Writting is harder than it looks

So, I'm writing the script for the youth musical I'm directing and it's much harder than I expected. I think I have a tendency to over analyze every line and where that line could take the show. In fact, I scrapped the whole script yesterday and rewrote the first three pages. I know this is all a part of the editing process (and I can honestly say the show is going in a better direction for the youth involved), but it was a little bit discouraging to start over and to have failed so terribly on my first try.

And you know what else, I've realized that I crave validation and approval. I had my co-director read over the script and see what she thought and she liked it. She made some good critiques, but it meant so much to me that someone else thought I had written something presentable (corny, maybe but presentable). So thank you Courtney! I really need a gentle nudge from time to time in the ego department. :)

Unexpected things

So,  you know how I talked about auditioning for Hello Dolly? Well, it bore some unexpected fruits! I was talking to a friend of mine at church about it and then her son piped in and asked if I would be the head director for a musical our church is putting on. I was so excited and nervous at the same time! I don't have a lot of experience and all of that experience happened years ago, but I love musical theater so much! However, I know how the youth can be and told myself that it really wasn't going to happen and for a while, it looked like that was going to be the case.

But is isn't! It's actually happening and I'm so excited for the opportunity to work on this! We're doing a 40's musical review that will be set in the 40's during a ward bond benefit dinner. I'm writing the script (there will be very little dialogue) and we're using most of the music from another review called All Night Strut. I wish we could just do All Night Strut, but we're keeping it to a one act show and ANS is two.

Our first meeting is this week and I'm scrambling to get things together and to thing of a story that can flow easily in between the songs. I'm also equally grateful for the prescence of Courtney, my "assistant (which actually will be her telling me what to say and sound director-ey) director. Honestly I think she should be the head director and me be the stage manager or something, but she's leaving on a mission a few weeks before the production so she declined.

Any way... I can't wait to get into this project and I'll try to post pictures periodically about the show! I hope you all will come! I'll definitely let you know when the show dates have been finalized!

Wish me luck!

Taking the new girl out for a spin

Our 6 year anniversary is next week, so we decided we'd celebrate with Matt's hard earned Marriott points! We got a free weekend at The Grand Bohemian hotel in Asheville and it was wonderful!

The hotel was nicely decorated and the atmosphere was great. My only complaint about the place was the noise. You'd think for a fancy-shamncy place like that, they'd take the trouble to soundproof the rooms (so you can't hear your neighbor snoring at night or hear the cars whizzing by outside your window). Otherwise, the hotel was wonderful!

The hotel is located right in front of the entrance to the Biltmore (which we didn't see) and is located in a quaint little town with the cutest shops! There were so many interesting places and beautiful flowers that I had to take my camera out for a whirl! I submit for your approval, Biltmore Village.

Photo taken at the Porter and Prince

Photo taken at the Porter and Prince

Photo taken at the Porter and Prince

Why I hate pick axes

I've been doing some landscaping and I officially hate pick axes.

In other news, if you want any irises or day lilies, I've got plenty!

Why everything sucks

I love Craig Ferguson. Matt showed me this hilarious clip of one of his rants. Enjoy (but beware of a little foul language).

Ummm, how did I not know about these?!

Image courtesy of www.Bakerella.com

They are the most delicious things ever! How have I lived 25 years on this Earth and not known about cake balls?!?!?!

Seriously easy to make (albeit time consuming), completely delicious and the possibilities for ridiculous cuteness are off the charts!

My sister and I checked out Bakerella's book on cake pops from the library and we decided since we've got some time on our hands, we'd try making some!

I've always excelled with fiddley things. I think it brings out my OCD tendencies.



I only realized afterward that I made cake balls in ECU colors, but I guess it's alright since I went there for *ONE* semester. :) Regardless of the color scheme, they tasted amazing! I will definitely be making these again! The recipes can be found on Bakerella's website (although in her book she recommends using 3/4 can of frosting to one cake instead of the one to one found on her blog).

Just when you think you're life is boring...

Some crazy stuff happens. And doesn't it always seem to happen all at once?

Last weekend, my roommate moved out. No, I don't mean my husband (although he's gone enough I might sometimes consider him as such). I mean, my good friend Shelly. It's been such a blessing in my life to have Shelly living with me while Matt's gone. There's something creepy about sleeping in a house by yourself and it's been so wonderful to get that much closer with her! I'm really going to miss her!

So, I took Shelly out to Kanki the other night (her favorite) and I missed three phone calls from my mom. I jokingly said that when someone calls that often it never means something good. Oh how I was right. It turned out that my sister had to have some emergency surgery and mom wanted me to drive out to Burlington to take care of my niece. So of course I ran home, packed a bag and drove out there. My sister is fine and the surgery went well, but it was a little scary for a while. She came home yesterday evening, which meant I got to play with E for a whole day!

Unfortunately, Megan ran a high fever Sunday and I was called back in for round two. I'm going home tomorrow and I can definitely say I've learned a thing or two about what it means to be a mom! Even though E is the most well behaved child on the planet, she still is a handful sometimes! I love her to bits (even though she tried to pee on me). I'll post some pictures when I get back to my camera!