new favorite purple cardigan. I hate to admit I am one of those girls whose mood is affected by what she wears, but alas, it is true.

moving by the numbers

Well ladies and gentlemen, the day has come and gone and I am officially moved!! It was a long, stressful, not fun process, but I'm glad it's finally over and done with. Tuesday night as I was unpacking the last of my boxes I realized there are a LOT of numbers involved in moving. For your reading enjoyment, here they are:

People recruited to help: 5
People who came from St. George: 2 (thanks Momma and LB2!)
Moving trucks rented: 1
Hours spent loading and unloading truck: 6
Shins hit into ball hitch on truck: 3
Washer and dryer on loan from awesome man: 1 of each
Back injuries: 1 (it was Mr Wonderful, and he's fine now, just twisted it weird trying to maneuver his washer up his parent's stairs.)
Increase in square footage: 110
How much bigger it feels: 0
Balcony entrances: 2
Trips to Lowes/Home Depot: 3
Boxes moved/unpacked: 50-ish
Times I misplaced my box cutter: Countless
Cuts/scrapes/other odd hand ailments: 4
Days taken off of work: 2
Days I wish I had taken: 5
Loads of laundry waiting for me over the next two days: 5 or 6 (It's amazing what you put off washing when confronted with the reality of having to lug it to the laundromat)
Trips to the dumpster: 5
Bags sent to the DI: 4
Happy birds: 1 (or it could be because she's Lizzy Borden .)
Emotional melt-downs: 2 (In my defense I was just done)
New neighbors met: 3
Change of addresses submitted: 5 ( I THINK I got them all...)
Days without DVR: 3
Keys turned in: 5
Noisy Neighbors: ZERO!!!

To sum it up moving sucks. It's expensive, stressful, emotionally and physically draining, and has the potential to ruin even the strongest relationships.
My friend Steve said it best: anything it can cost you to move it will. Well put Steve, well put.

a photo-a-day

I've been a crappy blogger as of late. I know this. In an attempt to be better I'm taking a page from my friend Guy Smiley and I'm going to attempt to do this. It's only 29 days-what could possibly go wrong?

angry birds **updated**

**I thought this was going to be a short story when I started—no such luck. Stop reading now if you’re not interested in a novel**

As most of you know I’m a proud pet parent. About six months ago LB2 gave me three canaries he had received as a tip-I know, right? Since he and SIL2 already have a menagerie of their own and birds are usually one of the few animals you can have in an apartment without having to pay any additional fees I was glad to take them off their hands. I have been convinced I’m an unfit parent since.

In November Moki had a monster stress molt, caught a chill, and died before I could take her to the vet. LB2 assured me she was very old (I am the third owner that we know of) so it was just her time. Yeah, I didn’t buy it. After a mini (ok huge meltdown) Mr. Wonderful bought her final resting place (a Tupperware container), and we laid her to rest in his parent’s back yard.

Two weeks later Red started making wheezy noises akin to a broken squeaker toy. Since I was convinced I was a horrible pet owner and still grieving the loss of Moki I rushed him and Gobo to the vet (avian respiratory issues are very communicable). Naturally the second I got in the exam room Gobo starts singing and showing off, and not to be out done Red jumps onto his perch and starts singing his little lungs out and showing off in a fine fashion too. The vet checked them out, said they were just fine, and sent us all on our merry way. I started to settle down, but I was still convinced that I would do something wrong and kill them both at any moment.

Red and Moki were parents to Gobo so my birds have always shared a cage. Most of the time they lived together peacefully--but they did have an occasional squabble. I also noticed the older Moki got the more the other two picked on him which I think is what caused him into the stress molt. Anyway, Sunday night Mr. Wonderful and I had just returned from the weekly parent dinner and were settling in to watch a movie when we heard a ruckus coming from my bedroom. Mr. Wonderful witnessed the tail end of the fight, but apparently Gobo was on top of Red and kicking the tar out of him. I didn’t think much of it; they pretty much forget why they were fighting once it’s over. Not this time. I had noticed Red was still on the floor of the cage and a sulky ball of fluff on Monday after I got home, but I decided to give it one more day. Last night when I got home and noticed he was still in this position, favoring his right leg, and didn’t seem to mind Gobo had pooped on him I started to really worry. I worried even more when I put my hand in the cage to check their food and didn’t get his usual freak-out (canaries are NOT social birds. They like to be seen and not handled) I knew something was wrong. I know he wasn’t eating while I was home, so I figured it was safe to assume he wasn’t eating when I wasn’t there either. I told Mr. Wonderful my fear and said I was going to take him to the vet today after I got home from work. Mr. Wonderful true to his wonderfulness said to make it for ASAP and he would take him before he had to be to work. (Is he a keeper or what?)

