General

The show went really well this past weekend. We still have three more shows next weekend, but I’m done with rehearsals, so I can get back to actually being at home occasionally. Of course, over the past week, housekeeping has slipped a little bit, and I have a truly gigantic clothes monster in my bedroom. I think I could roll out of bed and never notice, there are so many sweaters and sweatshirts piled next to the bed! Being the odd person I am, I have a little song about clothes monsters, sung to the tune of “If you’re happy and you know it…”:

There’s a monster in the bedroom made of clothes,
There’s a monster in the bedroom made of clothes,
There’s a monster in the bedroom, how it got there no one knows,
There’s a monster in the bedroom made of clothes!
OK, so now you know just how strange I really am! (Sorry, this is just a desperate attempt to not think about the fact that they’re finally notifying us all about the layoffs tomorrow.)

Just in case you didn’t believe me about the nun outfit, here’s proof! I am in the middle of hell week for Sound of Music. The rehearsal schedule allows me to be home between the hours of midnight and 7 AM. Then I have to go to work…and straight back to rehearsal after work. Everything I’ve eaten so far this week has either come from a vending machine, the cafeteria at work, or a fast food restaurant. It’s a wonder I still fit into my nun costume…and that I haven’t collapsed from lack of sleep. (And it’s only Wednesday…)

Let’s see. No yarn samples yet (maybe today?), no completed sock, no progress of any sort. Too many rehearsals, not enough sleep. And it’s only going to get much, much worse. But I got my nun costume last night. It’s quite authentic looking. Some of the other cast members were getting a little nervous about all of the nuns walking around last night – seems they were afraid rulers might come out from nowhere and whack the backs of their hands. Hmm…I wonder if I can find one of those old wooden rulers with a metal edge before next rehearsal… :) My only problem is that it’s going to be hot, hot, hot in that costume under stage lights. Tonight there’s no rehearsal, so my plan is to do laundry, cook an actual meal, finish the first sock and maybe cast on the second, and knit up a swatch of the yarn samples that will hopefully arrive today in the mail. And go to bed early!

That is, I watched the movie Signs last night. My parents and youngest brother were going on and on about how scary it was, and how I’d never be able to sit through the whole thing, I’d be so scared. It wasn’t that bad! I guess I’ve somehow earned a reputation as a suspense movie wimp. I thought the movie was actually very good, and I was pretty close on my guess about how it would end, so I was never really in the “at-the-edge-of-your-seat-biting-off-fingernails” mode. Of course, I was supposed to spend my evening off from rehearsals taking down Christmas decorations…I guess this weekend is soon enough, although the tree is looking mighty sad at this point.

Rehearsals for Sound of Music 2003 are going well. The problem is, that by the time I get home, I have just enough time to get ready to leave. Dinner has been an interesting challenge – especially with my resolution to eat better. For example, I stopped at Wendy’s last night to get my favorite “healthy fast food”, a mandarin chicken salad. I had to repeat myself at the drive through about 5 times before the guy understood what I was saying, but then he said, “Ok, a mandarin chicken salad, a water and a decaf coffee. That will be …” (whatever, I don’t remember). I drove around to get my order, the guy handed me a bag and said, “here’s your mandarin chicken salad.” Didn’t check. Drove another 20 minutes to rehearsal, grabbed the bag, got settled, and found…a chicken BLT salad. Nevermind that I hate tomatoes and honey mustard dressing. Forget the fact that I was looking forward to mandarin oranges and crispy rice noodles. I was devastated. Until I remembered that it was just dinner, and it still fit the criteria of being somewhat healthy, especially since I skipped the dressing all together. (And I will admit that the salad was quite good, it had a minimum of tomotoes that I could pick around, and I’d consider getting it again. At a different Wendy’s.)

I’m still kind of congested, but I think the worst of this cold is over. What sucks is that I just spent a week of vacation being sick. But at least I got a lot of crafting done! I finished the paper camera. Actually, I finished it on New Year’s Eve, so it counts as a finished object for last year! I’m almost done with a cross-stitch sampler that I’d started and done maybe 5 rows on back in June. And I started yet another knitting project – this time a sweater for me. Unfortunately, in just a few short days I’ll have to get back to reality. Work and rehearsals…at least there will be plenty of time to knit while I’m not on-stage in rehearsal!

What’s in store for 2003?

• Take better care of myself – eat out less, get more exercise
• Spend more time with my family and friends
• Take Molly for more walks
• Keep a cleaner house
• Procrastinate less

Now if I could just shake this terrible cold that I’ve had for the past week, I could get started on those resolutions! Right now, I sound like a frog. A coughing frog. What a way to start the new year. :P

Congratulations to Jenny and Aaron on becoming engaged! You’re one of the nicest couples I know, and deserve all the best life has to offer.

Well, in my rush to get everything done and wrapped, I didn’t take any pictures of any of the things I made. What a dummy. I might just have to sneak some pictures after people unwrap things. :P At least everything is done, including the cards…except…we’re leaving right after work, and there isn’t a suitcase all packed and waiting. I was just so sleepy after my concert last night that I didn’t even eat dinner, let alone figure out what to bring. (Of course, I made up for not eating dinner by having three krispy kremes for breakfast.)

And I am *so* not in the mood to work today, since it’s my last day before vacation. So far, all I’ve done this morning is exchange gifts with friends and eat donuts. Hard work, but someone’s got to do it, right? I am looking forward to spending several days communing with my new computer – I’m only bringing one small knitting project with me to NYC, small as in 4 hours, tops – and the copy of Photoshop Elements that should be arriving right before we leave. Maybe I’ll finally update those pictures at the top with something more season-appropriate!

If I do get lazy and “forget” to blog in the next few days, I hope everyone who reads this has a wonderful Christmas. (Unless you don’t celebrate Christmas, in which case I hope you have a wonderful day off of work!)