The diagnosis:

Gobo is a bully and Red is a pansy. Apparently Gobo inflicted a critical level of trauma on Red. They don’t know what’s wrong with his leg, but they think Gobo is to blame for that too. So now my little guy is being held over night and will receive oxygen and pain meds as needed, and lots and lots of TLC. Now I have to keep them in separate cages, and depending on the level of trauma Red has experienced it’s possible I will need to keep them separated AND out of each other’s sight. Oy. I’m a bad parent.

I’m going to prove my unfit-ness further by asking this question-the bill is already at $50 and will likely be double that tomorrow. When do you decide the pain, suffering, and cost outweigh the attempt to make them well again? I love my birds, and I will do what I can to make and keep them healthy and happy, but I’m also not willing to spend hundreds of dollars on an animal that is suffering.

Who would have thought birds who have peacefully co-existed all this time would suddenly start hating each other? Maybe Gobo is trying to assert her independence from dad? Whatever it is I'm at a complete loss.

**UPDATE** My quandary is moot; the vet just called to tell me Red succumbed to the shock and passed this morning. After the reaction I had with Moki I would have thought I would be more upset. I'm sad, but I was able to joke with Mr. Wonderful about how funny it must have looked to see the vet perform CPR. I'm not going to lie; I feel a little guilty about that. 

Maybe part of me knew that when Mr. Wonderful took him yesterday he wouldn't be coming home. I also know aside from not taking him in sooner I did all I could this time around and if the vet couldn't save him it was meant to be and I'm glad he's no longer suffering.

It's sad, I'm sad, but it's ok, and who knows, maybe when I actually see him tonight when I pick him up the reality will set in and I will shed a tear or two.

I guess I will just have one bird who thinks an awful lot about herself and I don't have to worry about her bullying anyone anymore. I also am relieved I don't need to worry about the potential vet bills, buying one bigger cage, or spend anymore time thinking about where I'm going to put two cages-not only while I'm in the middle of moving, but also where I'll put them once I'm moved.

Does that make me a terrible person (and pet owner) for finding relief in that?

a desperate theatre zombie plea

Few words strike fear into the heart of an actor like 'tech week'. The fear is even more intense when you've only had three weeks of full-time rehearsals and your first run through of the show is on your preview night. On the other hand, only actors can know the satisfaction that comes after a particularly stressful (and rough) tech week and preview, knowing that it will only get better from there. Yes, I look like (and feel) an extra off of 'The Walking Dead', but you know what? It's worth it.

Once again here is my plea. PLEASE come see 'The Spitfire Grill'. I will warn you-due to a positive but crazy rehearsal experience and essentially putting an entire show together in three weeks-the first few performances will be especially rough, but I promise there is a diamond underneath just waiting to shine--and boy oh boy it will. Please come and support me, the Empress, and most importantly this AMAZING show. It is our 2012 season opener and we have been all but forgotten. There has been NO marketing and we need butts in the seats. Then we need those butts to go out and tell other butts to come sit in the seats too. We need YOU to help spread the word. Bribe them with 2 for 1 tickets when they use 'coffecups' at the box office or online if you have to. Just PLEASE help! 

More than anything I am worried people will miss this show simply because they didn't know about it. I know you all can't come, but you all can help spread the word. It takes next to no time to send out a mass email (Empress ,Facebook)--people do it for stupid stuff, why not do it for something that's important to a friend? I would do it for you. *oh yeah, I SO went there.

Ok, I promise that's it for the shameless plug, and my next post won't be quite so desperate.